Bekatorou

A prosecutor is urging the conviction of a 40-year-old sailing coach accused of rape and sexual exploitation of a minor.

The coach, previously sentenced to 13 years for sexual exploitation but acquitted of rape in the first trial, now faces retrial following a prosecution appeal.

Accusations of rape were levelled at a prominent Greek actor and director on Monday, becoming the latest in a string of recent allegations of sexual misconduct in the acting and sporting worlds.

Before she could join sailing classes near her home in Athens, Sofia Bekatorou had to show an instructor she could tie a basic knot properly. Passing the test at age 8 changed her life.

Greece's president praised Olympic sailing champion Sofia Bekatorou for dissolving "a conspiracy of silence" by reporting a historic allegation of sexual assault by a sports official.

Bekatorou, who won a gold medal in the 2004 Olympics, told the Greek edition of Marie Claire last month that she had suffered the abuse in 1998 when she was 21.

The Stavros Niarchos Foundation (SNF) announced on Μοnday it was suspending its funding to the Greek sailing federation noting its "shock and dissatisfaction" over the body's handling of the rape allegations made by former Olympic sailing champion Sofia Bekatorou.

Two members of the board of Greece's sailing frederation have resigned since athlete Sofia Bekatorou, an Olympic Gold medalist, revealed she had been sexually assaulted by a board member in 1998.

Posts full of "bravos" and "respect" flooded the internet. As a four-time Olympian, winner of a gold medal in Athens in 2004 and a bronze in Beijing four years later, Sofia Bekatorou is used to praise. This time, however, the praise was not about her sailing prowess.