Sailing at the 2012 Summer Olympics

Lore & Background

Sailing has been an Olympic sport since the 1896 Athens Games, with the exception of 1904 and the cancelled 1916 Olympics. For the 2012 Games, the sailing events were staged on the open sea at Weymouth Bay, consistent with the IOC custom that sailing must be held on open water. The Weymouth and Portland National Sailing Academy was reconstructed for the purpose, providing administrative, media, and logistical facilities, as well as craning, mooring, and slipway services.

Reader's Guide

The 2012 sailing program featured ten events, with the 49er class scheduled for 16 races (15 opening races and one medal race) and the Elliott 6m class using a series of match races. All other events had 11 fleet races, with 10 opening races and one medal race. Five race areas were set on Weymouth Bay within an exclusion zone bounded by a fictive line between Portland and the mainland. The only countries to qualify in all events were France, New Zealand, the United States, and host Great Britain; New Zealand declined its place in the Women's RS-X. The competition drew 63 nations, including six that received reallocated places. The event underscored the longstanding Olympic tradition of sailing, which has been present at nearly every Summer Games since 1896.

Did You Know?

• Sailing has been an Olympic sport since the 1896 Olympics in Athens, with the exception of 1904 and the cancelled 1916 Games.
• The 2012 sailing events were held at Weymouth and Portland National Sailing Academy, which was reconstructed for the Olympics.
• A total of 63 nations participated, but no nation qualified in all ten events; Great Britain and the US competed in nine, France in eight, and New Zealand in seven.
• The 49er class had 16 races scheduled, while the Elliott 6m used a series of match races.