Finn

A physically demanding single handed dinghy, and the oldest current Olympic class, the Finn is seen as one of the most challenging but rewarding boats to sail.

It is a one design class where athletes compete with almost identical equipment, built to a set of fine tolerances and with strict measurement control. Any differences in the designs between boats are within the permitted variations included in the class rules. These permitted variations allow athletes to compete with equipment that they consider best fitted to their style of sailing, adding a technical element to the competition.

It has changed very little in design since its introduction to the Olympics, other than the material used – the wooden hulls of the 1950s and 1960s have been replaced by fibreglass.

The Finn was designed by Rickard Sarby (SWE) in 1949, after the Finnish Yachting Association held a competition to find a single handed dinghy for the Helsinki Olympic Games in 1952. Though Sarby’s design was not initially selected, he was invited to the trials as he had already built a prototype. In 1950 it was selected as an Olympic class and has remained so ever since after its Helsinki debut, where Sarby himself won bronze.

The last five Finn Olympic gold medals have all gone to Great Britain. After Iain Percy’s triumph at Sydney 2000, Sir Ben Ainslie then won three consecutive golds at Athens 2004, Beijing 2008 and London 2012. Defending Olympic champion Giles Scott will be aiming for two in a row at Tokyo 2020, following his success at Rio 2016.

Along with his silver and gold medals in the Laser class, Ainslie is the most successful Olympic sailor in history, but he was by no means the first to win three consecutive gold medals in the Finn class. That honour was claimed by legendary Danish sailor Paul Elvstrøm, who dominated the early years of the Finn at the Games. He won gold at Helsinki 1952, Melbourne 1956 and Rome 1960, and so holds the title of joint most successful Olympic Finn sailor with Ainslie.

Other notable names in the Finn class include Mateusz Kusznierewicz (POL), gold medallist at Atlanta 1996 and bronze medallist at Athens 2004; André Nelis (BEL), who won silver at Helsinki 1952 and bronze at Rome 1960; and Andrei Balashov (URS), who took silver at Montreal 1976 and bronze at Moscow 1980. Elsewhere, world renowned yachtsman and five-time America’s Cup winner Sir Russell Coutts remains the only Kiwi sailor to have won gold in the Finn class at the Olympics (Los Angeles 1984).