Robert Scheidt facts for kids

Quick facts for kids
Robert Scheidt

Scheidt in 2004
Personal information
Nationality	Brazil
Born	(1973-04-15) 15 April 1973 (age 52) São Paulo, São Paulo
Sailing career
Class(es)	Laser, Star
Club	Yacht Club Santo Amaro
Medal record Sailing Representing  Brazil Olympic Games Gold 1996 Atlanta Laser Gold 2004 Athens Laser Silver 2000 Sydney Laser Silver 2008 Beijing Star Bronze 2012 London Star World Championships Gold 1995 Tenerife Laser Gold 1996 Simon's Town Laser Gold 1997 Algarrobo Laser Gold 2000 Cancún Laser Gold 2001 Cork Laser Gold 2002 Hyannis Laser Gold 2004 Bitez Laser Gold 2005 Fortaleza Laser Gold 2007 Cascais Star Gold 2011 Perth Star Gold 2012 Hyères Star Gold 2013 Al Musannah Laser Silver 1999 Melbourne Laser Silver 2003 Cádiz Laser Silver 2006 San Francisco Star Bronze 1993 Takapuna Laser Bronze 2008 Miami Star Pan American Games Gold 1995 Mar del Plata Men's Laser Gold 1999 Winnipeg Men's Laser Gold 2003 Santo Domingo Men's Laser Silver 2007 Rio Men's Laser Silver 2015 Toronto Men's Laser

Robert Scheidt (born 15 April 1973) is a famous Brazilian sailor. He has won many medals in sailing, including five at the Olympic Games. He earned two gold, two silver, and one bronze medal. This makes him one of Brazil's most successful Olympic athletes. Robert is also special because he won medals in two different types of sailboats: dinghies and keelboats. Many people consider him one of the best sailors ever.

Early Sailing Days

Robert Scheidt was born in São Paulo, Brazil. His parents were Fritz Scheidt and Karin Kreuger Scheidt. When he was nine, his father gave him his first boat. Robert started practicing sailing on the Guarapiranga dam. With help from his coach, Dudu Melchert, he quickly began winning competitions.

When he was 11, Robert became the South American Champion in the Optimist class. This happened in Algarrobo, Chile, in both 1985 and 1986. Because of these wins, he was chosen to sail for Brazil in the Optimist World Championship in 1986. This event changed his life. He decided to stop playing tennis and focus completely on sailing.

Robert grew too tall and heavy for the Optimist boat. So, he started sailing in the Snipe class. He finished second in the Brazilian Snipe Junior Championship in 1989. Then, he won the championship in 1990, 1991, and 1992. In 1990, he also began sailing Laser boats. He became the Brazilian junior champion in Laser. He was then invited to represent Brazil in the Junior World Championships in the Netherlands. After this, he trained in Denmark and Sweden. He also took part in the famous Kiel Week competition for the first time.

In 1991, Robert had an amazing performance. He won 10 out of 11 races. This made him the Laser Junior World Champion in Scotland.

Becoming a Senior Sailing Champion

In 1995, Robert Scheidt won a gold medal at the Pan American Games in Mar del Plata. He also won his first World Championship that year. The next year, 1996, he finished his Business Administration degree at Mackenzie Presbyterian University.

The year 1996 was very important for him. He had an exciting competition with Ben Ainslie from the UK. Robert won the Olympic gold medal in the Laser class at the Atlanta Games. He also won the World Championship in Cape Town, South Africa, in 1996. He won it again in 1997 in Algarrobo, Chile.

In 1999, Robert won another gold medal at the Pan American Games in Winnipeg, Canada. He won his fourth World Title in 2000 in Cancún, Mexico. Everyone expected him to win gold at the Sydney Olympics. But after a tough race against Ben Ainslie from Great Britain, Robert won the silver medal instead.

He won his fifth World Title in 2001 in Cork, Ireland. His sixth World Title came in 2002 in Cape Cod, United States.

In 2003, Robert became the Pan American Games Champion for the third time. He won gold in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic. In 2004, he won another Olympic gold medal in the Laser class in Athens. Ben Ainslie had moved to a different boat class. Robert also won his sixth World Title in Bitez, Turkey, that year.

By March 2005, Robert was ranked number one in the world for Laser sailing. His last World Title in the Laser class was in 2005. He won it in his home country, Brazil, in Fortaleza.

After this win, Robert decided to try a new challenge. He left the Laser class to focus on two-person keelboat racing in the Star Class. His sailing partner was Bruno Prada. In June 2006, they won a silver medal at the Kiel Week in Germany. In August 2006, they won another silver medal at the Star European Championship in Neustadt, Germany.

Robert won nine titles after 2003, including the World Title in 2007 in Portugal. He also won a silver medal at the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing. This medal made him the first Brazilian athlete to win a medal in four Olympics in a row. He was chosen to carry the Brazilian flag at the Beijing Olympic Games opening ceremony.

At the 2012 Summer Olympics in London, Robert won his fifth Olympic medal, a bronze in the Star class. He tied the record of fellow sailor Torben Grael. He also became the first Brazilian to win medals in five Olympic Games in a row. He had hoped for gold, as this was the last Olympics for the Star Class. To compete in the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Robert returned to the Laser class in 2013. He immediately won the World Championship at 40 years old. In his sixth Olympics, he finished fourth, just missing a medal. He continued sailing and qualified for the 2020 Olympic Games. This made him the first Brazilian to compete in seven Olympics. He reached the medal race but finished eighth. Robert has said he will keep sailing, but not in the Laser boat because it requires too much physical effort.

Robert Scheidt's Main Titles

Robert Scheidt has won many titles throughout his career. Here are some of his most important achievements:

• Star Class:
  • Olympic Games:
    • Silver medal in Beijing, 2008
    • Bronze medal in London, 2012
  • World Championship:
    • 2007
    • 2011 (Perth, Australia)
    • 2012 (Hyères, France)
  • Star Sailors League Finals:
    • 2013 (Nassau, Bahamas)
  • South American Championship:
    • 2006
  • Brazilian Championship:
    • 2006

• Laser Class:
  • Olympic Games:
    • Gold medal in Atlanta, 1996
    • Gold medal in Athens, 2004
    • Silver medal in Sydney, 2000
  • World Championships:
    • Tenerife, Spain, 1995
    • Cape Town, South Africa, 1996
    • Algarrobo, Chile, 1997
    • Cancún, Mexico, 2000
    • Cork, Ireland, 2001
    • Cape Cod, USA, 2002
    • Bitez, Turkey, 2004
    • Fortaleza, Brazil, 2005
    • Muscat, Oman, 2013
  • World ISAF Games:
    • Marseille, France, 1997
  • World Junior Championship:
    • Scotland, 1991
  • Pan American Games:
    • Mar del Plata, Argentina, 1995
    • Winnipeg, Canada, 1999
    • Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, 2003
  • South American Championships:
    • 1992, 1993, 1994, 1997, 2001, 2004
  • Brazilian Championships:
    • 1987 (junior), 1991 (junior), 1992, 1994, 1995, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005
  • Kiel Week:
    • 1999, 2000, 2004

• Optimist Class:
  • South American Championship (youth):
    • 1985, 1986

Personal Life

On October 25, 2008, Robert Scheidt married Gintarė Volungevičiūtė. She is a sailor from Lithuania and an Olympic silver medalist. They got married in the Town Hall in Kaunas, Lithuania. They have two sons and live near Lago di Garda, Italy.

See also

In Spanish: Robert Scheidt para niños