With being born in Poole, Ron Backus took up sailing at an early age. Prior to gaining selection for the 1956 Melbourne Olympics in the Dragon class, he had enjoyed many successes aboard Margo in the Swallow class, including the 1954 National Swallows Championship. At Melbourne, Backus teamed up with helmsman lieutenant-commander Graham Mann and Jonathan Janson aboard Bluebottle.
Bluebottle was owned by Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II and her husband Prince Philip, who were gifted her as a wedding present in 1947 by the people of Cowes, Isle of Wight. Bluebottle was chartered to Mann specifically for the Olympics. Despite their Royal connections, Backus, Mann, and Janson were true amateurs and paid their own way to the Melbourne Games. They did not let their Royal owners down as they won the bronze medal. Mann and his crew won one of the seven races, climbed into the bronze medal position after race five, and held on to it after finishing second in the seventh and last race. Later in life Backus settled in the country of his Olympic triumph and died there in 1999.
Great Britain