Sailing at the Summer Olympics
IOC Discipline Code	SAL
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 2024
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.^[1] In 1988, the first exclusive women's sailing event was introduced.^[2] 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

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:

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

Race types

Olympic sailing venues

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		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		All
VI	1916	Germany (GER)	Berlin	Probably not programmed
VII	1920	Belgium (BEL)	Antwerp	Ostend	7-JUL	10-JUL		All, except...
				The Netherlands	SEP	SEP		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		All
X	1932	United States (USA)	Los Angeles	Port of Los Angeles	5-AUG[9]	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		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		All
XIX	1968	Mexico (MEX)	Mexico City	Acapulco	13-OCT	25-OCT		All
XX	1972	West Germany (FRG)	Munich	Kiel	29-AUG	8-SEP		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		All
XXIII	1984	United States (USA)	Los Angeles	Long Beach, California	31-JUL	8-AUG		All
XXIV	1988	South Korea (KOR)	Seoul	Busan	20-SEP	27-SEP		All
XXV	1992	Spain (ESP)	Barcelona	Barcelona	27-JUL	4-AUG		All
XXVI	1996	United States (USA)	Atlanta	Savannah, Georgia	22-JUL	2-AUG		All
XXVII	2000	Australia (AUS)	Sydney	Sydney	17-SEP	30-SEP		All
XXVIII	2004	Greece (GRE)	Athens	Athens	14-AUG	28-AUG		All
XXIX	2008	China (CHN)	Beijing	Qingdao	9-AUG	21-AUG		All
XXX	2012	Great Britain (GBR)	London	Weymouth and Portland	28-JUL	11-AUG		All
XXXI	2016	Brazil (BRA)	Rio de Janeiro	Rio de Janeiro	8-AUG	18-AUG		All
XXXII	2020	Japan (JPN)	Tokyo	Enoshima	25-July 2021	4-AUG 2021		All[10]

Medal table

This list includes Olympic medals in years up to and including 2020.^[11]

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