TSOULFA Emilia

15 May 1973
48
Female
1.69/5'6''

Events and Medals

Discipline Event Rank Medal
SAL Sailing Women's Two Person Dinghy - 470 15

Schedule

Change
Start Time Location Event Status
Enoshima
Finished
Followed by
Enoshima
Finished
Enoshima
Finished
Followed by
Enoshima
Finished
Zushi
Finished
Followed by
Zushi
Finished
Zushi
Finished
Followed by
Zushi
Finished
Zushi
Finished
Followed by
Zushi
Finished

Biographical Information

Highlights

:
Olympic Games
RankEventYearLocation
14702004Athens, GRE
144702000Sydney, NSW, AUS
174701996Atlanta, GA, USA

ISAF World Championships
RankEventYearLocation
14702003Cadiz, ESP

Class World Championships
RankEventYearLocation
14702002Cagliari, ITA
14702001Koper, SLO
14702000Balatonfured, HUN
184702021Vilamoura, POR

Class European Championships
RankEventYearLocation
94702021Hyeres, FRA
:
Athlete
:
Three daughters
:
Greek
:
Piraeus Sailing Club [Greece]
:
Andreas Papadopoulos
:
She began sailing at age 12. (sailing.org, 01 Jan 2002)
:
Her family encouraged her to try the sport. (sailing.org, 01 Jan 2002)
:
To compete at the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo. (kathimerini.gr, 12 Mar 2021)
:
"You should never stop envisioning and trying for what you believe in." (kathimerini.gr, 12 Mar 2021)
:
In 2002 and 2004 she and her former sailing partner Sofia Bekatorou were jointly named Female World Sailor of the Year. (sailing.org, 01 Jan 2020)

General Interest

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)

Legend
:
Gold Medal Event
:
Silver Medal Event
:
Bronze Medal Event
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