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Sailing at the Summer Olympics facts for kids

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Sailing at the Summer Olympics
Sailing pictogram.svg
Governing body WS
Events 10 (men: 4; women: 4; mixed: 2)
Games
  • 1896
  • 1900
  • 1904
  • 1908
  • 1912
  • 1920
  • 1924
  • 1928
  • 1932
  • 1936
  • 1948
  • 1952
  • 1956
  • 1960
  • 1964
  • 1968
  • 1972
  • 1976
  • 1980
  • 1984
  • 1988
  • 1992
  • 1996
  • 2000
  • 2004
  • 2008
  • 2012
  • 2016
  • 2020
  • Medalists

Sailing (also known as yachting until 2000) has been one of the Olympic sports since the Games of the I Olympiad, held in Athens, Greece, in 1896. Despite being scheduled in the first Olympic program, the races were canceled due to severe weather conditions. Apart from the 1904 Summer Olympics, sailing has been present in every edition of the Olympic Games.

  • For the scoring system used for sailing events during the Olympics look at: Scoring systems for Sailing at the Summer Olympics
  • A directory page to all Olympic sailors is given at: List of sailors at the Summer Olympics
  • Information about the Sailing at specific Summer Olympics or the used equipment can be found using the table below:
  • Gender – Until 1988, sailing was a gender neutral 'open' sport where male and female sailors competed together. Even in 1900, several women participated at the Olympic sailing regattas. The exception to this is the post-World War II 1948 Olympics where the IOC decided the events should only be open to male sailors. In 1988, the first exclusive women's sailing event was introduced. Sailing was also one of the first sports to introduce a compulsory mixed gender events in 2016 the Mixed Multihull was introduced.
  • Discipline – Most of the Olympic sailing competitions were done in what is called a fleet race format. At some Olympics, however, was also the match race format, or a mixed fleet/match race format.
  • Classes – Over time, different classes of boat featured at the Olympics. Initially, the classes were specified in tons, then later in meters, feet or generic names. For the discontinued classes, the Vintage Yachting Games were introduced in 2008.
  • Medal Tables – Great Britain leads the Olympic sailing medal ranking table.

Summary

Games Year Events Best Nation
1 1896 - -
2 1900 13  France
3
4 1908 4  Great Britain
5 1912 4  Norway
6
7 1920 14  Norway
8 1924 3  Norway
9 1928 3  Norway
10 1932 4  United States
11 1936 4  Germany
12
13
14 1948 5  United States
15 1952 5  United States
16 1956 5  Sweden
Games Year Events Best Nation
17 1960 5  Denmark
18 1964 5  United Team of Germany
19 1968 5  United States
20 1972 6  Australia
21 1976 6  West Germany
22 1980 6  Brazil
23 1984 7  United States
24 1988 8  France
25 1992 10  Spain
26 1996 10  Brazil
27 2000 11  Great Britain
28 2004 11  Great Britain
29 2008 11  Great Britain
30 2012 10  Australia
31 2016 10  Great Britain
32 2020 10  Great Britain

Note: Competitions were cancelled at the 1896 Olympics.

