Irina Konstantinova

Irina Emilova Konstantinova-Bontemps (Bulgarian: Ирина Емилова Константинова-Бонтепс; born 10 July 1976 in Sofia) is a Bulgarian windsurfer, who specialized in Neil Pryde RS:X class.[1][2] She represented Bulgaria in four editions of the Olympic Games (2000, 2004, 2008, and 2012), and has also placed outside the top ten in both Mistral and RS:X classes. In 2006, Konstantinova married French windsurfer, two-time world champion, and later 2008 Olympic silver medalist Julien Bontemps before she relocated to France, and trained for ASPTT Nantes.[3][4] As of September 2013, Konstantinova is ranked no. 88 in the world for the sailboard class by the International Sailing Federation.

Irina Konstantinova
Personal information
Full nameIrina Emilova Konstantinova-Bontemps
Nationality Bulgaria
Born (1976-07-10) 10 July 1976
Sofia, Bulgaria
Height1.65 m (5 ft 5 in)
Weight57 kg (126 lb)
Sailing career
Class(es)Sailboard
ClubASPTT Nantes[1]
CoachJean-Claude Menard[1]

Konstantinova made her official debut at the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney, where she placed twenty-fourth in women's Mistral sailboard with a net score of 193 points.[5] At the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens, Konstantinova posted a remarkable grade of 152 to pull off a nineteenth-place effort in the same program.[6]

At the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, Konstantinova narrowly missed out on the medal race by four points, as she finished twelfth overall in the newly introduced RS:X class with a net score of 101.[7]

Twelve years after competing in her first Olympics, Konstantinova qualified for her fourth Bulgarian team, as a 36-year-old, in the RS:X class at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London by receiving a berth from the ISAF Sailing World Championships in Perth, Western Australia.[8] Delivering a mediocre effort in the opening races, Konstantinova dropped to twenty-second place overall in a fleet of twenty-six sailors with a net score of 180 points.[9]

References
  1. "Irina Konstantinova-Bontemps". London 2012 Olympic Games. London Organising Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games. Archived from the original on 6 April 2013. Retrieved 5 September 2013.
  2. Evans, Hilary; Gjerde, Arild; Heijmans, Jeroen; Mallon, Bill; et al. "Irina Konstantinova-Bontemps". Olympics at Sports-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on 27 October 2018. Retrieved 5 September 2013.
  3. Zhao, Ruixue (14 August 2008). "Sailing couple competes for different nations". China Daily. Archived from the original on 24 September 2015. Retrieved 5 September 2013.
  4. "JO-2012 – Voile: Julien Bontemps, "au summum de son art" en planche à voile" [2012 Olympics – Sailing: Julien Bontemps, "at the height of his art" in windsurfing] (in French). Eurosport. 4 July 2012. Archived from the original on 3 December 2013. Retrieved 5 September 2013.
  5. "Sydney 2000: Sailing – Women's Mistral One Design Class" (PDF). Sydney 2000. LA84 Foundation. p. 81. Archived (PDF) from the original on 28 September 2013. Retrieved 5 September 2013.
  6. "Women's Mistral Sailboard". Athens 2004. BBC Sport. 15 August 2004. Archived from the original on 21 May 2014. Retrieved 31 January 2013.
  7. "Women's RS:X". Beijing 2008. NBC Olympics. Archived from the original on 28 July 2012. Retrieved 5 September 2013.
  8. "Irina Konstantinova-Bontemps Set For Fourth Olympic Games". ISAF. 24 February 2012. Archived from the original on 29 May 2013. Retrieved 5 September 2013.
  9. "Women's RS:X". London 2012 Olympic Games. London Organising Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games. Archived from the original on 13 September 2012. Retrieved 27 November 2012.
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