TSOULFA Emilia

General
HIATUS
After winning gold in the 470 class with Sofia Bekatorou at the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens, she took a 15-year break from sailing to focus on raising her children. "In 2005 I got married and in 2006 I gave birth to my first daughter. Today [speaking in 2021], I have three daughters, aged 15, 13, and 12, so I wanted to devote myself to my family. Maybe I could [have combined parenting and sailing], but I believe that when children are still young, you build your relationship with them and lay the foundations to have good contact and communication. I wanted to raise my children myself and live the whole experience of motherhood." (news2u.gr, 17 Apr 2021; greekreporter.com, 14 Mar 2021)

PARTNER
She teamed up with her crewmate Ariadne Spanaki in the 470 class in November 2019. Spanaki was just age three when Tsoulfa won gold at the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens, and the pair secured qualification for Tokyo 2020 at the 2021 Class World Championships in Vilamoura, Portugal. "I know I have been inactive for many years. I knew from the beginning that I was going to do something difficult. At first I said to myself, 'Emilia, you will not succeed'. In the process, however, I convinced myself that nothing is impossible and that I would succeed. [Coach] Andreas Papadopoulos told me that Ariadne was looking for a partner. I said I would try. Slowly I began to experience the same feelings as before. I am a person who wants to improve. There were moments of frustration because the body did not function as before, but stubbornness and effort prevailed. Together with our coach, we have good communication and harmonious cooperation." (greekreporter.com, 14 Mar 2021; kathimerini.gr, 12 Mar 2021)