Timeline

Olympics Competitor medal
1964 Summer Olympic Games competitor medal awarded to Irish yachtsman Eddie Kelliher
  • 1896: A regatta of sailing boats was on the program for 31 March 1896 (1896-03-31) in Athens. However this event had to be given up since there were no boats available from Greece and no foreign entries.
  • 1900: Two venues were used to host the 1900 Sailing events. One in Meulan 20 May 1900 (1900-05-20) till 27 May 1900 (1900-05-27) for the inshore races on the river Seine. And one in Le Havre 1 August 1900 (1900-08-01) till 5 August 1900 (1900-08-05) for the Offshore races on the English Channel. In Meulan six classes were used over several days. About 55 boats and a little less than 150 sailors are documented, included the first female gold medalist Hélène de Pourtalès. In Le Havre two classes were used for the offshore event. About 10 boats made the competition. Crewmembers were not documented, just the owners and/or helmsmen.
  • 1904: Sailing was not a part of the Olympic program.
  • 1908: At the 1907 The Hague Conference of the IOC Ryde at the Isle of Wight was appointed to host the sailing regattas, for all classes, of the games of the IVth Olympiad. However, when there were only two British entries for the 12 Metre matches, and both yachts were located at the Firth of Clyde, the decision was made to use Hunters Quay as a second venue. In 1906 international meetings were organized to solve the problem of the differences in the performance of the different yachts. Finally in Paris, October 1907 the first International Rule was ratified. During the meeting in 1907 the IOC made the decision to use the International Rule classes for the Olympic regattas (6, 7, 8 and 12 Metre).
  • 1912: When Sweden was assigned to host the 1912 Olympic Games two cities wanted to be the venue for the sailing program. Gothenburg and Stockholm. Gothenburg claimed that it was a much shorter passage for the overseas entries (about 525 nautical miles (972 km) less) than it was to Stockholm. Stockholm however got the sailing program because of then all Olympic events should be in the same vicinity. As specific location Nynäshamn, about 60 kilometres (37 mi) from Stockholm was chosen. Also the decision was made to use the International Rule classes again for the Olympic regattas (6, 8, 10 and 12 Metre).
  • 1920: When Antwerp was assigned to host the 1920 Olympic Games, Ostend was appointed for the sailing contests. Ostend – "The Queen of the Belgian sea-side resorts" – offers fair condition for sailing on the North Sea. Although there are tidal conditions the current is reasonable predictable. Local knowledge does not have too much influence on the races. The wind conditions are also good for sailing. In the case of the 1920 Summer Olympic regatta's the prevailing breeze did not show. Most races had to be sailed under light air conditions. The competition was open for a total of sixteen classes. Two classes had a "No show".
  • 1924: After the massive number of classes used four years earlier only three classes were selected for the 1924 Olympics. Again there was a one design class. The two other classes were construction classes of the International Metre type. Two locations were used: Meulan was the venue for the Olympic regatta's in the French National Monotype. The host club for the 1924 Olympic Sailing at Meulan was the Cercle de la Voile de Paris. The race conditions at Meulan during the Olympic regatta were not ideal. The light breeze during the first elimination series could hardly make the sailing interesting. Le Havre was the venue for the Olympic regattas for the 6 and 8 Metre. The host club for the 1924 Olympic Sailing at Le Havre was the Société des Régates du Havre. Due to the Easterly winds the courses at Le Havre were mostly reaches. Sailing a windward leg was not really tested. This however was more or less custom for that era. Furthermore, this was the first Olympic regatta were just one competing team per class per country was allowed.
  • 1928: Like in the 1924 Olympics only three classes were chosen. There was the revival of the 12' Dinghy from the 1920 Olympics and again the proven 6 and 8 Metre classes. This Olympic sailing regatta can be considered as the first Olympic regatta with a high quality of racing since there were: Well selected classes that represented sailing; Sufficient competitors per class and good and fair sailing conditions. The only disadvantage was the daily passing of the Oranje Locks.

Olympic Classes & Events

Over the years the classes used in the Olympic Sailing Program were replaced from time to time. This table shows this development:

