The Finn - A History Lesson...

The Finn is the oldest piece of sailing equipment at the Olympic Games, making its debut in 1952. Racing in Rio will commence on Tuesday 9 August but before the first starting signal goes, find out more about the dinghy below…

Previous Olympic Medallists
 
The first ever Olympic Gold in the Finn was claimed in 1952 in Helsinki by Paul Elvstrom (DEN) who went on to win the next two Olympic gold medals in Melbourne, Australia and Rome, Italy (a total of four gold medals) before non-selection in 1964 denied him the chance to defend his title. Elvstrom’s successor was Wilhelm Kuhweide (GER) who was known for winning any major championship he showed up to. Next, Sailing Hall of Fame inductee Valentin Mankin (URS) became the fourth man to win Finn gold in 1968.
 
Frenchman Serge Maury swept comprehensively to victory in the first Olympic Sailing Competition since the introduction of aluminium rigging to the class.
 
Four-time Olympian Jochen Schümann (GER) made his golden debut in 1976 but had to settle for fifth in 1980 as Esko Rechardt (FIN) who became the first Finnish sailor to win in the dinghy named after his homeland. Rechardt himself could only manage a 14th place in 1984 and his Olympic title fell to Russell Coutts (NZL) in Los Angeles, USA.
 
1988 brought the Spanish era which saw first Jose Doreste then José van der Ploeg take the gold. The Spanish streak was broken in 1996 as the mighty Pole, Mateusz Kusznierewicz, powered to Olympic Gold in Atlanta, USA.
 
2000 saw the start of the British dominance which continues to this day as Iain Percy won Olympic gold. Percy’s win was followed by three consecutive Gold medals by his friend and fellow countryman Sir Ben Ainslie, making Ainslie the most decorated sailing Olympian.
 
Recent World Champions
 
Jorge Zarif (BRA) won in 2013 but since then the top of the podium has been the domain of one man.  The Rio 2016 quadrennial has been dominated by Giles Scott (GBR) who has won every Finn Gold Cup, and most major events, since 2014.
 
Life as an Olympic Event
 
The single handed dinghy event was first introduced to the Olympic sailing competition in 1924. A local class, the French National Monotype was the equipment of choice. The trend of choosing a local class continued for three Olympiads with the 12 foot dinghy, Snowbird and O Jolle. In the post-war period the expense of local classes was unthinkable and the International Yacht Racing Union (now World Sailing) selected the Firefly, an inexpensive mass-produced Single Manufacturer One Design to fill the slot. 
 
The Firefly was not designed as a single person boat and proved difficult to handle. So, in 1949 it was replaced by a one-design developed exclusively for the Olympic Sailing Competition, the Finn.
 
The single handed dinghy event was open to both men and women until the 1992 quadrennial when the Europe was introduced and the Finn made men’s one-person dinghy. Following the introduction of the Laser in 1996, it currently fills the slot for Men’s Heavyweight Dinghy.
 
What’s it like to sail?
 
Hard Work! The Finn is one of the most physical and tactical sailboats in the world. The brutal pumping technique the sailors use downwind in breeze requires both extreme strength and incredible finesse. With a hull weight of 107kg, just moving the boat around the boat park takes a bit of effort.
 
Short History of the Class and Key specs
 
The Finn was designed in 1959 by Swedish sailor and canoe builder Richard Sarby for the Olympic Sailing Competition in 1962. It was an instant hit.
 
The Finn packs a 6.66 m mast and massive 10.6 m2 of sail area to power its 4.5 m, 107kg hull. This means it requires a lot of strength from the sailor just to get it round the course.
 
Although the Finn hull has changed little since its design, there have been extensive developments to the rig. The mast and boom were made of wood until the late 60’s when aluminium masts were introduced. The new masts were first supplied to Olympic sailors for the Munich 1972 Olympic Games. More recently, highly technical carbon fibre masts have been permitted and have become commonplace in competitive Finn fleets. The sails too have gone through revolution. Earlier sails were made first of cotton, then of dacron, but today sails are commonly made of various advanced laminates such as Technora and Kevlar.
 
The Finn is a ‘one design’ which means all boats follow the same design but sailors have freedom to choose hull, rig and rudder and centerboard from a variety of approved class manufacturers leading to some variation in boats. The class rules are overseen and builders approved by the International Finn Association.
 
Famous Faces
 
The Finn hall of fame is bursting at the seams! The big boys of the Olympic sailing scene have made their mark on sport in every possible way.
 
Finn Sailors have been at the forefront of developing sailing. Charles Currey (GBR), one of the pioneers of the Single Manufacturer One Design concept, was the Finn’s first ever Olympic silver medallist ahead of its designer Rickard Sarby (SWE). Bruce Kirby (CAN), designer of the Laser, sailed the Finn at the 1956 and 1964 Olympic Games. Luca Devoti (ITA) transitioned from being one of the world’s top Finn sailors to being its foremost boat builder. Devoti’s highly technical ‘Fantastica’ Finn has dominated the racing scene, winning championships in every corner of the world. In the 2004, 2008 and 2012 Olympic Finn regattas nearly every boat was a Devoti Finn. The Finn has also given the sport America’s Cup stars Russell Coutts, John Bertrand, Ainslie and Iain Percy.
 
Finn sailors have also made an impact on the wider sporting world. Jacques Rogge (BEL), who served from 2001 to 2013 as the president of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) was a Finn sailor. Three-time Olympic Finn Gold medallist Paul Elvstrom is one of the most quoted men in sport with his famous mantra; “You haven’t won the race, if in winning the race you have lost the respect of your competitors”. Lawrence Lemieux (CAN) is famous for his actions in the 1988 Olympics where he sacrificed an almost certain medal to help two sailors who had capsized and were without support in another race. Lemieux is one of only a small handful of athletes to have been awarded the Pierre de Coubertin Medal.
 
Other big Finn names include: Jochen Schümann (GER), Mateusz Kusznierewicz (POL), Fredrik Lööf (SWE) Rafael Trujillo (ESP), Jonathan Lobert (FRA), Pieter Jan Postma (NED) and Jonas Høgh-Christensen (DEN) and David Howlett (GBR) and Peter Holmberg (ISV).
 
Did you know…
 
The Finn has been in every summer Olympics since its 1952 debut, making it one of the longest serving dinghy classes in the Olympic sailing competition.

RIO 2016 OLYMPIC SAILING COMPETITION USEFUL LINKS
World Sailing Olympic Website – http://www.sailing.org/olympics/rio2016/home.php
Rio 2016 Schedule – http://www.sailing.org/olympics/rio2016/about/schedule.php#.V5Yw346BLqM
Rio 2016 Olympic Sailors – http://www.sailing.org/olympics/rio2016/qualification/sailors.php#.V5Yw946BLqM