Paul Elvstrøm

Paul Elvstrøm

Personal information
Full name	Paul Bert Elvstrøm
Nationality	Denmark
Born	(1928-02-25) 25 February 1928 Copenhagen, Denmark
Height	1.82 m (5 ft 11 1⁄2 in)
Weight	85 kg (187 lb)
Class(es)	5.5 Metre, 505, Finn, Firefly, Flying Dutchman, Snipe, Soling, Star, Tornado
Medal record International athletics competitions Event 1st 2nd 3rd Olympic Games 4 0 0 World Championships 11 2 2 Total 15 2 2 Olympic Games Gold 1948 London Firefly class Gold 1952 Helsinki Finn class Gold 1956 Melbourne Finn class Gold 1960 Rome Finn class World Championships Gold 1957 La Baule 505 class Gold 1958 La Baule 505 class Gold 1958 Zeebrugge Finn class Gold 1959 Copenhagen Finn class Gold 1959 Porto Alegre Snipe class Gold 1962 St. Petersburg Flying Dutchman class Gold 1966 Copenhagen 5.5 metres class Gold 1966 Kiel Star class Gold 1967 Copenhagen Star class Gold 1969 Copenhagen Soling class Gold 1974 Sydney Soling class Silver 1957 Burnham Finn class Silver 1969 San Diego Star class Bronze 1971 New York Soling class Bronze 1985 Travemünde Tornado class

Paul Bert Elvstrøm (born 25 February 1928 in Copenhagen) is a yachtsman from Denmark. He has won four gold medals at the Olympic Games and won world championships eleven times in eight different types of boat, including Snipe, Soling, Star, Flying Dutchman and Finn.

Biography

He competed in eight Olympic Games from 1948 to 1988, being one of only four persons ever (the others are sailor Ben Ainslie and athletes Carl Lewis in the long jump and Al Oerter in the discus) to win four consecutive individual gold medals (1948, '52, '56, '60), first time in a Firefly, subsequently in Finns.^[1] In his last two Olympic games he sailed the very high performance Tornado Catamaran class, which, in those days, was normally sailed by two young men, with his daughter Inge Trine Elvstrøm as forward hand.

Elvstrøm is also noted as a developer of sails and sailing equipment. One of his most successful innovations was a new type of self-bailer. The design is still in production under the Andersen brand and has been widely copied. The new features were a wedge shaped venturi that closes automatically if the boat grounds or hits an obstruction, and a flap that acts as a non return valve to minimise water coming in if the boat is stationary or moving too slowly for the device to work. Previous automatic bailers would be damaged or destroyed if they met an obstruction, and would let considerable amounts of water in if the boat was moving too slowly.

Elvstrøm was a very early innovator in training techniques. For example he used the technique of 'sitting out' or hiking using toe-straps to a greater degree than previously, getting all his body weight from the knees upwards outside the boat, thus providing extra leverage to enable the boat to remain level in stronger winds and hence go faster than his competitors. This technique required great strength and fitness, so Elvstrøm built a training bench with toe-straps in his garage to replicate the sitting-out position in his dinghy. He then proceeded to spend many training hours on dry land sitting out on the bench at home.

He also popularised the kicking strap, or boom vang (US). This may take the form of a block and tackle linking a low point on the mast (or an equivalent point on the hull) and the boom close to the mast, which allows the boom to be let out when reaching or running without lifting. This controls the twist of the mainsail from its foot to its head, increasing the sail's power and the boat's speed and controlability. Elvstrøm did not advertise his new invention, leaving his competitors mystified at his superior boat-speed. Investigation of his dinghy revealed nothing as he used to remove the kicking strap before coming ashore.

He established a manufacturing company whose products included masts, booms, and sails. He has also been instrumental in developing several international yacht racing rules.

Among the innovative concepts he has brought to sailboat racing is the concept of gates instead of a single windward or leeward mark in large regattas. The leeward gate on a windward-leeward course is commonly used. The windward gate less often used due to the difficulties in managing right-of-way around the right gate whose subtlies are understood mostly by match racers.^[2]

In 1996 Elvstrøm was chosen as "Danish Sportsman of the Century."^[3]

In 2007 Elvstrøm was among the first six inductees into the International Sailing Federation (ISAF) Sailing Hall of Fame.^[4]

Achievements

Elvstrøm, in his career, won medals at the world championships in eight kind of sailing classes: Finn, 505, Snipe, Flying Dutchman, 5.5 Metre, Star, Soling and Tornado.

Year	Competition	Venue	Position	Event	Notes
1956	Finn World Championships	Burnham-on-Crouch	2nd	Finn	[5]
1957	505 World Championships	La Baule-Escoublac	1st	505	[6]
1958	505 World Championships	La Baule-Escoublac	1st	505	[6]
	Finn World Championships	Zeebrugge	1st	Finn	[5]
1959	Finn World Championships	Copenhagen	1st	Finn	[5]
	Snipe World Championships	Porto Alegre	1st	Snipe	[6]
1962	Flying Dutchman World Championships	St. Petersburg	1st	Flying Dutchman	[6]
1966	5.5 Metre World Championships	Copenhagen	1st	5.5 metres
	Star World Championships	Kiel	1st	Star	[6]
1967	Star World Championships	Copenhagen	1st	Star	[6]
1969	Soling World Championships	Copenhagen	1st	Soling	[6]
	Star World Championships	San Diego	2nd	Star	[6]
1971	Soling World Championships	New York	3rd	Soling
1974	Soling World Championships	Sydney	1st	Soling	[6]
1985	Tornado World Championships	Travemünde	3rd	Tornado	[6]

Bibliography

• Elvstrom, Paul. Expert Dinghy and Keelboat Racing, 1967, Times Books, ISBN 0-8129-0054-5
• Elvstrom, Paul. Elvström Speaks on Yacht Racing, 1970, One-Design & Offshore Yachtsman Magazine, ISBN 0-8129-0134-7
• Elvstrom, Paul. Elvström Speaks -- to His Sailing Friends on His Life and Racing Career, 1970, Nautical Publishing Company, ISBN 0-245-59851-0
• Paul Elvström Explains the Yacht Racing Rules, First edition 1969, title updated to Paul Elvstrom Explains the Racing Rules of Sailing: 2005-2008 Rules. Updated four-yearly in accordance with racing rules revisions, various authors and publishers. ISBN 0-07-145626-0

See also

• List of athletes with the most appearances at Olympic Games
• Most successful athletes at the World Championships

References

External links

• Paul Elvstrøm results
• Paul Elvstrøm at Sports Reference