Class Disc Gender 96 00 04 08 12 16 20 24 28 32 36 40 44 48 52 56 60 64 68 72 76 80 84 88 92 96 00 04 08 12 16 20 24 Sailed Events
Boats of the Royal Navy Fleet Male (●) 0
0-½ ton Fleet Open x2 2
½-1 ton Fleet Open x2 2
1-2 ton Fleet Open x2 2
2-3 ton Fleet Open x2 2
3-10 ton Fleet Open x2 2
10-20 ton Fleet Open ● 1
20+ ton Fleet Open ● 1
Open class Fleet Open ● 1
6 Metre (1907 Rule) Fleet Open ● ● ● 10
6 Metre (1919 Rule) Fleet Open ● ● ● ●
6 Metre (1933 Rule) Fleet Open ● (●) ●
6 Metre (1933 Rule) Fleet Male ●
6.5 Metre Fleet Open ● 1
7 Metre Fleet Open ● ● 2
8 Metre (1907 Rule) Fleet Open ● ● ● 8
8 Metre (1919 Rule) Fleet Open ● ● ● ●
8 Metre (1933 Rule) Fleet Open ●
8.5 Metre Fleet Open (●) 0
9 Metre Fleet Open (●) 0
10 Metre (1907 Rule) Fleet Open ● ● 3
10 Metre (1919 Rule) Fleet Open ●
12 Metre (1907 Rule) Fleet Open ● ● ● 4
12 Metre (1919 Rule) Fleet Open ●
15 Metre (1907 Rule) Fleet Open (●) 0
12 foot dinghy Fleet Open ● ● (●) 2
18 foot dinghy Fleet Open ● 1
30m2 class Fleet Open ● 1
40m2 class Fleet Open ● 1
French National Monotype 1924 Fleet Open ● 1
Snowbird Fleet Open ● 1
Star Fleet Open ● ● (●) ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● 18
Fleet Male ● ● ● ●
O-Jolle Fleet Open ● 1
Dragon Fleet Open ● ● ● ● ● ● 7
Fleet Male ●
Swallow Fleet Male ● 1
Firefly Fleet Male ● 1
Finn Fleet Open ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● 18
Fleet Male ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ●
5,5 Metre Fleet Open ● ● ● ● ● 5
Sharpie 12m2 Fleet Open ● 1
Flying Dutchman Fleet Open ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● 9
Soling Fleet Open ● ● ● ● ● 8
Fleet/
Match		 Open ● ● ●
Tempest Fleet Open ● ● 2
Tornado Fleet Open ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● 9
470 Fleet Open ● ● ● 22
Fleet Male ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ●
Fleet Female ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ●
Fleet Mixed ●
Windglider Fleet Open ● 1
Division II Fleet Open ● 1
Lechner Fleet Male ● 2
Fleet Female ●
Europe Fleet Female ● ● ● ● 4
Mistral Fleet Open ● ● ● 6
Fleet Female ● ● ●
ILCA 7 (Laser) Fleet Open ● ● ● 8
Fleet Male ● ● ● ● ●
ILCA 6 (Laser Radial) Fleet Female ● ● ● ● ● 5
49er Fleet Open ● ● 7
Fleet Male ● ● ● ● ●
49er FX Fleet Female ● ● ● 3
Yngling Fleet Female ● ● 2
RS:X Fleet Male ● ● ● ● 8
Fleet Female ● ● ● ●
Elliott 6m Match Female ● 1
Nacra 17 Fleet Mixed ● ● ● 3
iQFoil Fleet Male ● 2
Fleet Female ●
Formula Kite Fleet Male ● 2
Fleet Female ●
total (1) 13 0 4
(5)		 4 14
(16)		 3 3 4 4 (3) 5 5 5 5 5 5 6 6 6 7 8 10 10 11 11 11 10 10 10 10 205
Class 96 00 04 08 12 16 20 24 28 32 36 40 44 48 52 56 60 64 68 72 76 80 84 88 92 96 00 04 08 12 16 20 24 Sailed Events

Gender Criteria: Open events have no gender requirements where as mixed events require male and female competitors
Events Notes: Events in "()" Brackets were scheduled but did not take place and therefore not included in the totals

Boat types

Boat type 96 00 04 08 12 16 20 24 28 32 36 40 44 48 52 56 60 64 68 72 76 80 84 88 92 96 00 04 08 12 16 20 24 Sailed Events
Dinghy / Centreboard ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● 26
Skiff (dinghy type) ● ● ● ● ● ● ● 5
Keelboats ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● 21
Yachts / Sail cruisers ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● 11
Multihull (dinghy-sized) ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● 10
Sailboard (windsurfing) ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● 11
Kiteboard (kitesurfing) ● 1
One-Design / Monotype ? ● ? ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● 24
Construction class
Development class		 ? ? ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● 14

Race types

Race type 96 00 04 08 12 16 20 24 28 32 36 40 44 48 52 56 60 64 68 72 76 80 84 88 92 96 00 04 08 12 16 20 24 Editions
Fleet ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● 30
Match ●W 1
Combined FRQ+MR ● ● ● 3
Relay 0

Olympic sailing venues

Main article: List of Olympic venues in sailing

Pictures will be replaced by more relevant photos.

