Paris, May 1900. Games of the II Olympiad. A sailing regatta in Meulan. Credit : IOC/Olympic Museum collections

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 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.

London, Torquay, XIV Olympiad, 3 August 1948 Dane Paul ELVSTROM pictured after winning the Firefly class of the yachting competition. Credit: Getty Images/Hulton Archive

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.

In 1960, Crown Prince Constantine of Greece competed in the Dragon class when the Games were held on the Bay of Naples, Italy, with the rest of the sports taking place in Rome. A successful event saw the Crown Prince take home an Olympic gold medal.  The Crown Prince became an ISAF President of Honour in1994. 1960 was also a crowning moment for the Lunde family as Peter LUNDE Jr. (NOR) won the first Olympic event in which the Flying Dutchman class made his appearance. His father had already won a medal in the 5.5-metre class in 1956 and his grandfather a gold medal in the 6-metre class in 1924 – quite a family.

From 1968 onwards Olympic yachting really took a hold as the pinnacle of the sport, and numbers at the Olympic Regattas really took off, classes came and went, and the competitive nature increased. One of the biggest events in terms of logistics was in Kiel in 1972. The Games were held in Munich with yachting taking place in the Baltic Sea, a huge purpose built marina, accommodation facility and Olympic Harbour were built at Kiel. Still used today, the regatta centre is thought of as one of the best venues in the world for top-level sailing.

1988 and the Olympic Games were held in Korea. Sailing took place in Pusan and for the first time the events included a women only discipline in the form of the 470 dinghy. Allison JOLLEY and L. JEWELL (USA) won the first women’s gold medal.

The participation in Olympic yachting has increased year on year, with an increased number of events, which in turn has increased the number of athletes and attracted more nations. The inclusion of the single-handed dinghy open in 1996, the Laser dinghy, saw a record in terms of the number of entries ever contesting an event, with 56 sailors from 56 nations competing.

The Medallists in the 49er Fleet at the Sydney 2000 Olympic Games. Credit: Mark Dadswell /Allsport

Sydney 2000 was a landmark for the Olympic regatta. The natural amphitheatre of Sydney Harbour presented the opportunity for yachting to become the centrepiece of the first Games of the new millennium. Improving broadcast technology developed from experiences in Savannah and the increasing use of the internet, ensured that races could be followed from anywhere in the world.

2000 also heralded the debut of a new Olympic class, the 49er. Selected after trials held in Torbole, Italy in September 1996, the 49er was a welcome addition to the events on the Olympic schedule. Sydney also saw the introduction of national flags printed on sails, and the name of every athlete sailing in every class visible on the sails to the thousands that surrounded the world’s largest natural harbour, providing an ideal spectator sport. 

So when the first warning signal is sounded in Athens in 2004, it will be only the second such time we will be watching 'sailing' at the Olympic Games. Athens will welcome for the first time an eleventh event for sailing, with the women's keelboat contested in the Yngling Class making its debut appearance.

Every athlete competing will be part of over a century of history, and will join a long list of legends that have kept the Olympic spirit and recognised it as the true pinnacle of the sport of sailing.