| Name |
Heiko KROEGER (GER) |
| Date of Birth |
24193 |
| Where were you born? |
Waldbrol, Germany |
| Age started sailing |
6 |
| Age started racing |
8 |
| What inspired you to take up sailing? |
My Parents |
| How did you buy your first boat? |
My Parents bought me a wooden Optimist |
| Which was your first sailing club? |
Aggertaler Segel Club |
| First boat sailed? |
Keelboat of my Parents |
| First boat raced? |
Optimist |
| First Event competed in? |
Local Optimist regatta 1974 |
| First Event won? |
Laser Cup 1983 on a small lake |
| Principle achievements? |
Work hard but have fun |
| Detail the personal highlights of your sailing career to date? |
4th place Kieler Woche 1991 Laser class, |
| Detail the personal highlights of your sailing career to date? |
Disabled World Champion 1998 and 1999 in the 2.4mR, |
| Detail the personal highlights of your sailing career to date? |
Gold Paralympics 2000 in the 2.4mR, |
| Detail the personal highlights of your sailing career to date? |
World Champion 2001 in the 2.4mR |
| Future sailing aspirations? |
Paralympics Athens 2004 in the 2.4mR and maybe some visits in the Star class |
| Briefly state what sailing means to you? |
Sailing means to me more than a sport - it’s a kind of ideology. Sailing has become a part of me and my thoughts. |
| Who's had the greatest impact or inspiration in your sailing career and why? |
The first impact was given by my dad who bought my first boat. The greatest impact had my friend Michael Marcour who won a Silver medal in Los Angeles as a Star crew. He was winning a lot of Europe and Laser Regattas and as I saw his medal my dream of a medal was founded |
| Who do you consider to be your sailing hero if any? |
Jochen Schumann |
| Profession? |
Employee at a pharmaceutical wholesaler |
| What other sports do you participate in outside of sailing? |
Cycling, Skiing, Inline Skating |
| Who do you consider to be the greatest sailor in the World and why? |
Paul Elvstrom. Not only because he is one of the most successful sailors in the world - he is one of the founders of the modern high competitive sailing |
| Briefly state what being nominated for the ISAF Rolex World Sailor of the Year Award 2001 means to you? |
It's a big honour for me to be nominated. When I see all the well known names standing in the former nomination lists I'm really happy that my name will be on the list this year. I was nominated because of the results of the Paralympics and the Worlds. So I'm really happy that the ISAF makes no difference between disabled and non-disabled sailing. That confirms my opinion that sailing is the sport with the highest grade of integration |
| If voted as the ISAF Rolex World Sailor of the Year 2001, briefly say what will this mean to you? |
To be voted as the ISAF Rolex World Sailor is the greatest honour for a sailor and so it is to me. |
Despite his left arm amputation and classification as a disabled sailor, Heiko manages to win both open and disabled events, with a Gold Medal at the 2000 Paralympic Regatta, followed by winning the 2.4mR World Championships, an open event with 89 entries, 28 of whom were disabled.
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