Edition Year Host City Sailing venue Opening Closing View Classes
I 1896  Greece (GRE) Athens Piraeus 1-APR 1-APR 3D View of Athens.jpg Cancelled
II 1900  France (FRA) Paris Meulan 20-MAY 27-MAY All, except ...
Le Havre 1-AUG 5-AUG 10–20 ton
III 1904  United States (USA) St. Louis Not programmed
IV 1908  Great Britain (GBR) London Ryde 27-JUL 29-JUL 6 Metre
7 Metre
8 Metre
Hunter's Quay 11-AUG 12-AUG 12 Metre
V 1912  Sweden (SWE) Stockholm Nynäshamn 19-JUL 22-JUL Nynäshamn view.jpg All
VI 1916  Germany (GER) Berlin Probably not programmed
VII 1920  Belgium (BEL) Antwerp Ostend 7-JUL 10-JUL MnpOstendLocation.png All, except...
The Netherlands SEP SEP Buiten Y 2010.jpg Finals 12 foot dinghy
VIII 1924  France (FRA) Paris Meulan 10-JUL 13-JUL French National Monotype 1924
Le Havre 21-JUL 26-JUL 6 Metre
8 Metre
IX 1928  Netherlands (NED) Amsterdam Durgerdam 2-AUG 9-AUG Buiten Y 2010.jpg All
X 1932  United States (USA) Los Angeles Port of Los Angeles 5-AUG 12-AUG All
XI 1936  Germany (GER) Berlin Kiel 4-AUG 16-AUG All
XII 1940  Japan (JPN) Tokyo Yokohama harbour 21-SEP 6-OCT NauticalChart Yokohama 1874.jpg All
Cancelled
 Finland (FIN) Helsinki Program not made Cancelled
XIII 1944 Olympics suspended
XIV 1948  Great Britain (GBR) London Torquay 4-AUG 12-AUG All
XV 1952  Finland (FIN) Helsinki Harmaja 20-JUL 28-JUL All
XVI 1956  Australia (AUS) Melbourne Port Phillip Bay 26-NOV 5-DEC All
XVII 1960  Italy (ITA) Rome Naples 29-AUG 7-SEP All
XVIII 1964  Japan (JPN) Tokyo Enoshima 12-OCT 23-OCT Ehoshima-Island-Fujisawa-Japan.jpg All
XIX 1968  Mexico (MEX) Mexico City Acapulco 13-OCT 25-OCT JLNYCAcapulcoBay.jpg All
XX 1972  West Germany (FRG) Munich Kiel 29-AUG 8-SEP Kiel - Olympiazentrum S.JPG All
XXI 1976  Canada (CAN) Montreal Kingston, Ontario 18-JUL 31-JUL All
XXII 1980  Soviet Union (URS) Moscow Tallinn, Soviet-occupied Estonia 21-JUL 29-JUL Tallinn, June 18, 2006.jpg All
XXIII 1984  United States (USA) Los Angeles Long Beach, California 31-JUL 8-AUG Aerial view of Port of Long Beach.jpg All
XXIV 1988  South Korea (KOR) Seoul Busan 20-SEP 27-SEP Busan SPOT 1121.jpg All
XXV 1992  Spain (ESP) Barcelona Barcelona 27-JUL 4-AUG PortVell.JPG All
XXVI 1996  United States (USA) Atlanta Savannah, Georgia 22-JUL 2-AUG Eugene Talmadge Memorial Bridge.jpg All
XXVII 2000  Australia (AUS) Sydney Sydney 17-SEP 30-SEP Sydney ASTER 2001 oct 12.jpg All
XXVIII 2004  Greece (GRE) Athens Athens 14-AUG 28-AUG Athene-sat.JPG All
XXIX 2008  China (CHN) Beijing Qingdao 9-AUG 21-AUG Qingdao Pier.jpg All
XXX 2012  Great Britain (GBR) London Weymouth and Portland 28-JUL 11-AUG Dorset transport.png All
XXXI 2016  Brazil (BRA) Rio de Janeiro Rio de Janeiro 8-AUG 18-AUG Marina da Glória 1.jpg All
XXXII 2020  Japan (JPN) Tokyo Enoshima 25-July 2021 4-AUG 2021 All

Medal table

This list includes Olympic medals in years up to and including 2020.

