Sofia Papadopoulou was born in Athens. She is an Olympic Bronze medalist in Sailing at the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing. She has also won a Bronze medal at the Europeans 2007, a Silver medal at Worlds 2002, two Gold medals at the Balkans 2004, a Bronze medal at the Balkans 1998 and 18 National Championships in various classes. Since 1998, she has been participating as an athlete of the National Sailing Team.
Besides her active sports career, Sofia has a Bachelor’s degree as Physical Educator specialized in Sailing (University of Athens). She holds a Master’s degree (University of Peloponnese and the International Olympic Academy), specializing in Olympic Studies, Olympic Education, Organisation and Management of Olympic Events. She is also a Doctoral candidate in Sports Management (University of Peloponnese). She serves on the Regional Games and the Youth Events Sub-Committees of the World Sailing.
She is the first female sailor worldwide selected by the World Sailing to participate in Sport High Performance Coaching Pathway, funded by the IOC. She has been chosen as one of 37 Sports Leaders around the world at the “Sports for Tomorrow” – Tokyo 2020 Olympics educational program (Tsukuba International Academy, Japan).
Sofia manages the "Sailing for Women" program (Hellenic Sailing Federation), promoting inclusive participation and increasing female representation in sailing across different roles regardless of age or disability.
She is an ambassador for Safe Water Sports, aiming to enhance water safety, and also a trainer for the National Sports Integrity Platform EPATHLA.
She actively promotes her sport and the Olympic Values through her participation in various sports events, school visits, and as an Olympian Lecturer at National and International Conferences and Forums.
Sofia continues to compete with a Para athlete, where they have achieved top positions in National and International regattas.
