Torben Grael facts for kids
Grael in 2003
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Personal information | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nickname(s) | Turbine | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Nationality |  Brazilian |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Born | 22 July 1960 São Paulo, SP, Brazil |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Sailing career | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Class(es) | Soling, Star | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Club | Rio Yacht Club |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Medal record
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Torben Schmidt Grael (born 22 July 1960) is a very famous Brazilian sailor. He is known for winning many international sailing competitions. Torben started sailing when he was just five years old! His grandfather took him out on a sailboat called Aileen. This boat was special because it was used by the Danish sailing team that won a silver medal in the 1912 Summer Olympics.
Later, Torben moved to Niterói and began sailing with his brother, Lars Grael, in the Bay of Guanabara. Lars is also an Olympic medal winner. Torben is also the father of two other sailors, Martine Grael and Marco Grael. Martine is an Olympic champion too!
A Champion Sailor
Torben Grael is often called "Turbine" because of how fast and well he can handle sailboats. He has won five Olympic medals, which is more than any other Brazilian athlete! Four of his medals were won in the Star class of sailing.
He shares the record for the most Olympic sailing medals with other great sailors like Ben Ainslie and Robert Scheidt. Torben has also won many World, South American, and Brazilian championships in different types of sailing. His usual sailing partner is Marcelo Ferreira.
Racing Around the World
Torben has competed in other big international races too. He was the skipper (leader) of the Brasil 1 team in the 2005–06 Volvo Ocean Race. This was the first time an all-Brazilian team entered this tough race, and they finished in third place!
He then won the next Ocean Race as the skipper of the Swedish team Ericsson 4. They won the race with two legs (parts of the race) still to go! In October 2008, his yacht Ericsson 4 set a new record. It traveled 596.6 nautical miles in just 24 hours. That's like sailing at an average speed of 24.8 knots, which is very fast! They set this record during the first part of the 2008–2009 Volvo Ocean Race when strong winds hit the fleet.
Torben has also sailed in the famous America's Cup races. He was part of the team that won the Louis Vuitton Cup in 2000. He also sailed as a tactician (someone who plans the race strategy) for the Luna Rossa Challenge team in 2007.
Major Wins and Medals
Torben Grael has an impressive collection of medals from major sailing events:
- Olympic Games:
- Gold medals in 1996 (Atlanta) and 2004 (Athens) in the Star class.
- Silver medal in 1984 (Los Angeles) in the Soling class.
- Bronze medals in 1988 (Seoul) and 2000 (Sydney) in the Star class.
- Pan American Games:
- Gold medal in 1983 (Caracas) in the Soling class.
- Bronze medal in 1987 (Indianapolis) in the Soling class.
- World Championships:
- Won several gold medals in different classes like Snipe Jr., Snipe, and Star.
- Won silver medals in Soling, Snipe, Star, and One Ton classes.
- Won a bronze medal in the 3⁄4 Ton class.
These achievements show how skilled and successful Torben Grael has been throughout his sailing career!
See also
In Spanish: Torben Grael para niños