See also: List of Olympic medalists in sailing
Overall Medal Total by Nation
Rank Nation Gold Silver Bronze Total
1  Great Britain (GBR) 31 21 12 64
2  United States (USA) 19 23 19 61
3  Norway (NOR) 17 11 4 32
4  France (FRA) 15 14 20 49
5  Denmark (DEN) 13 9 9 31
6  Australia (AUS) 13 8 8 29
7  Spain (ESP) 13 5 3 21
8  Sweden (SWE) 10 14 13 37
9  New Zealand (NZL) 9 8 6 23
10  Netherlands (NED) 8 9 9 26
11  Brazil (BRA) 8 3 8 19
12  Soviet Union (URS) 4 5 3 12
13  Italy (ITA) 4 3 8 15
14  Germany (GER) 3 5 7 15
15  Austria (AUT) 3 4 1 8
16  China (CHN) 3 3 2 8
17  Greece (GRE) 3 2 3 8
18  Belgium (BEL) 2 4 3 9
19  Finland (FIN) 2 2 7 11
20  West Germany (FRG) 2 2 3 7
21  East Germany (GDR) 2 2 2 6
22  Mixed team (ZZX) 2 0 0 2
23  Argentina (ARG) 1 4 5 10
24  Ukraine (UKR) 1 2 2 5
25  Switzerland (SUI) 1 2 1 4
26  Croatia (CRO) 1 2 0 3
27  Poland (POL) 1 1 3 5
28  United Team of Germany (EUA) 1 1 1 3
29  Israel (ISR) 1 0 2 3
30  Bahamas (BAH) 1 0 1 2
31  Hong Kong (HKG) 1 0 0 1
32  Canada (CAN) 0 3 6 9
33  Portugal (POR) 0 2 2 4
34  Slovenia (SLO) 0 2 1 3
35  Ireland (IRL) 0 2 0 2
36  Hungary (HUN) 0 1 1 2
 Japan (JPN) 0 1 1 2
 Russia (RUS) 0 1 1 2
39  Cuba (CUB) 0 1 0 1
 Cyprus (CYP) 0 1 0 1
 Czech Republic (CZE) 0 1 0 1
 Lithuania (LTU) 0 1 0 1
 Netherlands Antilles (AHO) 0 1 0 1
 Virgin Islands (ISV) 0 1 0 1
45  Estonia (EST) 0 0 2 2
46  Russian Empire (RU1) 0 0 1 1
Totals (46 entries) 195 187 180 562

Nations

This table is based upon the names of the sailors who are documented in the Official Olympic Reports.

The last column shows the total number of competitors sent from each country.

