Greek sailor Sofia Bekatorou, a gold medallist at the 2004 Olympics, spent part of this week speaking to primary schoolchildren in Abu Dhabi, hoping to influence them to take up a sport in the same way she was hooked as a youngster.
Interestingly, it was Romanian gymnast Nadia Comaneci, who in 1976 became was the first female to be awarded a perfect score of 10 at an Olympic event, who steered her toward sport.
“I was inspired by a poster,” she said. “When I was running in the gym, I was looking at this poster and thinking, ‘One day I want to be like this’. I believe that at some stage, if you’re a kid, you get some people who impact you. They change your life.
“As elite athletes, we presented our stories to a young generation ... in Abu Dhabi. I believe in this. We can motivate and inspire other countries, which is a really nice project.
“If I can be responsible for making kids go to the sailing club and try, then I really feel successful. That is the main thing. I used to share my [Olympic] medal, because I want kids to feel it and see it so they can be really inspired, the way I was.
“I hope that I can be the reason some people get in the sea and sail.”
Bekatorou is in Abu Dhabi for the city’s inaugural International Sailing Federation (ISAF) World Cup Finals that get underway off the breakwater on the capital’s Corniche on Thursday.
The top 20 sailors in 10 disciplines will compete for championship titles, the culmination of a season featuring rounds in Qingdao (China), Melbourne (Australia), Miami (USA), Mallorca (Spain) and Hyeres (France).
As a three-time world champion, plus an Olympic gold and bronze medallist, Bekatorou will be one of the leading contenders along with teammate and compatriot Konstantinos Trigonis in the Nacra 17 class, which is one of the few mixed-gender categories.
Bekatorou said it was important to have a goal as a young sailor.
“The principle is, you start having a dream, you see something and you feel you want to achieve it,” she said. “You need to use the chances you get in life and create chances for yourself in order to follow your dream.”
Bekatorou fulfilled her aspirations when she was selected for the Sydney Games in 2000, where she finished 14th in the 470 class.
At the next Games, in her home waters in Athens, she claimed the 470 class gold.
Four years later, she took bronze in the Yngling class at Beijing 2008.
Bekatorou’s goal is to win a third Olympic medal in Rio 2016 in the Nacra 17 class.
“A third medal in the Olympic Games is actually a record – having a woman winning three different medals in three different disciplines with three different teams,” she said. “It’s a big challenge that’s really motivating me.
“We have been sailing just eight months [in the Nacra class]. We started late, but Kostas [Konstantinos] has a long experience
“I’m learning from him and he learns from me, and we both are learning new things from other people, which make it a really wonderful formula.”
Trigonis, a world and European champion in the Tornado class [a similar, two-person dinghy class] who competed at the Sydney Olympics, is no stranger to Abu Dhabi.
“I have been here several times in the past couple of years,” Trigonis said.
“I know that in this period of time, moderate breeze is around, which is going to bring really nice sailing. We will see these catamarans flying and we will have a fantastic and wonderful venue.
“It’s also a great opportunity to train in Abu Dhabi. Let’s say it was a basic training camp, because here right now, it’s warm and really good conditions. It’s not so good in Europe right now.”
Bekatorou emphatically agreed.
“It’s the first time we are going to sail in such an event,” she said. “This is an innovation of the ISAF, to have a World Cup final to conclude the series.
“Indeed, it’s nice to have such a big event here in Abu Dhabi. The conditions are really great, it’s warm, there’s wind, and for the catamarans, these conditions are ideal.”
apasssela@thenational.ae
Follow us on twitter at @SprtNationalUAE
