Sailing at the 1948 Summer Olympics

• Africa
• Oceania
• Europe
• Americas

Prior to 1948, sailing had been a gender-neutral sport where male and female competitors competed together. For the 1948 Games, the IOC decided the events should only be open to male sailors. This was the only time this happened until separate male and female events were introduced in some classes in the 1988 Summer Olympics.[3]

Class	Type	Event	Sailors	Trapeze	Mainsail	Jib/Genoa	Spinnaker	First OG	Olympics so far
Firefly	Dinghy		1	0	+	+	–	1948	1
Star	Keelboat		2	0	+	+	–	1932	3
Swallow (Golondrina)	Keelboat		2	0	+	+	+	1948	1
Dragon	Keelboat		3	0	+	+	+	1948	1
6 Metre	Keelboat		5	0	+	+	+	1908	8

= Male, = Female, = Open

• Modern techniques like hot-molded plywood in an autoclave, aluminum mast, booms and decks made their entrance in the Firefly.
• The series was scheduled over the two Olympic weeks. Races 1–4 in each class were sailed from 3–6 August. Races 5–7 took place from 10 to 12 August. This was done so that boats could be overhauled after the first set of races.
• Regarding the scoring system, per the official report, "[t]he number of points awarded to each other competitor diminishes under a given formula, according to the placing of his boat at the finish."[2] Advantages of this system are:
  • Winning races is well-awarded, so sailors are likely to fight till the end of the race for each place.
  • Fewer ties than with the point-for-place system.
  • The score of the winner reflects the number of entries.
• Together with the scoring system, it was introduced that each team could discard its worst result.
• The courses were laid and patrolled by vessels of the Royal Navy.

During the Sailing regattas at the 1948 Summer Olympics, the following people (among others) competed in the various classes:

•  Rickard Sarby (SWE), the future designer of the Finn.
•  Jean-Jacques Herbulot (FRA), the future designer of the Vaurien and the Herbulot spinnaker.
•  Agostino Straulino (ITA), who won eight consecutive European championships in the starboat class between 1949 and 1956.
•  Enrique Sieburger Sr. (ARG), the oldest of the Sieburger-Salas "clan", a family that had 20 total entries in Olympic Sailing competitions.
•  Tore Holm (SWE), a two-time gold and silver medalist in the 6 Metre.
•  Magnus Konow (NOR), spanned the longest period in Olympic sailing (1908–1948), in the 6 Metre.
•  Paul Elvstrøm (DEN), who, although he did not finish the first race, won his first of four consecutive gold medals in the Firefly.
•  Jock Sturrock (AUS), who became the first Australian to sail in the Olympic Games.