Nation 96 00 04 08 12 20 24 28 32 36 48 52 56 60 64 68 72 76 80 84 88 92 96 00 04 08 12 16 20 Years
 Netherlands Antilles (AHO)     1 2 2 1 6
 Algeria (ALG)     3 2 5
 Andorra (AND)     2 3 5
 Angola (ANG)     3 3 2 8
 Antigua and Barbuda (ANT)     1 1 5 1 1 1 10
 Argentina (ARG)     6 5 11 18 14 6 9 6 6 9 4 8 11 7 10 11 11 10 8 13 11 194
 Aruba (ARU)     1 3 4
 American Samoa (ASA)     2 2 4
 Australia (AUS)     1 3 6 10 13 11 11 13 12 13 13 13 16 18 18 17 13 11 11 223
 Austria (AUT)     1 1 5 3 1 7 3 3 12 9 5 10 8 13 6 5 7 11 8 8 8 134
 Bahamas (BAH)     7 3 11 8 6 8 1 3 2 2 3 54
 Barbados (BAR)     2 4 5 2 1 1 15
 Belgium (BEL)     3 14 9 6 3 12 4 1 3 1 3 4 3 1 5 3 4 4 3 3 4 4 97
 Bermuda (BER)     3 9 4 4 7 6 3 2 7 4 3 5 2 2 61
 Burma (BIR)     2 3 5
 Belarus (BLR)     6 4 1 4 2 2 2 21
 Botswana (BOT)     1 1
 Brazil (BRA)     1 7 6 2 5 5 5 10 8 12 12 16 17 14 12 14 12 9 15 13 195
 Bahrain (BRN)     4 1 5
 Bulgaria (BUL)     5 1 2 1 2 11
 British West Indies (BWI)     2 2
 Cambodia (CAM)     3 3
 Canada (CAN)     1 13 1 5 11 7 11 11 11 10 10 13 15 17 16 9 11 14 11 9 9 215
 Cayman Islands (CAY)     2 2 3 7 1 1 16
 Ceylon (CEY)     1 1
 Chile (CHI)     1 5 3 1 1 1 1 3 9 25
 China (CHN)     4 5 3 5 4 4 18 9 8 13 73
 Colombia (COL)     2 1 2 1 6
 Cook Islands (COK)     1 1 1 2 5
 Croatia (CRO)     3 3 4 4 10 12 8 4 48
 Cuba (CUB)     3 2 3 2 2 3 2 2 19
 Cyprus (CYP)     1 5 2 2 3 2 3 4 2 2 4 30
 Czech Republic (CZE)     1 2 2 4 4 4 3 1 21
 Denmark (DEN)     3 4 5 7 13 7 4 9 9 11 11 8 9 8 14 16 11 12 14 6 13 11 8 213
 Djibouti (DJI)     1 1 2 4
 Dominican Republic (DOM)     1 1 2
 Ecuador (ECU)     1 1
 Egypt (EGY)     1 1 1 2 5
 El Salvador (ESA)     3 1 1 5
 Spain (ESP)     4 6 1 4 1 11 1 8 7 8 7 8 16 17 16 17 18 16 14 14 15 209
 Estonia (EST)     5 1 4 4 4 1 2 5 5 2 33
 Fiji (FIJ)     1 4 5 4 6 1 1 22
 Finland (FIN)     27 1 1 12 14 14 3 9 5 3 7 8 7 5 5 8 8 10 4 9 11 8 5 184
 France (FRA)   451   3 3 3 9 13 3 14 17 9 7 11 3 9 11 10 11 13 17 13 12 18 18 16 15 14 723
 Great Britain (GBR)   73   41 6 6 8 3 14 13 14 11 11 9 11 13 12 13 15 17 16 16 18 18 16 15 15 404
 Georgia (GEO)     2 2
 Germany (GER)   12   6 1 19
 Germany (GER)     14 14
 Germany (GER)     14 14
 United Team of Germany (EUA)     8 11 11 30
 East Germany (GDR)     8 11 6 12 9 46
 West Germany (FRG)     11 13 12 13 15 64
 Germany (GER)     15 15 17 17 12 12 12 10 110
 Greece (GRE)     4 3 1 8 4 6 6 6 4 7 8 9 14 11 18 12 11 7 8 147
 Guatemala (GUA)     2 1 1 1 1 2 1 2 11
 Guam (GUM)     2 2 3 1 8
 Hong Kong (HKG)     4 5 4 1 4 4 7 2 2 2 2 2 3 42
 Hungary (HUN)     6 1 5 1 4 5 1 7 3 8 12 6 7 3 3 5 4 81
 Independent Olympic Athletes (IOA)     1 1
 India (IND)     2 3 2 2 2 2 1 4 18
 Indonesia (INA)     3 3 2 1 1 1 1 12
 Ireland (IRL)     5 1 1 6 4 8 6 2 1 5 5 10 4 9 6 8 6 3 90
 Iceland (ISL)     2 2 1 1 6
 Israel (ISR)     2 2 5 4 5 5 6 6 7 7 6 5 60
 Virgin Islands (ISV)     3 8 6 9 6 7 2 2 1 1 2 1 48
 Italy (ITA)     8 12 1 14 15 14 11 11 10 8 10 12 6 11 15 13 16 18 18 18 11 13 9 274
 British Virgin Islands (IVB)     5 1 3 1 10
 Jamaica (JAM)     3 5 3 2 2 2 17
 Japan (JPN)     3 1 6 11 3 5 8 13 7 10 10 10 9 9 11 15 131
 Kenya (KEN)     3 1 4
 Kyrgyzstan (KGZ)     1 1
 South Korea (KOR)     1 10 3 5 5 4 4 4 4 4 44
 Latvia (LAT)     1 2 2 2 1 1 9
 Saint Lucia (LCA)     1 1 1 2 5
 Lebanon (LIB)     3 3
 Lithuania (LTU)     2 1 1 1 3 2 2 12
 Luxembourg (LUX)     1 1
 Morocco (MAR)     1 1 2
