This year, Olympic sailing is returning to the country where it took off 124 years ago with long and sustained breath: France! While the first Olympic Games of the modern era were held in Athens in 1886 without boats, sails were set for the first time in France in 1900. Helmsman Paul Wiesner and his crew from the Berlin Yacht Club won the one- to two-tonne class with their heavy yacht "Aschenbrödel". There were no medals yet, but the men set the first milestone for German sailing success at the Olympics. Until the start of the XXXIII Olympic Games in Paris in 2024, German sailors were sometimes in double FRG/GDR crews between 1952 and 1988 and therefore had an advantage over other nations in the medal count. In 24 Olympic participations, 31 medals were won. There were eight Olympic victories under GER sailing. The leader is Great Britain with 30 gold medals and a total of 63 medals.
Three years ago
With five medals, including three gold plus one silver and one bronze, Great Britain won the Nations' Cup at the Olympic regatta in Enoshima, Japan, ahead of Australia (2 x gold) and the Netherlands (1 x gold, 2 x bronze). The German Olympic sailors came tenth in the country rankings in Japan with three medals won within three and a half hours (1 x silver, 2 x bronze), but were one of only four countries whose sailors won more than two medals
The German medals at the Olympic Games
1900 (Paris/Meulan/Le Havre)
- Paul Wiesner & crew win with "Aschenbrödel" in the one to two-tonne class
1932 (Los Angeles)
- Dr Edgar Bahr, 12-foot dinghy, bronze
1936 (Berlin/Kiel)
- Dr Peter Bischoff/Hans-Joachim Weise, Starboot, Gold
- Werner Krogmann, O dinghy, silver
- Hans Howaldt/Alfried Krupp von Bohlen & Crew, 8 mR, Bronze
1952 (Helsinki)
- Theodor Thomsen/Erich Natusch/Georg Nowka, Dragon, Bronze
1960 (Rome/Naples)
- Rolf Mulka/Ingo von Bredow/Achim Kadelbach (substitute 4th WF), Flying Dutchman, Bronze
1964 (Tokyo/Enoshima)
- Willy Kuhweide, Finn Dinghy, Gold
- Peter Ahrendt/Ulrich Mense/Wilfried Lorenz, Dragon, Silver
1968 (Mexico/Acapulco)
- Ulli Libor/Peter Naumann, Flying Dutchman, Silver
- Paul Borowski/Karl-Heinz Thun/Konrad Weichert, Dragon, Bronze
1972 (Munich/Kiel)
- Paul Borowski/Karl-Heinz Thun/Konrad Weichert, Dragon, Silver
- Ulli Libor/Peter Naumann, Flying Dutchman, Bronze
Willy Kuhweide/Karsten Meyer, Starboat, Bronze
1976 (Montreal/Kingston)
- Frank Hübner/Prof. Harro Bode, 470s, Gold
- Dr Jörg Diesch/Dr Eckart Diesch, Flying Dutchman, Gold
- Jochen Schümann, Finn Dinghy, Gold
- Jörg Spengler/Jörg Schmall, Tornado, Bronze
- Dieter Below/Olaf Engelhardt/Michael Zachries, Soling, Bronze
1980 (Moscow/Tallinn)
- Jörn Borowski/Egbert Svensson, 470s, silver
1984 (Los Angeles)
- Achim Griese/Michael Marcour, Starboat, Silver
1988 (Seoul/Pusan)
- Jochen Schümann/Thomas Flach/Bernd Jäkel, Soling, Gold
1996 (Atlanta/Savannah)
- Jochen Schümann/Thomas Flach/Bernd Jäkel, Soling, Gold
2000 (Sydney)
- Jochen Schümann/Ingo Borkowski/Gunnar Bahr, Soling, Silver
- Amelie Lux, Mistral (surfing), silver
- Roland Gäbler/Dr René Schwall, Tornado, Bronze
2008 (Beijing/Qingdao)
- Jan-Peter Peckolt/Hannes Peckolt, 49er, Bronze
2016 (Rio de Janeiro)
- Erik Heil/Thomas Plößel, 49er, Bronze
2021 (Tokyo/Enoshima)
- Tina Lutz/Susann Beucke, 49er FX, Silver
- Erik Heil/Thomas Plößel, 49er, Bronze
- Paul Kohlhoff/Alica Stuhlemmer, Nacra 17, Bronze
