Nick Dempsey

Nick Dempsey
Personal information
Birth nameNicholas Charles Dempsey
NicknameDempo[1]
NationalityBritish
Born (1980-08-13) 13 August 1980 (age 44)
Norwich, England[2]
Height1.80 m (5 ft 11 in)
Weight70 kg (154 lb)[3]
Sport
CountryUnited Kingdom
SportWindsurfing
EventMen's RS:X class
Coached byDom Tidey
Medal record
Men's sailing
Representing  Great Britain
Silver medal – second place 2016 Rio de Janeiro RS:X
Silver medal – second place 2012 London RS:X
Bronze medal – third place 2004 Athens Mistral

Nicholas Charles Dempsey[4] (born 13 August 1980 in Norwich) is a retired British windsurfer, who lives in Poole, Dorset. He became the first man to win three Olympics medals in windsurfing when he won silver in the 2016 Rio Olympics, adding to a silver won in the 2012 London Olympics, and a bronze from the 2004 Athens Olympics.[5] He is also twice world champion, winning gold in 2009 and 2013.[6]

Career

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Dempsey booked his first international success at the 1998 Mistral Youth World Championships, where he won the bronze medal. As a senior his first win was clinched at the North Sea Cup Series in Pevensey Bay, and an additional third place in the Kiel Week.

During the 2000 Summer Olympics he finished in 16th position. He continued winning competitions in 2001 and beyond like Athens Eurolymp Week, Kieler Woche and the Spa Regatta before finishing third at the 2004 Summer Olympics to take the windsurfing bronze medal.

When switching to the RS:X class he won race after race, resulting in the first spot on the RS:X world rankings. He took the gold medal at the 2006 RS:X European Championships. At the 2006 RS:X World Championships he finished in 5th position.

At the 2008 Summer Olympics he came 4th in the RS:X Class windsurfing class with 60 points. He was 2 points behind Israeli bronze medalist Shahar Tzuberi.

At the 2012 Summer Olympics, Dempsey won the silver medal in the RS:X Class windsurfing class, behind Dorian van Rijsselberge of the Netherlands.[7]

In the 2016 Summer Olympics, Dempsey again won the silver in the RS:X Class, again behind van Rijsselberge. With three medals won in the Olympics, he became the most decorated men's Olympic windsurfer.[8]

Personal life

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Dempsey was married to yachtswoman Sarah Ayton from 2008 to 2012 with whom he has two sons[9] He later married yachtswoman Hannah Mills with whom he has a daughter.[10]

Achievements

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Year Position Windsurfing class Event
2016 RS:X – Men's Windsurfer Brazil 2016 Olympic Games – Men's sailboard
2015 RS:X – Men's Windsurfer 2015 Sailing World Cup Weymouth and Portland
2013 RS:X – Men's Windsurfer 2013 RS:X World Windsurfing Championships Búzios[11]
2012 RS:X – Men's Windsurfer United Kingdom 2012 Olympic Games – Men's sailboard
2009 RS:X – Men's Windsurfer 2009 RS:X World Windsurfing Championships Weymouth and Portland
2008 4. RS:X – Men's Windsurfer China 2008 Olympic Games – Men's sailboard
2006 RS:X – Men's Windsurfer Turkey 2006 RS:X European Championships
2006 RS:X – Men's Windsurfer Netherlands Holland Regatta
2006 RS:X – Men's Windsurfer France Semaine Olympique Française
2006 RS:X – Men's Windsurfer Spain HRH Princess Sofia Trophy
2006 RS:X – Men's Windsurfer United States Rolex Miami OCR
2004 Mistral – Men Greece 2004 Summer Olympics
2003 Mistral – Men Greece Saronikos Gulf Regatta
2003 Mistral – Men Spain XXXIV Princess Sofia Trophy
2003 Mistral – Men Greece Athens Eurolymp Week
2002 Mistral – Men Germany Kieler Woche
2002 Mistral – Men United Kingdom North Sea Cup Series – Herne Bay
2002 Mistral – Men Netherlands Spa Regatta
2002 Mistral – Men New Zealand Sail Auckland
2002 Mistral – Men Australia Sail Melbourne
2001 Mistral – Men Germany Kieler Woche
2001 Mistral – Men Spain XXXII Princess Sofia Trophy
2001 Mistral – Men Greece Athens Eurolymp Week
2000 16. Mistral – Men Australia 2000 Summer Olympics
2000 Mistral – Men Germany Kieler Woche
2000 Mistral – Men United Kingdom North Sea Cup Series – Pevensey Bay
2000 Mistral – Men Egypt Penta Mistral Cup
1998 Mistral – Men South Africa 1998 Mistral World Youth Championship

References

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  1. ^ "Sailor Biography: Nick Dempsey". World Sailing.
  2. ^ "Nick Dempsey – Windsurfing". Olympics 30. Archived from the original on 13 September 2016. Retrieved 22 August 2016.
  3. ^ "Nick Dempsey". BBC Sport.
  4. ^ GRO reference: September 1980, Vol. 10, Page 59389/S
  5. ^ "Rio Olympics 2016: Nick Dempsey wins historic windsurfing silver medal in RS:X". BBC Sport. 15 August 2016.
  6. ^ "Nick Dempsey". RYA.
  7. ^ Morris, Steven (7 August 2012). "London 2012: Great Britain's Nick Dempsey wins windsurfing silver medal". The Guardian. Retrieved 7 August 2012.
  8. ^ "Nick Dempsey brings windsurfing career to an end with silver medal at Rio Olympics 2016". The Daily Telegraph. 14 August 2016.
  9. ^ Kidd, Patrick (8 August 2012). "Sacrifice that brought a family silver". The Times.
  10. ^ Cary, Tom. "'My arms were spinning furiously': Hannah Mills helps grind Great Britain to SailGP victory". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 17 October 2024.
  11. ^ "2013 RS:X WORLD WINDSURFING CHAMPIONSHIPS" (PDF). International RS:X Class Association.
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