 Malaysia (MAS)     1 1 1 1 1 2 4 11
 Mexico (MEX)     2 11 11 6 3 6 4 3 2 4 3 3 3 3 4 68
 Malta (MLT)     3 1 1 2 2 1 1 11
 Montenegro (MNE)     1 1 1 3
 Monaco (MON)     1 1 2 3 3 2 1 13
 Mozambique (MOZ)     3 3
 Mauritius (MRI)     1 1
 Netherlands (NED)   9   8 4 12 3 8 8 9 6 6 6 5 9 12 8 12 14 12 9 14 12 11 11 10 218
 Norway (NOR)     5 18 59 9 10 14 13 12 6 9 9 11 13 6 7 7 14 8 9 8 9 6 6 8 276
 New Zealand (NZL)     4 3 3 3 9 8 11 13 17 16 18 12 9 15 12 10 163
 Oman (OMA)     1 1
 Pakistan (PAK)     6 2 2 10
 Paraguay (PAR)     1 1 2
 Peru (PER)     1 1 1 1 2 5 11
 Philippines (PHI)     3 3 1 3 3 1 2 4 20
 Papua New Guinea (PNG)     1 1 2 4
 Poland (POL)     1 6 3 11 1 12 2 4 6 9 9 11 11 7 9 102
 Portugal (POR)     1 6 3 9 9 5 11 6 8 6 2 3 3 8 9 9 7 8 13 5 5 136
 Puerto Rico (PUR)     1 6 5 9 6 3 4 3 2 3 2 44
 Qatar (QAT)     1 1 2
 Rhodesia (RHO)     2 3 5
 Romania (ROM)     5 2 7
 South Africa (RSA)     1 1 3 1 4 5 3 11 5 2 1 3 2 3 3 48
 Russian Empire (RU1)     17 17
 Soviet Union (URS)     14 10 11 11 11 13 12 12 15 109
 Unified Team (EUN)     14 14
 Russia (RUS)     6 6
 Russia (RUS)     12 12 13 10 10 7 64
 Samoa (SAM)     1 1
 Senegal (SEN)     1 1
 Seychelles (SEY)     1 2 3 1 1 3 1 12
 Singapore (SGP)     5 3 1 2 2 4 3 1 6 2 10 4 43
 Slovenia (SLO)     3 5 5 7 6 4 3 3 36
 San Marino (SMR)     1 1 1 3
 Sri Lanka (SRI)     2 1 3
 Switzerland (SUI)   9   1 1 6 13 11 11 7 9 10 6 8 9 9 10 5 8 8 9 6 9 6 171
 Slovakia (SVK)     4 1 1 1 7
 Sweden (SWE)     13 41 11 4 11 7 15 15 14 7 11 11 8 13 12 10 13 15 15 15 17 10 11 14 7 9 329
 Czechoslovakia (TCH)     1 1 1 3 3 9
 Thailand (THA)     2 2 4 4 3 2 1 1 2 1 3 1 2 3 4 3 38
 Chinese Taipei (TPE)     1 2 3 1 1 1 1 10
 Trinidad and Tobago (TTO)     2 2 1 1 1 1 8
 Tunisia (TUN)     1 1 1 4 4 11
 Turkey (TUR)     3 1 3 2 2 2 5 4 5 6 5 6 8 52
 United Arab Emirates (UAE)     1 1
 Ukraine (UKR)     12 11 10 6 4 3 46
 Uruguay (URU)     1 4 1 3 1 3 5 3 2 1 2 1 2 4 3 36
 United States (USA)   16   11 22 14 16 19 12 10 11 11 13 12 13 15 17 16 18 18 18 16 15 13 326
 Venezuela (VEN)     2 3 4 2 1 1 1 1 3 2 2 1 23
 Yugoslavia (YUG)     1 3 3 2 3 1 3 1 17
 Zimbabwe (ZIM)     3 1 1 5
 Mixed team (ZZX)   9   9
Sailors 579 65 110 101 74 129 58 169 216 230 140 287 223 247 315 250 153 298 373 442 458 402 400 400 380 380 350 7229
Sailors – Male 577 63 110 101 73 127 58 166 216 228 140 287 223 247 315 250 153 296 330 360 358 308 261 261 237 257 175 6177
Sailors – Female 2 2 0 0 1 2 0 3 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 43 82 100 94 139 139 143 123 175 1052
Sailors – First Games
Countries 7 5 6 6 19 22 11 26 23 29 28 47 40 40 42 40 23 60 60 68 78 69 61 62 63 66 64 39 Mean
New countries 7 3 3 0 10 5 1 8 2 3 7 11 5 5 2 3 3 14 5 11 12 1 0 2 3 1 3 130
Events Held 13 4 4 14 3 3 4 4 5 5 5 5 5 5 6 6 6 7 8 10 10 11 11 11 10 10 10 195 Gold Medals
Boats 162 13 20 6 32 41 23 59 75 93 71 138 109 123 151 127 83 171 214 271 312 273 268 272 273 274 250 3904
Average class size 10 3.3 6 1.7 10.3 13.7 5.8 14.8 15 18.6 14.2 27.6 21.8 24.6 25.17 21.17 13.83 24.43 26.75 27.1 31.2 24.82 24.36 24.73 27.3 27.4 25 19 Mean
Average team size 1.3 5 4.6 4.3 2.3 3.3 2.3 2.9 2.9 2.4 2.2 6.11 5.58 6.18 7.5 6.25 6.65 4.97 6.22 5.15 5.87 5.83 6.56 6.45 6.03 5.76 5.47 5 Mean
  • Early Olympic do not have complete data so some assumption on crew sizes and gender have been made to give a better indication of the number of people involved.

