In effect, the sport of `sailing' made its debut in the modern Olympic Games in Sydney in 2000, but this is because it was the first Olympic sport to make a name change. In reality, it is one of the oldest sports to be a part of the Olympic Movement. After the 1996 Olympic Games, the sport of yachting became known as sailing, coinciding with the Federation name change from `International Yacht Racing Union (IYRU)' to `International Sailing Federation (ISAF)'.

The sport made its debut at the Olympic Games in 1900. The event took place on the River Seine at Meulan, 32 km from the city of Paris, with the rest of the Olympic sports taking place in the city centre. That first Olympic Yachting Regatta was unlike any seen in modern times as it was raced as an “open class” using time allowance and then a further six classes by tonnage, based on the Thames Measurement Rule. There were five classes rating from ½ to 10 tonnes, and then a final class, rating 10 to 20 tonnes. The latter class was sailed at the mouth of the Seine, near Le Harve, on the north coast of France, due to the sheer size of the vessels.

The event was only announced a matter of months before it was due to start and 42 boats competed. With no restriction in the number of entries per nation, nation France swept the board, winning all three medals in the ½ tonne class. The ½ tonne rated “SCOTIA”, sailed by Lorne C. CURRIE and J.H. GRETTON from Great Britain, won a gold medal in the ½-1 Tonne class, and by nature of the competition, also won the gold medal in the “Open Class”. This is the only time a yacht has won two classes at an Olympic Regatta, and owing to modern formats, this remarkable feat has never been repeated.

The 1904 Games were in St. Louis, Missouri, USA. Yachting was not on the agenda for a number of reasons. It was logistically very difficult to transport European sailors and equipment to the venue which was far inland in the USA and at that time there was huge variations and little collaboration in both rules and boats between Europe and the USA.

It was to be a further three years before the International Yacht Racing Union, (IYRU – now ISAF) was formed. An International Conference on Yacht Measurement was held in London in 1906 to try and devise an international rule of measurement for racing yachts that was acceptable to all European countries. The conference was attended by the various European yachting authorities and a set of measurement rules was agreed on. The IYRU was officially formed in Paris in October 1907, when the delegates met again to try and unify the racing and right-of-way rules.

 The 1908 Olympic Games were held in London, and the yachting event, with the exception of the 12-metre class who raced in Scotland, took place off Ryde on the Isle of Wight. It was sailed in the newly formed metre classes. There were five classes 6, 7, 8, 12, and 15-metres, and 13 boats took part. There was only one boat in the 7-metre class and none in the 15-metre class. Both boats in the 12-metre class were British and the class raced on the Firth of Clyde in Scotland. 1908 also saw the first women’s medallist in the form of Frances RIVETT-CARNA (GBR), part of the gold medal winning crew (and only entry) in the 7-metre class.

 Although seemingly an unpopular sport in the early days of Olympic competition, yachting has been an integral part of the Olympic Movement, and there has been a yachting event at every Olympic Games until 1996, after which it became known as sailing.. In the early days, the sport had to compete against motorboat racing for time and space, but has steadily grown in popularity.

The metre classes were used for a great number of years at Olympic Regattas. The trend moved rapidly towards the smaller classes and the 12 and 15-metre classes enjoyed only a relatively short Olympic career. In the 1920 Olympic Games in Antwerp, Holland, shortly after World War I, there was perhaps the clearest sign of the future of Olympic yachting. Both old and new rule metre boats were in evidence, and the future was to see a shift towards one-design classes.

1928 saw Crown Prince Olav of Norway and his three-man crew win a gold medal in the 6-metre class. The future King of Norway became President of Honour of the IYRU in 1958, serving until 1991. His Majesty was awarded the Beppe Croce Trophy in 1988 in recognition of his outstanding voluntary contribution to the sport of sailing.

 Picture the first Olympic Games since 1904 to be held in the USA. It’s Los Angeles in 1932 and for the first time, yachting is an Olympic sport at a Games outside Europe. The regatta took place off Newport Beach and the Star class made its debut appearance. The Star event had seven entries, and was won by Gilbert GRAY (USA). The class is now the longest standing boat in the Olympic Games, and will make a record 17th appearance in Athens.

 Resurgence in yachting after the World War  II was in evidence at the 1948 Olympic Games. The main event was in London with yachting taking place in Torbay. The Firefly, a two-man boat, was chosen as the single-handed class. Many thought of it as an odd choice, but it gave a 19 year old sailor from Denmark the opportunity to contest an Olympic medal. He won the gold and then went on to win a total of four successive gold medals and represent Denmark at eight Olympic Games. His name: Paul ELVSTRÖM.
2pages: 上一pages 1 [2] nextpages