Sailing at the 1948 Summer Olympics

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Sailing
at the Games of the XIV Olympiad
1948 Sailing symbol.png
Sailing symbol of the 1948 Summer Olympics
Venues Torbay
DatesFirst race: 3 August 1948 (1948-08-03)
Last race: 12 August 1948 (1948-08-12)
Competitors217 from 23 nations
Boats75
  1936
1952  

Sailing at the 1948 Summer Olympics in London consisted of a total of five sailing classes (disciplines). For each class, seven races were scheduled from 312 August 1948 Torquay/Torbay, on England's south coast. [1]

The sailing was done on the triangular type Olympic courses. The start was made in the center of a set of 8 numbered marks that were placed in a circle. During the starting procedure, the sequence of the marks was communicated to the sailors. By picking the mark that was most upwind, the start could always be made upwind. This system is, at least in certain German lakes, still in use.

Great Britain's last surviving Gold Medal Champion from the 1948 Summer Olympics was David Bond, who sailed for Great Britain in the Swallow Class.

Venue

As quoted from the official report, "Torquay was, perhaps, an inevitable choice as the venue. It is exposed only to easterly winds, which are rare in summer. Moreover, it is remarkably free from strong tides and currents and other navigational hazards, and thus there is nothing or next to nothing to be gained from the " local knowledge " which is so profitable in difficult waters." [2]

The sailing event a separate opening ceremony which took place in Torquay, due to its distance from London. The opening was made by IOC chairman J. Sigfrid Edström.

A 14 nmi (26 km; 16 mi) course was created for the Dragon and 6 Metre. The Star and Swallow sailed a little more inshore on a 10 nmi (19 km; 12 mi) course, while a 6 nmi (11 km; 6.9 mi) course was set close to the coast for the Firefly.

The closing ceremony was observed by 10,000 spectators. The medals were handed by Sir Ralph Gore, President of the International Yacht Racing Union.

Competition

Overview

ContinentsCountriesClassesBoatsMaleFemaleReserves
423575221037

Continents

Countries

Countries that participated in the Sailing event of the 1948 Olympic Games.
Blue: Water
Gray: Never participated in OG
Dark Gray: Participated in earlier OG
Green: Country participated for the first time
Dark Blue: Country participated also on previous games
Red: Country boycotted the sailing event of the OG 1948 Olympic Sailing Countries.png
Countries that participated in the Sailing event of the 1948 Olympic Games.
Blue: Water
Gray: Never participated in OG
Dark Gray: Participated in earlier OG
Green: Country participated for the first time
Dark Blue: Country participated also on previous games
Red: Country boycotted the sailing event of the OG
Flag of Argentina (1861-2010).svg  Argentina  (ARG)Flag of Australia.svg  Australia  (AUS)Flag of Austria.svg  Austria  (AUT)
Flag of Belgium (civil).svg  Belgium  (BEL)Flag of Brazil (1889-1960).svg  Brazil  (BRA)Flag of Canada (1921-1957).svg  Canada  (CAN)
Flag of Cuba (3-2).svg  Cuba  (CUB)Flag of Denmark.svg  Denmark  (DEN)Flag of Spain (1945-1977).svg  Spain  (ESP)
Flag of Finland.svg  Finland  (FIN)Flag of France.svg  France  (FRA)Flag of the United Kingdom (3-2).svg  Great Britain  (GBR)
Flag of Greece (1828-1978).svg  Greece  (GRE)Flag of Ireland (3-2).svg  Ireland  (IRL)Flag of Italy.svg  Italy  (ITA)
Flag of the Netherlands.svg  Netherlands  (NED)Flag of Norway.svg  Norway  (NOR)Flag of Portugal.svg  Portugal  (POR)
Flag of South Africa (1928-1982).svg  South Africa  (RSA)Civil Ensign of Switzerland (Pantone).svg  Switzerland  (SUI)Flag of Sweden.svg  Sweden  (SWE)
Flag of Uruguay.svg  Uruguay  (URU)US flag 48 stars.svg  United States  (USA)

Classes (equipment)

Prior to 1948, sailing had been a gender-neutral sport where male and female competitors competed together. For the 1948 Games, the IOC decided the events should only be open to male sailors. This was the only time this happened until separate male and female events were introduced in some classes in the 1988 Summer Olympics. [3]

