Olympic Sailor Continues to be a Champion For Her Country While Advocating for Women in Greece

With a resume that includes: four-time Olympian, Major with the Hellenic Army, Captain of the Greek sailing circuit, coach, psychologist, and activist, Sofia Bekatorou continues to inspire her nation and the world with her commitment to women’s rights and social justice. One of the most accomplished athletes Greece has ever seen, Sofia won gold in sailing at the 2004 Olympics in Athens and bronze in Beijing four years later. At the 2016 Rio Games, she was the first female flag bearer for a Greek Olympic team in modern history. In the professional sailing circuit, she has been the only female tactician and currently the only female Captain of the Star Sailors League Gold Cup. She also serves as an elite athlete within the Hellenic Armed Forces Sports Department and captains a Hellenic Army Sailing team.

When she’s not out on the water, Sofia is busy advocating for women and girls. For more than 15 years, she’s contributed to the development of Greek sports as an executive member of the Hellenic Olympic Committee. She represents Greek athletes as the President of the Women and Sports Committee and the Vice-President of the Athlete’s Commission of World Sailing. A profoundly benevolent volunteer and activist, Sofia regularly visits Greek women’s prisons with the aim of inspiring and elevating the inmates’ emotional well-being. She also leads a fundraiser for the Network of Abused Women in Greece and actively participates in the events of the Hellenic Association for Women with Breast Cancer. In 2021, Sofia courageously led the Greek #MeToo movement. A survivor of sexual assault herself, she continues to encourage people all over the country to break their “silence,” while lending psychological support to victims of sexual violence.

Sofia is currently on a mission to use the sport of sailing to encourage female athletes to unleash their potential. Women in sailing, both nationally and internationally, have fewer career opportunities, and their success in the sport is not equally recognized in status or salary. Sofia aims to correct the imbalance with the same energy that has earned her the respect of her country and the international community.

Through her GSMP experience, Sofia hopes to learn best practices in creating a project plan for a sustainable nonprofit organization. She would also like to expand her creativity in order to implement innovative programming. For GSMP: Empowering Women through Sports 2021, Sofia will be mentored by Jennifer Keddy, Senior Manager of Global Public Relations and Romina Bongiovanni, Head of Global Communications at New Balance, and their team in Boston, Massachusetts.