Paul Elvstrøm biography
Paul Elvstrøm, in full Paul Bert Elvstrøm, (born February 25, 1928, Hellerup, Denmark—died December 7, 2016, Hellerup), Danish yachtsman who is taken into account the best sailor in Olympic historical past, dominating Finn-class crusing between 1948 and 1960. He gained 4 consecutive gold medals in monotype (single-person) crusing—within the Firefly class in 1948 and thereafter within the new Finn class. He was the primary Olympic athlete to take particular person golds in 4 consecutive Games.
Elvstrøm realized to sail when he obtained a small dinghy as a schoolboy. He was 20 years outdated when he first competed in worldwide yachting on the 1948 Olympic Games in London. After 5 races, Elvstrøm was in eighth place and trailed by greater than 800 factors, however he gained the final two races to seize the gold medal. He pioneered the strategy of leaning again over the water from the knees and revolutionized coaching for the game. Elvstrøm handily gained the gold medal on the 1952 Games in Helsinki, ending virtually 3,000 factors forward of the opposite opponents. He additionally had straightforward victories on the 1956 Olympics in Melbourne and the 1960 Games in Rome. During this time he established (1954) the corporate Elvström Dinghy Sails (now Elvstrøm Sails) and later launched numerous modern merchandise, notably a self-bailer and a life jacket designed for aggressive crusing, each of which remained commonplace gear in competitors into the twenty first century.
Elvstrøm’s success and superstar introduced private stress, and, because of this, he selected to attend the 1964 Games in Tokyo solely as an observer. He returned to Olympic competitors in 1968 however didn't medal. At the 1972 Games in Munich, below the pressures of competitors and his failing sail-making enterprise, he suffered a nervous breakdown. Elvstrøm returned to the Olympics in 1984 in Los Angeles, the place he sailed the Tornado catamaran with considered one of his daughters, Trine Elvstrøm-Myralf, as crew. The pair additionally competed within the 1988 Olympics in Seoul, his final look on the Games.
Elvstrøm wrote a collection of influential books on racing. In 1996 he was named Danish Sportsman of the Century, and in 2007 he was inducted into the inaugural class of the International Sailing Federation Hall of Fame.