Olympic sailing video footage from the 1920s to 1960s

by Magnus Smith 29 Dec 2024 04:00 PST

The O-Jolle or Olympic MonoType dinghy was a narrow, heavy but successful class used in the 1936 Games © Henshall Archive

As 2024 draws to a close, we decided to look back on this Olympic year with a summary of all the oldest Olympic sailing videos we could find, from the analogue era before the year 2000. Where our archive had gaps, we have researched more thoroughly to find YouTube footage that was hidden from a simple keyword search.

Here in part 1 we will cover the oldest of the Modern Olympiads, and proceed chronologically, though this means we have to start with the disappointing lack of early videos! Part 2 contains an embarrassment of riches.

Paris 1924

The earliest Olympic yachting video we could uncover was from France, exactly one hundred years ago! Three classes raced - the 6m and 8m keelboats, and the 'monotype' dinghy - we can show you videos of the Six Metres.

According to the Olympedia entry for 1924 the keelboat racing was off the coast at Le Havre, and dinghies on the River Seine at Meulan-Les-Mureaux. Norway took two golds and a silver.

The missing years

So what about the Games just before and after the above video? Those are the ones where our researcher has to admit defeat. But first, we have two good excuses:

Athens 1896 - At the first ever modern Games, yachting was cancelled due to bad weather
St. Louis 1904 - Sailing was not included in this Games!

Our researcher's failures:

Paris 1900 - Some footage survives, but it all shows events at the main stadium, nothing of yachting
London 1908 - Very little footage exists, and it all shows track/field events
Stockholm 1912 - Despite careful research, no footage from Nynäshamm, Kanholmsfjärden or Sandhamm could be uncovered
Antwerp 1920 - Again, nothing from the sailing venue, Ostende, could be found
Amsterdam 1928 - We searched tirelessly for videos from Zuiderzee/Buiten/IJmeer in this year, to no avail
Los Angeles 1932 - No newsreels of this event bothered to cover the sailing, it seems

Let us return to the successful discoveries...

Berlin 1936

The last Games before World War II featured a different 'monotype' dinghy, the O-Jolle, which was apparently designed specifically for the event, and the Star keelboat was added to the 6m and 8m. You will not be surprised to hear that the sailing was held at Kiel. More info at Olympedia for 1936.

London 1948

Again it seem the Six Metres are favoured on video. But you can read the fascinating story of how the Firefly class appeared at the Games if you have more time!

If you cannot see the video above, due to local copyright issues, there should be a link to "watch on YouTube" which will just open a new tab. More info at Olympedia for 1948.

Helsinki 1952

The name Paul Elvstrøm will be familiar to you. When searching for 1952 footage, we found it amongst this compilation of three Olympiads featuring the 'Great Dane'! Skip to 0m22s if you are in a hurry to see the Fifties footage.

More info at Olympedia for 1952.

You can also see Dragon and 5.5m Olympic racing from Finland at elonetplus.fi/embed/video/238613409/256231872 (silent footage).

Melbourne 1956

We start with Elvstrøm in the Finn again, and then move to the Sharpie class. More info at Olympedia for 1956.

Rome 1960

At last there seems to be more footage to choose from! There are even videos of the weighing/measuring: part 1 and part 2. Even some various shoreside footage may be of interest. Aussies may wish to watch Ron Jenyns sailing in the Finn too.

More info at Olympedia for 1960. Plus there is another 5.5m and Dragon video if those classes interest you.

Tokyo 1964

First we offer a great interview with Keith Musto and Tony Morgan (a mix of old footage and newer interview). It is fascinating to hear the attitudes to their revolutionary training programme. More info at Olympedia for 1964.