Sailing at the 1912 Summer Olympics

Sailing/Yachting is an Olympic sport starting from the Games of the 1st Olympiad (1896 Olympics in Athens, Greece). With the exception of 1904 and the canceled 1916 Summer Olympics, sailing has always been included on the Olympic schedule. The Sailing program of 1912 consisted of a total of four sailing classes (disciplines). For each class two races were scheduled from 19 July 1912 to 22 July 1912 off the coast of Nynäshamn at the Baltic Sea.

Sailing
at the Games of the V Olympiad
Yachting Bookmark in the Official Report of the Olympic Games of Stockholm 1912
VenuesNynäshamn
DatesFirst race: 19 July 1912 (1912-07-19)
Last race: 22 July 1912 (1912-07-22)
Competitors118 from 6 nations
Boats26

Venue

Royal Swedish Yacht Club
Kungliga Svenska Segelsällskapet
Burgee of Royal Swedish Yacht Club
General information
TypeOlympic harbor
Town or cityNynäshamn
Country Sweden
Coordinates58°54′30″N 17°57′30″E
ElevationSealevel

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 oversees entries (about 525 nautical miles (972 km)) 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.

The Royal Swedish Yacht Club was requested to organize the sailing event. Discussions took place whether the races would take place at the same time period of the other Olympic events. Finally the decision was taken to hold them just after the other Olympic events.[1] Also several other races were organized in conjunction of the Olympic races.

Course area

A inner and an outer course was created of the coast of Nynäshamn:

1912 Olympic Course Area & courses
Course A was used for the 10 and the 12 Metre, Course B for the 6 and 8 Metre.

Competition

Overview

Continents Countries Classes Entries Male Female
164261180

A maximum of 2 boats per country per class was allowed.

Continents

Map of Participating Sailing Continents at the 1912 Summer Olympics
Green = Participating for the first time
Blue = Participating
Light Blue = Have previously participated
● Europe

Countries

Source:[1]

Map of Participating Sailing Countries at the 1912 Summer Olympics
Green = Participating for the first time
Blue = Participating
Light Blue = Have previously participated
 Denmark (DEN) Finland (FIN) France (FRA) Norway (NOR)
 Russia (RUS) Sweden (SWE)

Classes (equipment)

Source:[1] Although one of the oldest organized sporting activities, sailing in the early first part of the 20th century was not uniformly organized. This had a lot to do with national traditions as well as with the fact that there were no standardized boat types with uniform building instructions and measurements. Also a lot of development was done in the area of boat design and boat building. The shape of a boat, specifically its length, its weight and its sail area, are major parameters that determine the boat's speed. Several initiatives were started to create a formula that made it possible to have boats race each other without having to calculate the final result. But the different countries initially could not agree on an international system. At the Olympics of 1900 it was clear that sailing was not ready for international competition, and something had to be done.

In 1906 international meetings were organize to solve the problem. Finally in Paris, October 1907 the first International Rule was ratified. Delegates from this meeting went on to form the International Yacht Racing Union (IYRU), the precursor to the present International Sailing Federation (ISAF).

The agreed formula gives a result in meters (Metre). During the meeting in 1907 the IOC made the decision to open the 1908 Summer Olympics for the following Metre classes:

ClassTypeVenueEventSailorsFirst OGOlympics so far
6 MetreKeelboatNynäshamn319082
8 MetreKeelboatNynäshamn519082
10 MetreKeelboatNynäshamn819121
12 MetreKeelboatNynäshamn1019082
Legend: = Mixed gender event

Race schedule

  Opening ceremony  Event competitions  Tie breakers  Closing ceremony
Date July
19
Fri
20
Sat
21
Sun
22
Mon
23
Tue
24
Wed
25
Thu
26
Fri
27
Sat
Sailing


International races
Total gold medals
Ceremonies

Medal summary

Source:[2]