Multiple gold medalists

Brazilians Torben Grael and Robert Scheidt and Briton Ben Ainslie are the only Olympic sailors with five Olympic medals. The most successful sailor is Ainslie with four gold medals and one silver, one of only four athletes to win four consecutive gold medals in individual events, along with Danish sailor Paul Elvstrøm.

Position Sailor Country Period Gold Silver Bronze Total Classes
1 Ben Ainslie  Great Britain (GBR) 1996–2012 4 1 0 5 ILCA 7 (Laser)/Finn
2 Paul Elvstrøm  Denmark (DEN) 1948–1960 4 0 0 4 Firefly/Finn
3 Jochen Schümann  Germany (GER) 1976–2000 3 1 0 4 Finn/Soling
Valentin Mankin  Soviet Union (URS) 1968–1980 3 1 0 4 Finn/Tempest/Star
5 Robert Scheidt  Brazil (BRA) 1996–2012 2 2 1 5 ILCA 7 (Laser)/Star
6 Torben Grael  Brazil (BRA) 1984–2004 2 1 2 5 Soling/Star
7 Hannah Mills  Great Britain (GBR) 2012–2020 2 1 0 3 470
Iain Percy  Great Britain (GBR) 2000–2012 2 1 0 3 Finn/Star
Magnus Konow  Norway (NOR) 1912–1936 2 1 0 3 12 Metre/8 Metre/6 Metre
Mark Reynolds  United States (USA) 1988–2000 2 1 0 3 Star
Mathew Belcher  Australia (AUS) 2012–2020 2 1 0 3 470
Rodney Pattisson  Great Britain (GBR) 1968–1976 2 1 0 3 Flying Dutchman
13 Tore Holm  Sweden (SWE) 1920–1948 2 0 2 4 40m2 class/8 Metre/6 Metre
14 Marcelo Ferreira  Brazil (BRA) 1996–2004 2 0 1 3
15 Algernon Maudslay  Great Britain (GBR) 1900 2 0 0 2
Bernd Jäkel  Germany (GER) 2 0 0 2
Dorian van Rijsselberghe  Netherlands (NED) 2012–2016 2 0 0 2
Erik Hansen  Denmark (DEN) 1976–1980 2 0 0 2 Soling
Frédéric Blanchy  Mixed team (ZZX)
 France (FRA)		 1900 2 0 0 2
John Gretton  Great Britain (GBR) 1900 2 0 0 2
Giles Scott  Great Britain (GBR) 2016–2020 2 0 0 2 Finn
Håkon Barfod  Norway (NOR) 2 0 0 2
Herman Whiton  United States (USA) 1948–1952 2 0 0 2
Jacques Le Lavasseur  Mixed team (ZZX)
 France (FRA)		 1900 2 0 0 2
Kahena Kunze  Brazil (BRA) 2016–2020 2 0 0 2 49er FX
Linton Hope  Great Britain (GBR) 1900 2 0 0 2
Luis Doreste Blanco  Spain (ESP) 2 0 0 2
Malcolm Page  Australia (AUS) 2008–2012 2 0 0 2 470
Martine Grael  Brazil (BRA) 2016–2020 2 0 0 2 49er FX
Nicolas Hénard  France (FRA) 2 0 0 2
Poul Richard Høj Jensen  Denmark (DEN) 2 0 0 2
Roman Hagara  Austria (AUT) 2 0 0 2
Sarah Ayton  Great Britain (GBR) 2004–2008 2 0 0 2 Yngling
Sarah Webb  Great Britain (GBR) 2004–2008 2 0 0 2 Yngling
Shirley Robertson  Great Britain (GBR) 1992–2004 2 0 0 2 Europe/Yngling
Sigve Lie  Norway (NOR) 1948–1952 2 0 0 2 Dragon
Theresa Zabell  Spain (ESP) 1992–1996 2 0 0 2
Thor Thorvaldsen  Norway (NOR) 1992–1996 2 0 0 2
William Exshaw  Mixed team (ZZX)
 Great Britain (GBR)		 1900 2 0 0 2
Valdemar Bandolowski  Denmark (DEN) 1976–1980 2 0 0 2

See also

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