ClassTypeEventSailorsTrapezeMainsailJib/GenoaSpinnakerFirst OGOlympics so far
Firefly Dinghy Mars symbol.svg 10++19481
Star Keelboat Mars symbol.svg 20++19323
Swallow (Golondrina) Keelboat Mars symbol.svg 20+++19481
Dragon Keelboat Mars symbol.svg 30+++19481
6 Metre Keelboat Mars symbol.svg 50+++19088

Mars symbol.svg = Male, Venus symbol.svg = Female, Cercle noir 100%25.svg = Open

Medal summary

EventGoldSilverBronze
Firefly insigna.png

1948: Firefly
details

Flag of Denmark.svg  Denmark  (DEN)
Paul Elvstrøm
US flag 48 stars.svg  United States  (USA)
Ralph Evans
Flag of the Netherlands.svg  Netherlands  (NED)
Koos de Jong
NO Class insigna.png

1948: Star
details

US flag 48 stars.svg  United States  (USA)
Hilary Smart
Paul Smart
Flag of Cuba.svg  Cuba  (CUB)
Carlos de Cárdenas
Carlos de Cárdenas Jr.
Flag of the Netherlands.svg  Netherlands  (NED)
Adriaan Maas
Edward Stutterheim
Swallow insigna.png

1948: Swallow
details

Flag of the United Kingdom.svg  Great Britain  (GBR)
Stewart Morris
David Bond
Flag of Portugal.svg  Portugal  (POR)
Duarte de Almeida Bello
Fernando Pinto Coelho Bello
US flag 48 stars.svg  United States  (USA)
Lockwood Pirie
Owen Torrey
Dragon insigna.png

1948: Dragon
details

Flag of Norway.svg  Norway  (NOR)
Thor Thorvaldsen
Haakon Barfod
Sigve Lie
Flag of Sweden.svg  Sweden  (SWE)
Folke Bohlin
Gösta Brodin
Hugo Johnson
Flag of Denmark.svg  Denmark  (DEN)
William Berntsen
Klaus Baess
Ole Berntsen
6 Metre insigna.png

1948: 6 Metre
details

US flag 48 stars.svg  United States  (USA)
Herman Whiton
Alfred Loomis
Michael Mooney
James Smith
James Weekes
Flag of Argentina.svg  Argentina  (ARG)
Enrique Sieburger Sr.
Emilio Homps
Rodolfo Rivademar
Rufino Rodríguez de la Torre
Enrique Sieburger Jr.
Julio Sieburger
Flag of Sweden.svg  Sweden  (SWE)
Tore Holm
Karl-Robert Ameln
Martin Hindorff
Torsten Lord
Gösta Salén

Medal table

RankNationGoldSilverBronzeTotal
1US flag 48 stars.svg  United States  (USA)2114
2Flag of Denmark.svg  Denmark  (DEN)1012
3Flag of the United Kingdom (3-2).svg  Great Britain  (GBR)1001
Flag of Norway.svg  Norway  (NOR)1001
5Flag of Sweden.svg  Sweden  (SWE)0112
6Flag of Argentina (1861-2010).svg  Argentina  (ARG)0101
Flag of Cuba (3-2).svg  Cuba  (CUB)0101
Flag of Portugal.svg  Portugal  (POR)0101
9Flag of the Netherlands.svg  Netherlands  (NED)0022
Totals (9 entries)55515

Remarks

Sailing

Sailors

During the Sailing regattas at the 1948 Summer Olympics, the following people (among others) competed in the various classes:

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References

  1. "Sailing at the 1948 Summer Olympics". Olympedia. Retrieved 29 May 2020.
  2. 1 2 Organising Committee for the XIV Olympiad London 1948 (1951). The Official Report of the Organising Committee for the XIV Olympiad London 1948 (PDF).{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  3. Henshall, Dougal (10 August 2018). "70 years ago this week: The story of singlehanded sailing at the London 1948 Olympics". yachtsandyachting.com. Retrieved 22 March 2023.

Further reading

50°27′27″N3°31′49″W / 50.4574°N 3.5303°W / 50.4574; -3.5303