Former Optimist Sailors
at the 2000 Olympics
At least 50% of all dinghy helms at the Sydney Olympics were former Optimist sailors.

And at least70% of these sailed in Optimist world and continental championships.

This information:

  • helps to convince governments and National Olympic Councils to invest in junior sailing

  • disproves the myth that sailing is one of the sports where early success leads to "burn-out", lack of achievement in later life

  • provides motivation for all those who work for junior sailing

<
Key: Red Name Sailed in Optimist Worlds or Continentals
Black Bold Sailed Optimists (other)
X Did not sail Optimists
lowercase No information yet
      Olympic Medallist
  Laser Finn Europe 470M 470W 49er Tornado
AUS X X X X X X X
ITA Negri devoti Nieverov Ivaldi Salva Bruni bodoni
NZL X Webb Macky Cooke Henshaw Slater X
SWE Sunesson Lööf Torgersson Molund Carlsson Harrysson Strandberg
USA X silvestri X Foerster X X Lovell
DEN Rønholt hjortnaes Roug   Ward hastbaek hansen
ESP L.Martinez D.   garriga G. Martinez D. Via Dufresne lopez Leon
GER   fellman Nieman Meister Birkner Baur gaebler
GBR Ainslie Percy X Rogers   X X
ARG X   Amato Conte Sesto   Lange
BRA Scheidt Bergmann   Paradeda Oliveira   Santa Cruz
GRE bougiouris Papathanasiou Vlachou Kosmatopoulos Bekatorou    
JPN X   Satou X Shige kenji  
POR Lima   Pratas Marinho   Domingos Rocha
POL Grabowski Kuznierewicz Bronicka stancyk   kacprowski  
RUS krutskikh tchernov   berezkin basalkina   emelianov
FIN Suomalainen   Multala Leskinen   Johanson 
FRA   X   Gildas   Deruelle guichard
NOR Moberg   Sundby   Toll Sundby  
AUT Geritzer   Cesky       X
CAN Essig Clarke calkin        
NED Kats   Matthijsse   Brouwer    
UKR       Braslovec taran rodion  
BEL Bergmans Godefroid Dezillie        
HUN Eszes hajdu   gozleth      
CRO arapov Kuret   bulaja      
CHN sheng shen   xu   Xiumei    
SLO Zbogar     Copi Orel    
SUI   Theurer   X   X  
BLR mumyha   drozdovskaya ivashintsov      
EST Saraskin Taveter   Tuniste      
CZE   maier smidova        
IRL   X X        
KOR kim     dae-young kim      
MEX     Elias Calles Villarreal      
RSA Blanckenberg X          
SIN tan     Tan Wearn Haw      
TUR tufceki Adakan          
BER     X        
AHO van aanholt            
ANT X            
CAY     X        
CUB torna            
CYP economides            
GUM chivers            
ISL X            
ISR         kedmi    
ISV   beer          
JAM       gooding      
LAT     X        
LTU siugzdinis            
MAS Lim            
MLT X            
PER Olcese            
PUR             X
SEY Julie            
SRI  jirasinha          
THA ruamsap            
URU Carrau            ALL
W/C 39% 20% 36% 48% 47% 29% 25%35%
ALL 50% 52% 57% 62% 63% 47% 38%52%
  Laser Finn Europe 470M 470W 49er Tornado

Statistical notes:

  1. Age: Older sailors are less likely to have sailed Optimists. Over 65% of those aged under 30 did so. When Hans Wallen won the Optimist Worlds in 1976 there were only 19 countries present: when Siren Sundby was first girl in 1997 there were 41!
  2. Eastern Europe: For most of the relevant period East European (including DDR) Optimist sailors did not travel abroad. Also, with the fragmentation of the USSR, information is difficult to obtain.
  3. Weight: Finn sailors are generally heavier than the general population. Although many sailed Optimists they may have moved out of the Optimist for weight reasons before they could qualify for their national Optimist teams.
  4. U.S.A. Former Optimist Worlds sailors were second in the Laser, 470W and Soling trials and third in the Europe.


Last Updated on 4/8/00
By Robert Wilkes