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Florian Spalteholz

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Florian Spalteholz
Personal information
Full nameFlorian Spalteholz
Nationality Germany
Born (1977-03-04) 4 March 1977 (age 47)
Hamburg, West Germany
Height1.77 m (5 ft 9+12 in)
Weight70 kg (154 lb)
Sailing career
ClassMultihull
ClubNorddeutscher Regatta Verein
CoachRigo de Nijs (NOR)

Florian Spalteholz (born 4 March 1977) is a German former sailor, who specialized in the multihull (Tornado) class.[1] Together with his partner Johannes Polgar, he was named one of the country's top sailors in the mixed multihull catamaran for the 2008 Summer Olympics, finishing in eighth place.[2] A member of North German Regatta Club (German: Norddeutscher Regatta Verein), Spalteholz trained most of his competitive sailing career under the tutelage of his Norwegian-born personal coach Rigo de Nijs.[3]

Spalteholz competed for the German sailing squad, as a 31-year-old skipper in the Tornado class, at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing. Leading up to their maiden Games, he and skipper Polgar topped the selection criteria in a duel against brothers Tino and Niko Mittelmeier for the country's Tornado berth, based on their cumulative scores attained at two international regattas stipulated by the German Sailing Federation (German: Deutscher Segler Verband).[4] The German duo started off the race series in the middle of the fleet until the shifty wind conditions propelled them to the front on the final half with a single victory and a triad of top-five marks, making both Spalteholz and Polgar eligible for the medal race.[5][6] An unforeseen capsize by the German duo on the initial run, however, saw their medal chances vanish, plummeting them further to eighth overall with 74 net points.[2][7][8]

References

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  1. ^ Evans, Hilary; Gjerde, Arild; Heijmans, Jeroen; Mallon, Bill; et al. "Florian Spalteholz". Olympics at Sports-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on 17 April 2020. Retrieved 27 June 2020.
  2. ^ a b "Spain wins gold in Tornado as Australia loses gamble". Sina Corp. 21 August 2008. Retrieved 27 June 2020.
  3. ^ "Das deutsche Dreimal-Sechs-Team für Olympia" [The three-time, six-crew German team for the Olympics] (in German). Schleswig-Holsteinischer Zeitungsverlag. 30 June 2008. Retrieved 27 June 2020.
  4. ^ "Die ersten Hamburger für Olympia" [The Hamburg natives are going to the Olympics] (in German). Bild. 24 April 2008. Retrieved 27 June 2020.
  5. ^ "Echavarri and Paz Tie With Bundock and Ashby". World Sailing. 17 August 2008. Retrieved 23 June 2020.
  6. ^ "Echavarri and Paz Team To Beat In Tornado Medal Race". World Sailing. 20 August 2008. Retrieved 23 June 2020.
  7. ^ "Echavarri and Paz of Spain Win Tornado Gold". World Sailing. 20 August 2008. Retrieved 23 June 2020.
  8. ^ "Beijing 2008: Open Tornado Class". Beijing 2008. NBC Olympics. Archived from the original on 11 July 2012. Retrieved 11 July 2012.
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