Robert Scheidt, a legend, the lord of the wind

Robert Scheidt is a Bazilian sailor, multiple olympic medalist; he is the most-awarded Olympic sailboat sailor in the world who is still in business. He is also the only athlete in the world who has always stepped up on the podium.

He won 2 golden medals in Atlanta and Athens in the Laser class, two silver medals, one in Sidney in the Laser class and another one in Beijing in the Star class . He conquered the bronze medal in London in the Star class with Frederik Lööf. He also won 9 World championships in the Laser class and three in the Star class.
Robert came to Lake Garda with Frederick Lööf in 2009 to train for the London Olympic games of 2012 and later decided to stay and live here.
When the Star class was removed from the Olympic games in 2013, Robert went back to the Laser class and right afterwards he became world champion.
He is now training to take part to his sixth Olympic games in Rio.

Robert, you came to Lake Garda with Frederik Lööf in 2009, you came back to train for the 2012 Olympic Games and now you live here. Can you tell us a about it?
I came to Lake Garda not just because of sailing, I also liked the place, the atmosphere, the Lake and the easy lifestyle.

Why do athletes (as you and Fredrik Lööf) come to Norther Lake Garda and Malcesine for their training?
We did a lot of speed testing and manoeuvres, Freddy and me, we pushed each other hard every day so we both got better and better.
Fraglia Vela Malcesine was a very good host for us. We could sail in the morning with Pelèr or with Ora in the afternoon.

All sailors say that Fraglia Vela Malcesine is a sailing club of excellence where they feel comfortable, why?
Fraglia Vela Malcesine has great facilities for sailors, a very good harbour, a nice restaurant, a good gym plus the people there are always friendly, we felt at home there.

You have sailed all around the world: Rio, Miami, Weymouth, Hyeres. You often train at Lake Garda, what makes Lake Garda such a good location for sailing?
We can sail almost every day of the year and we can choose conditions in which we want to train. Depending on the time of day and the place, you can get almost every condition of sailing.
It's a beautiful place as well, unique in the World...

As a sailor you need both "on water" and "dry-land" training. How do you get organized when you are on Lake Garda?
Now that I’m back to Laser, a part from the time on the boat, I do a lot of training at the gym, mountain bike and some swimming.

How would you convince a child to start sailing?
I think it is important to have a good group of friends, they have to be all together so that they can enjoy each other company while sailing. I would also make them fell how nice it is just to steer a boat using the wind.

As a Brazilian living at Lake Garda: what do you expect from Rio Olympic Games 2016?
It's a big chance in my life as I come from a big City (Sao Paulo) with more than 10 Million people, for now I enjoy living here a lot. As for Rio, the main goal for me is to be as much prepared as I can, in order to be calm and inspired for that week!!!

Thank you Robert and good luck!