olympics1952 Helsinki Olympics
Scoring System - Olympic High-Point Format
The 1952 Olympics used the Olympic High-Point scoring system, the standard for Olympic sailing from 1924 through 1984. This is the inverse of today's system - the sailor with the most points won.
Points were awarded based on finishing position relative to the number of entries in the fleet (28 Finns). First place earned the most points, with the gap between 1st and 2nd always larger than between 2nd and 3rd - rewarding top finishes disproportionately. DNF (Did Not Finish) and DSQ (Disqualified) scored zero.
After all 7 races, each sailor's worst race was discarded (shown in parentheses), and the highest net total won. Paul Elvstrom (DEN) dominated with 9058 total points (8209 net), winning by a massive margin over Charles Currey (GBR, 5449 net) and Rickard Sarby (SWE, 5051 net).
Fun fact: Finn designer Rickard Sarby didn't just design the boat - he raced it to a bronze medal at the same 1952 Helsinki Olympics where it debuted.
Weather Conditions at Harmaja
| Date | Race | Conditions | Wind | Wind speed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 20 July | I | Grand yachting weather | SW | 6-7 m/s |
| 21 July | II | Calm sea, later rain | SW | 1-2, later 6-7 m/s |
| 22 July | III | Magnificent seas | SW | 10 m/s |
| 23 July | IV | - | Shifty | 3-4 m/s |
| 26 July | V | Rainy | SW | 3-6 m/s |
| 27 July | VI | - | SW | 4-6 m/s |
| 28 July | VII | Fine and sunny | Shifty | Light |
Racing was held at the Harmaja course area off Helsinki over 7 races, with predominantly southwesterly winds.
Charles Currey
GBR
5449 pts
Paul Elvstrom
DEN
8209 pts
Rickard Sarby
SWE
5051 pts
| Rank | Sailor | Fleet | R1 | R2 | R3 | R4 | R5 | R6 | R7 | Total | Net |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Paul Elvstrom DEN | 1 | (5) | 1 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 1 | 9058 | 8209 | |
| 2 | Charles Currey GBR | 9 | (10) | 8 | 8 | 1 | 2 | 6 | 5997 | 5449 | |
| 3 | Rickard Sarby SWE | 6 | 1 | 4 | 6 | 10 | 12 | (14) | 5453 | 5051 | |
| 4 | Koos de Jong  NED | 4 | 2 | 5 | (11) | 5 | 10 | 9 | 5540 | 5033 | |
| 5 | Wolfgang Erndl  AUT | (DSQ) | 4 | 9 | 16 | 4 | 15 | 3 | 4273 | 4273 | |
| 6 | Moritz Skaugen  NOR | 2 | 19 | (DNF) | 18 | 15 | 1 | 16 | 4073 | 4073 | |
| 7 | Adelchi Pelaschier  ITA | 5 | 6 | 2 | 14 | (DSQ) | 11 | 18 | 4068 | 4068 | |
| 8 | Paul McLaughlin  CAN | 13 | 11 | 14 | (22) | 9 | 5 | 2 | 4239 | 4033 | |
| 9 | Alfredo Bercht  BRA | 19 | 9 | (21) | 2 | 13 | 17 | 5 | 3937 | 3711 | |
| 10 | Ramon Balcells Rodon  ESP | 8 | (DSQ) | 3 | 26 | 2 | DSQ | 10 | 3644 | 3644 | |
| 11 | Jacques Lebrun  FRA | 7 | 7 | 6 | 5 | (20) | 16 | 20 | 3863 | 3616 | |
| 12 | Pyotr Gorelikov  URS | (DNF) | 12 | 16 | 3 | 8 | 3 | DSQ | 3600 | 3600 | |
| 13 | Willy H.A. Pieper  SUI | 16 | 14 | 13 | 4 | (17) | 6 | 8 | 3859 | 3541 | |
| 14 | Kenneth Albury  BAH | (DNF) | 15 | 10 | 13 | 7 | 8 | 11 | 3209 | 3209 | |
| 15 | Werner Krogmann  GER | 3 | 16 | 11 | (17) | 11 | 14 | 17 | 3467 | 3149 | |
| 16 | Hellmut Stauch  RSA | 12 | 3 | (20) | 9 | 19 | 18 | 13 | 3377 | 3130 | |
| 17 | Mario Gentil Quina  POR | 18 | (DNF) | 17 | 7 | 6 | 7 | DNF | 2787 | 2787 | |
| 18 | Christian Nielsen  BEL | 17 | 13 | (22) | 12 | 12 | 9 | 12 | 2959 | 2753 | |
| 19 | Gunnar Kallstrom  FIN | 15 | 8 | 19 | 15 | 21 | (25) | 7 | 2737 | 2587 | |
| 20 | Eugenio Lauz  URU | 10 | 17 | 12 | (25) | 14 | 13 | 21 | 2547 | 2397 | |
| 21 | Alfred Fred Joseph Delany  IRL | 14 | 23 | 15 | 19 | (26) | 26 | 4 | 2441 | 2308 | |
| 22 | Peter Attrill  AUS | 11 | 18 | (DNF) | 10 | 18 | DNF | 15 | 2013 | 2013 | |
| 23 | Karlo Bauman  YUG | (DSQ) | 24 | 7 | 20 | 16 | 20 | DSQ | 1709 | 1709 | |
| 24 | Jorge de Cardenas  CUB | 20 | 22 | 18 | (27) | 23 | 19 | 19 | 1587 | 1470 | |
| 25 | Carlos Miguel Benn  ARG | 22 | 25 | (DNF) | 24 | 24 | 22 | 22 | 1104 | 1104 | |
| 26 | Antonios Modinos  GRE | 21 | 26 | (DNF) | 23 | 25 | 21 | DNF | 921 | 921 | |
| 27 | Keijiro Kaitoku  JPN | 23 | 20 | (DNF) | DSQ | 22 | 23 | DNF | 825 | 825 | |
| 28 | Edward Melaika  USA | (DNF) | 21 | 23 | 26 | DNF | 24 | DSQ | 713 | 713 |