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 on April 15, 1973, is a famous sailor from Brazil. He is known as one of the best sailors ever! Robert has won many important awards, including five medals at the Olympic Games. He has two gold, two silver, and one bronze Olympic medal.

He is one of the most successful Brazilian athletes in the Olympics. Robert is also special because he won medals in different types of sailing boats. He is truly a legend in the sport of sailing.

Robert Scheidt's Early Sailing Days

Robert Scheidt was born in São Paulo, Brazil. His dad, Fritz Scheidt, gave him his first boat when he was nine years old. Robert started practicing sailing on the Guarapiranga dam. With help from his coach, Dudu Melchert, he quickly began winning many sailing competitions.

Becoming a Champion in Optimist Boats

When he was 11, Robert became the South American Champion in the Optimist class of boats. He won this title 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 was a big moment for him. It made him decide to stop playing tennis and focus completely on sailing.

Moving to New Boat Classes

As Robert grew taller and heavier, he moved from Optimist boats to the Snipe class. He finished second in the Brazilian Snipe Junior Championship in 1989. Then, he became the champion in 1990, 1991, and 1992.

In 1990, he also started sailing Laser boats. He became the Brazilian junior champion in this class. He was then invited to represent Brazil in the Junior World Championships in the Netherlands. After this, he trained in Denmark and Sweden and took part in the famous Kiel Week sailing event for the first time.

In 1991, Robert had an amazing race in Scotland. He won 10 out of 11 races and became the Laser Junior World Champion. This showed everyone how talented he was.

Robert Scheidt's Senior Sailing Career

In 1995, Robert 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 studies in Business Administration.

Olympic Gold and World Titles

In 1996, Robert achieved something incredible. He won the Olympic gold medal in the Laser class at the Atlanta Olympics. This was after an exciting race against Ben Ainslie from the UK. He also won the World Championship in 1996 in Cape Town, South Africa. He won it again in 1997 in Algarrobo, Chile.

In 1999, he won another gold medal at the Pan American Games in Winnipeg, Canada. In 2000, he won his fourth World Title in Cancún, Mexico. Everyone expected him to win gold at the Sydney Olympics. After a tough race with Ben Ainslie again, Robert won the silver medal.

He continued his winning streak, taking his fifth World Title in 2001 in Cork, Ireland. His sixth World Title came in 2002 in Cape Cod, United States.

More Pan American and Olympic Success

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 his second Olympic gold medal in the Laser class at the Athens Olympics. His rival, Ben Ainslie, had moved to a different boat class. Robert also won his seventh 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 came in 2005. He won it in his home country, Brazil, in Fortaleza.

Switching to Star Class Boats

After his win in 2005, Robert decided to try a new challenge. He left the Laser class to focus on two-person keelboats called Star Class boats. He teamed up with 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.

Robert and Bruno won nine titles together after 2003. This included the World Title in 2007 in Portugal. They also won a silver medal at the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing. With this medal, Robert became the first Brazilian athlete to win a medal in four Olympics in a row. He was also chosen to be Brazil's flag bearer at the Beijing Olympics.

Five Olympic Medals and Beyond

At the 2012 London Olympics, Robert won his fifth Olympic medal, a bronze in the Star class. He tied the record for most Olympic medals for a Brazilian athlete. He also became the first Brazilian to win medals in five Olympics in a row.

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 appear in seven Olympics. He finished eighth in that event. Robert has said he will keep sailing, but not in the Laser class because it requires too much physical effort.

Robert Scheidt's Personal Life

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

Robert Scheidt's Main Titles

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

Star Class Achievements

• 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 Achievements

• 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
• Europe Cup:
  • 1993, 1998, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2005
• 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 Achievements

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

See also

In Spanish: Robert Scheidt para niños