Xabier Fernández Gaztañaga (born 19 October 1976 in Ibarra,

Gipuzkoa Gipuzkoa ( , ; ; ) is a province of Spain and a historical territory of the autonomous community of the Basque Country. Its capital city is Donostia-San Sebastián. Gipuzkoa shares borders with the French department of Pyrénées-Atlantiqu ...

, Basque Country) is a

Basque Basque may refer to: * Basques, an ethnic group of Spain and France * Basque language, their language Places * Basque Country (greater region), the homeland of the Basque people with parts in both Spain and France * Basque Country (autonomous co ...

Spanish

sailor A sailor, seaman, mariner, or seafarer is a person who works aboard a watercraft as part of its crew, and may work in any one of a number of different fields that are related to the operation and maintenance of a ship. While the term ''sailor'' ...

and olympic champion. Fernandez won a gold medal in the '' 49er class'' with Iker Martínez at the

2004 Summer Olympics The 2004 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXVIII Olympiad (), and officially branded as Athens 2004 (), were an international multi-sport event held from 13 to 29 August 2004 in Athens, Greece. The Games saw 10,625 athletes ...

Athens Athens ( ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Greece, largest city of Greece. A significant coastal urban area in the Mediterranean, Athens is also the capital of the Attica (region), Attica region and is the southe ...

. The same pairing won the silver medal at the

2008 Summer Olympics The 2008 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXIX Olympiad () and officially branded as Beijing 2008 (), were an international multisport event held from 8 to 24 August 2008, in Beijing, China. A total of 10,942 athletes fro ...

. He has been a crewmember and skipper in the Volvo Ocean Race five times, onboard: movistar (2005–06), Telefónica Blue (2008–09), Telefónica (2011–12), and MAPFRE (2014–15, 2017–18). He sailed with

Luna Rossa Challenge Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli, originally named Prada Challenge, then Luna Rossa Challenge, is an Italian sailboat racing syndicate first created to compete for the 2000 America's Cup. It won the Louis Vuitton Cup on its first attempt in 2000, but t ...

in the

2013 Louis Vuitton Cup The 8th Louis Vuitton Cup was held during July and August 2013, in San Francisco, California, United States of America. The three contenders were Artemis Racing (Sweden), Emirates Team New Zealand (New Zealand), and Luna Rossa Challenge (Italy). ...

. * 2001 World Championship Malcesine (Italy), 2nd position; * 2001 European Championship Brest (France ), 2nd position; * 2002 World Championship Kāneʻohe (United States of America), 1st position; * 2002 European Championship Grimstad (Norway), 1st position; * 2003 European Championship Laredo ( Spain), 3rd position; * 2004 Olympic Games Athens ( Greece), 1st position; * 2004 World Championship Athens ( Greece), 1st position; * 2006 European Championship Weymouth (United kingdom), 3rd position; * 2007 European Championship Marsala (Italy), 1st position; * 2008 European Championship S'Arena ( Spain), 1st position; * 2008 Olympic Games Beijing (China ), 2nd position;

References

1976 births Living people Sportspeople from Gipuzkoa Spanish male sailors (sport) Olympic sailors for Spain Olympic gold medalists for Spain Olympic medalists in sailing Medalists at the 2004 Summer Olympics Medalists at the 2008 Summer Olympics Olympic silver medalists for Spain Sailors at the 2004 Summer Olympics – 49er Sailors at the 2008 Summer Olympics – 49er Sailors at the 2012 Summer Olympics – 49er 49er class world champions ISAF World Sailor of the Year (male) Volvo Ocean Race sailors Luna Rossa Challenge sailors 2013 America's Cup sailors World champions in sailing for Spain People from Tolosaldea 21st-century Spanish people {{Spain-yachtracing-bio-stub