Mike Gebhardt
Michael William "Gebi" Gebhardt (born November 25, 1965) is a former professional and Olympic windsurfer from the United States, who competed in five consecutive Summer Olympics, in the Olympic sailing discipline/event of windsurfing. He was born in Columbus, Ohio. In the summer of 1981, at the age of 15, Gebhardt learned to windsurf in his back yard in Fort Walton Beach, Florida. Living on Okaloosa Islands waterfront, Gebi spent most of his adolescent days in the water; swimming, surfing, waterskiing, freediving, fishing and sailing Hobie beach cats and weekend cruising on his dad's 50 foot all wooden schooner sailboat, "The Pele". When Gebi's younger brother Jon sailed home on a windsurfer, Gebhardt knew he had found the perfect wind and wave powered sport to take his love of the ocean to the next level. Gebi's Olympic Windsurfing career started in 1984, with the 17-year-old grom windsurfer finished 3rd in the 1984 L.A. US Olympic Trials. Only the winner, Scott Steele earned the right to represent the US in the first ever Olympic Windsurfing Medal Event, which was now part of Olympic yachting for the first time in Olympic history. Gebhardt was Scott Steele's- (1984 Olympic Windsurfing Silver medalist); training partner