Philippe Bergmans

Philippe Bergmans (born 2 May 1974) is a Belgian former sailor, who specialized in the Laser class.[1] He won a gold medal at the 2004 European Laser Championships in Warnemünde, Germany, and was selected to compete for Belgium in three editions of the Olympic Games (1996, 2000, and 2004).[2] Before his retirement came at the end of 2004 season, Bergman trained for the Royal Belgian Sailing Club, under the tutelage of head coach Filip Willems.[3]

Philippe Bergmans
Personal information
Full namePhilippe Bergmans
Nationality Belgium
Born (1974-05-02) 2 May 1974
Ithaca, New York, United States
Height1.83 m (6 ft 0 in)
Weight79 kg (174 lb)
Sailing career
Class(es)Dinghy
ClubRoyal Belgian Sailing Club
CoachFilip Willems

Bergmans made his Olympic debut in Atlanta 1996, finishing eighteenth overall in the inaugural Laser class with a satisfying net grade of 144.[4] At the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney, Bergmans endured most of the races with steady marks before finding his form to the front of the fleet with his only triumph on the last leg, vaulting him to sixteenth with 116 net points.[5][6]

Eight years after competing in his maiden Games, Bergmans qualified for his third Belgian team, as a 30-year-old, in the Laser class at the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens. Building up to his Olympic selection, he put together an exemplary scorecard to win the gold medal by 21 points ahead of Great Britain's Paul Goodison at the Europeans two weeks earlier.[7] Bergmans got off to a credible start of the series with three top-ten marks, but a lackluster display on the remainder of the series saw him stumble down the leaderboard to eighteenth place with a net grade of 159.[8][9]

References
  1. Evans, Hilary; Gjerde, Arild; Heijmans, Jeroen; Mallon, Bill; et al. "Philippe Bergmans". Olympics at Sports-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on 18 April 2020. Retrieved 21 March 2020.
  2. "Bergmans stopt met Laser" [Bergmans quits from Laser] (in Dutch). Het Nieuwsblad. 23 December 2004. Retrieved 21 March 2020.
  3. "WK: Ontgoocheling bij Philippe Bergmans" [World Championships: Disappointment hit on Bergmans]. www.clubracer.be (in Dutch). 25 September 2003. Retrieved 21 March 2020.
  4. "Atlanta 1996: Sailing – Men's Laser Class". Atlanta 1996. LA84 Foundation. p. 458. Retrieved 21 March 2020.
  5. "Sydney 2000: Sailing – Men's Laser Class". Sydney 2000. LA84 Foundation. p. 131. Retrieved 21 March 2020.
  6. "Zeilster Min Dezillie eindigt zesde in Europe-klasse, medaillekansen Godefroid slinken" [Sailor Min Dezillie finished sixth in the Europe class, Godefroid's medal chances dashed] (in Dutch). De Standaard. 29 September 2000. Retrieved 12 August 2018.
  7. "Europese titel voor Philippe Bergmans" [Philippe Bergmans takes the European title] (in Dutch). Het Nieuwsblad. 26 July 2004. Retrieved 21 March 2020.
  8. "Sailing: Mixed Laser Class". Athens 2004. BBC Sport. 15 August 2004. Retrieved 31 January 2013.
  9. "Godefroid (7e) evenaart prestatie Sydney" [Godefroid (7th) matches his Sydney performance] (in Dutch). Het Nieuwsblad. 22 August 2004. Retrieved 12 August 2018.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.