Enrique Figueroa

Enrique Figueroa Suárez[lower-alpha 1] (born February 25, 1964), also known as "Quique Figueroa", is a Puerto Rican sailor. Figueroa is the only sailor of Puerto Rico to win four gold medals in the Central American-Caribbean Games. He has also competed at five Olympic Games, from 1988 to 2004[1][2] and in 2020.[3] In 1999, Figueroa and his wife Carla Malatrasi won a gold medal in sailing in the Pan Am Hobie competition celebrated in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. On March 3, 2003 the Senate of Puerto Rico honored Enrique Figueroa and his wife Carla Malatrasi by recognizing their achievements.[2]

Enrique Figueroa
Personal information
Full nameEnrique Figueroa Suárez
Nickname(s)Quique
NationalityPuerto Rican
BornFebruary 25, 1964 (1964-02-25) (age 59)
San Juan, Puerto Rico
Spouse(s)Carla Malatrasi
Medal record
Sailing
Representing  Puerto Rico
Pan American Games
Gold medal – first place 1999 Winnipeg Hobie 16
Gold medal – first place 2003 Santo Domingo Hobie 16
Bronze medal – third place 2007 Rio Hobie 16
Gold medal – first place 2011 Guadalajara Hobie 16
Bronze medal – third place 2015 Toronto Hobie 16
Central American & Caribbean Games
Gold medal – first place 2006 Cartagena Hobie 16
Gold medal – first place 2014 Veracruz Hobie 16

Early years

He was born in San Juan, Puerto Rico, where he was raised and where he went to school receiving his primary and secondary education. He first became interested and participated in sailing when he was ten years old. In 1980, when he was sixteen, he participated in his first competition, the 3rd "Hobie 16 worlds" celebrated in St. Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands where he came in 3rd place. The following year (1981), he participated in the 6th Hobie Fourteen Worlds in Fortaleza, Brazil where he came first.[4]

In 1984, Figueroa was in the 7th Hobie 14 Worlds celebrated in Puerto Azul, Philippines and came 3rd; in the same year, he enrolled the Universidad del Sagrado Corazon (Sacred Heart University) in San Juan, Puerto Rico, where he majored in Business Marketing.[4]

Competitions

Among the other competitions in which Figueroa has participated are:

In 1994, Figueroa won the IYRU World Sailing Championship title.[5] He met and married Carla Malatrasi, a sportswoman from Puerto Rico who also loves sailing. In 1999, Figueroa and his wife Malatrasi won a gold medal in sailing in the Pan Am Hobie competition celebrated in Winnipeg, Canada. Figueroa competed in the 2000 Olympic Games held in Sydney, Australia without his wife. She stayed behind to give birth to the first of their two daughters, Isabella Victoria. In 2002, Figueroa and his wife came in 3rd place in the Hobie Racing-ISAF Sailing Games H-16 which took place in Marseille, France in which they went against 36 teams representing 20 nations.[5]

On February 2, 2004, Figueroa and teammate Jorge Hernández, won the Olympic Games Rolex Regatta; they were named champions by beating twenty-nine entries in the tornado fleet.[6] The regatta winners had their sights set on the 2004 Olympics and Partalympic Games in Athens, Greece. 503 sailors participated with a fleet of 323 boats representing 39 nations. Figueroa went to the 2004 Olympic Games and represented Puerto Rico at the Olympics for the fourth time.[2][4]

Honors and recognitions

On March 3, 2003 the Senate of Puerto Rico honored Enrique Figueroa and his wife Carla Malatrasi by recognizing their achievements. Figueroa has been named "Puerto Rican National Sportsman of the Year" in sailing for 10 consecutive years.[2][7]

See also

Notes
  1. In this Spanish name, the first or paternal surname is Figueroa and the second or maternal family name is Suárez.

References
  1. Evans, Hilary; Gjerde, Arild; Heijmans, Jeroen; Mallon, Bill; et al. "Enrique Figueroa". Olympics at Sports-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on 2010-02-25.
  2. "Puerto Rico Herald". puertorico-herald.org.
  3. "Sailing: FIGUEROA SUAREZ Enrique". Tokyo 2020 Olympics. Tokyo Organising Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games. Archived from the original on 2021-10-06.
  4. "Enrique Figueroa takes both 1st and 2nd place in Beachcats Class at Rolex". thebeachcats.com.
  5. "Past Champions". hobieclass.com. Archived from the original on 2006-08-13.
  6. "Perfect Racing in Paradise: 2003 International Rolex Regatta". bcryachts.com. Archived from the original on 2006-10-22.
  7. "Athens Olympics 2004". smh.com.au.
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