5.5 metres, Open

As did the Dragons, the 5.5 metre boats raced on the Rosso course. The American Minotaur, with George O’Day at the helm, opened up such a large lead that it did not need to start the final race to win the gold medal, but it did, and also won that race. O’Day had won the US Olympic Trials racing on Wistful but that boat was damaged in a collision with a cruiser, so O’Day purchased Minotaur just before leaving for Roma. He was a boat designer who designed 32 different classes of boats, and he was also an assistant helmsman on victorious America’s Cup yachts in 1962 and 1967.

In 15th place the Finnish yacht was helmed by Peter Tallberg, who competed in five Olympics, and became a member of the IOC in July 1976. He also served as President of the International Yacht Racing Union (IYRU) from 1986-94, before it was renamed the International Sailing Federation.