# Finn (dinghy)

The Finn dinghy is a single-handed, cat-rigged sailboat, and a former Olympic class for men's sailing. Since its debut at the 1952 Summer Olympics in Helsinki, the Finn featured in every summer Olympics until 2020, making it the longest serving dinghy in the Olympic Regatta and one of the most prolific Olympic sailboats,. The Finn is a physically demanding boat to race at the highest levels, especially since the class rules now allow unlimited boat rocking and sail pumping when the wind is above 10 knots. The event did not feature on the Olympic programme from 2024.

## Design

The Finn was designed by Swedish canoe designer, Rickard Sarby, in 1949 for the Helsinki Olympics.
in 1952 the hulls were built of timber and the sails were of cotton. Initially there was little understanding of the role of a mast which could bend to reduce power. However over time the Finn sailors learned how to plane timber off the front of their masts for heavy winds and to glue on strips of timber on the front of the masts for lighter winds.
Although the Finn hull has changed little since then, there have been developments to the rig. The original spars were made of wood until the late 1960s and early 1970s, when there was a gradual change to aluminum masts. Aluminum masts are significantly more flexible and allow more control over sail shape, and became commonplace after the 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich when they were first supplied to Olympic sailors. More recently, carbon fiber masts have become commonplace in competition Finns.
The sails, too, have evolved and are now commonly made of various laminates such as Technora, polyester, and Kevlar.
The class rules are overseen by the International Finn Association.

## Events
### Olympic Games

| Gamesvte | Gold | Silver | Bronze |
| 1952 Helsinki details - Open | Paul Elvstrøm (DEN) | Charles Currey (GBR) | Rickard Sarby (SWE) |
| 1956 Melbourne details - Open | Paul Elvstrøm (DEN) | André Nelis (BEL) | John Marvin (USA) |
| 1960 Rome details - Open | Paul Elvstrøm (DEN) | Aleksander Tšutšelov (URS) | André Nelis (BEL) |
| 1964 Tokyo details - Open | Wilhelm Kuhweide (EUA) | Peter Barrett (USA) | Henning Wind (DEN) |
| 1968 Mexico City details - Open | Valentin Mankin (URS) | Hubert Raudaschl (AUT) | Fabio Albarelli (ITA) |
| 1972 Munich details - Open | Serge Maury (FRA) | Ilias Hatzipavlis (GRE) | Viktor Potapov (URS) |
| 1976 Montreal details - Open | Jochen Schümann (GDR) | Andrei Balashov (URS) | John Bertrand (AUS) |
| 1980 Moscow details - Open | Esko Rechardt (FIN) | Wolfgang Mayrhofer (AUT) | Andrei Balashov (URS) |
| 1984 Los Angeles details - Open | Russell Coutts (NZL) | John Bertrand (USA) | Terry Neilson (CAN) |
| 1988 Seoul details - Male | José Doreste (ESP) | Peter Holmberg (ISV) | John Cutler (NZL) |
| 1992 Barcelona details - Male | José van der Ploeg (ESP) | Brian Ledbetter (USA) | Craig Monk (NZL) |
| 1996 Atlanta details - Male | Mateusz Kusznierewicz (POL) | Sebastien Godefroid (BEL) | Roy Heiner (NED) |
| 2000 Sydney details - Male | Iain Percy (GBR) | Luca Devoti (ITA) | Fredrik Lööf (SWE) |
| 2004 Athens details - Male | Ben Ainslie (GBR) | Rafael Trujillo (ESP) | Mateusz Kusznierewicz (POL) |
| 2008 Beijing details - Open | Ben Ainslie (GBR) | Zach Railey (USA) | Guillaume Florent (FRA) |
| 2012 London details - Male | Ben Ainslie (GBR) | Jonas Høgh-Christensen (DEN) | Jonathan Lobert (FRA) |
| 2016 Rio de Janeiro details - Male | Giles Scott (GBR) | Vasilij Žbogar (SLO) | Caleb Paine (USA) |
| 2020 Tokyo details - Male | Giles Scott (GBR) | Zsombor Berecz (HUN) | Joan Cardona Méndez (ESP) |

### World Championships

* Finn Gold Cup Open Worlds
* Finn Youth World Championship for Under 23
* Finn Masters World Championship for sailors above 39
The following league combined table of medalist is below
| Ranking | Sailor | Gold | Silver | Bronze | Total | No. Entries |
| 1 | Michal Maier (CZE) | 6 | 1 | 1 | 8 | 37 |
| 2 | Ben Ainslie (GBR) | 6 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 7 |
| 3 | Lawrence Lemieux (CAN) | 5 | 3 | 2 | 10 | 24 |
| 4 | Giles Scott (GBR) | 5 | 0 | 1 | 6 | 10 |
| 5 | Fredrik Lööf (SWE) | 3 | 3 | 1 | 7 | 11 |
| 5 | Jörg Bruder (BRA) | 3 | 2 | 1 | 6 | 8 |
| 5 | Lasse Hjortnäs (DEN) | 3 | 2 | 0 | 5 | 13 |
| 7 | Georg Oser (SUI) | 3 | 1 | 2 | 6 | 12 |
| 8 | Vladimir Krutskikh (RUS) | 3 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 9 |
| 9 | Andre Mevel (FRA) | 3 | 0 | 2 | 5 | 6 |
| 10 | Roland Balthasar (GER) | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 14 |
| 10 | Wilhelm Kuhweide (EUA) | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 7 |
| 11 | André Nelis (BEL) | 2 | 3 | 2 | 7 | 8 |
| 12 | Mateusz Kusznierewicz (POL) | 2 | 3 | 0 | 5 | 10 |
| 13 | Pieter-Jan Postma (NED) | 2 | 2 | 3 | 7 | 15 |
| 13 | Edward Wright (GBR) | 2 | 2 | 3 | 7 | 16 |
| 15 | Wolfgang Gerz (FRG) | 2 | 2 | 2 | 6 | 13 |
| 16 | Jonas Høgh-Christensen (DEN) | 2 | 1 | 2 | 5 | 14 |
| 17 | José Luis Doreste (ESP) | 2 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 4 |
| 18 | Paul Elvström (DEN) | 2 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 4 |
| 18 | Hank Lammens (CAN) | 2 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 7 |
| 19 | Philippe Presti (FRA) | 2 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 6 |
| 20 | Cam Lewis (USA) | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 3 |
| 20 | Stig Westergaard (DEN) | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 7 |

### Continental Championships

* 2006 Finn Open European Championship