Event Gold Silver Bronze

1912: 6 Metre

 France (FRA)
Gaston Thubé
Amédée Thubé
Jacques Thubé
 Denmark (DEN)
Hans Meulengracht-Madsen
Steen Herschend
Sven Thomsen
 Sweden (SWE)
Eric Sandberg
Otto Aust
Harald Sandberg

1912: 8 Metre

 Norway (NOR)
Thoralf Glad
Thomas Aas
Andreas Brecke
Torleiv Corneliussen
Christian Jebe
 Sweden (SWE)
Bengt Heyman
Emil Henriques
Alvar Thiel
Herbert Westermark
Nils Westermark
 Finland (FIN)
Bertil Tallberg
Arthur Ahnger
Emil Lindh
Gunnar Tallberg
Georg Westling

1912: 10 Metre

 Sweden (SWE)
Filip Ericsson
Carl Hellström
Paul Isberg
Humbert Lundén
Herman Nyberg
Harry Rosenswärd
Erik Wallerius
Harald Wallin
 Finland (FIN)
Harry Wahl
Waldemar Björkstén
Jacob Björnström
Bror Brenner
Allan Franck
Erik Lindh
Juho Aarne Pekkalainen
 Russia (RUS)
Esper Beloselsky
Ernest Brasche
Karl Lindholm
Nikolay Pushnitsky
Aleksandr Rodionov
Iosif Shomaker
Philipp Strauch

1912: 12 Metre

 Norway (NOR)
Johan Anker
Nils Bertelsen
Eilert Falch-Lund
Halfdan Hansen
Arnfinn Heje
Magnus Konow
Alfred Larsen
Petter Larsen
Christian Staib
Carl Thaulow
 Sweden (SWE)
Nils Persson
Per Bergman
Dick Bergström
Kurt Bergström
Hugo Clason
Folke Johnson
Sigurd Kander
Ivan Lamby
Erik Lindqvist
Hugo Sällström
 Finland (FIN)
Ernst Krogius
Ferdinand Alfthan
Pekka Hartvall
Jarl Hulldén
Sigurd Juslén
Eino Sandelin
Johan Silén

Medal tables

RankNationGoldSilverBronzeTotal
1 Norway (NOR)2002
2 Sweden (SWE)1214
3 France (FRA)1001
4 Finland (FIN)0123
5 Denmark (DEN)0101
6 Russia (RUS)0011
Totals (6 nations)44412

The official report used a points system to rank participating nations in the sport:[1]

Rank Country Gold Silver Bronze Total
MedalsPointsMedalsPointsMedalsPointsMedalsPoints
1 Sweden (SWE)13241148
2 Norway (NOR)26000026
3 Finland (FIN)00122234
4 France (FRA)13000013
5 Denmark (DEN)00120012
6 Russia (RUS)00001111
Total44412

Notes

Other information

  • This Olympic sailing event was gender independent, but turned out to be a Men-only event.
  • 6 Metre owner Dan Broström became Swedish Naval Minister from 1914 to 1917.
  • The 12 Metre Heatherbell was the first 12-Metre built in the UK under the new First International Rule. She was designed by Thomas Glen-Coats, and built by Alexander Robertson and Sons Ltd (Yachtbuilders), Sandbank Scotland, in 1907.
  • The Swedish 8 Metre K.S.S.S. is often referred to as the lottery boat. Obvious this boat was built from lottery funds.

Sailors

During the sailing regattas at the 1912 Summer Olympics among others the following persons were competing in the various classes:

Further reading

  • "Digital Library Collection (Official Olympic Reports 1896–2008". Digital Library Collection at la84.org. la84foundation. Missing or empty |url= (help)

References

  1. The Swedish Olympic Committee (1913). Erik Bergvall (ed.). The Olympic Games of Stockholm 1912 - Official Report (PDF). Wahlström & Widstrand. Retrieved 7 February 2015.
  2. "Olympic Medal Winners". International Olympic Committee. Retrieved 7 February 2015.

"Stockholm 1912". Olympic.org. International Olympic Committee.

This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.