The first time New Zealand sent yachtsmen to an Olympic Games they won a gold medal. Jack Cropp and Peter Mander competed in the 12-metre Sharpie class in Melbourne in 1956 in a boat built by Mander, Jest. The New Zealanders won three of the seven races and their closest rivals, the Australians, won two, giving Mander and Cropp the gold medal on a countback. They thought they’d won the silver when they were second in the final race, but the Australian skipper, Rolly Tasker, had been disqualified and the two rival countries ended with an equal number of points. It was the greater number of wins for Mander and Cropp that made the difference. It was fitting that Mander skippered the winning boat because he had been instrumental in forming the New Zealand Yachting Federation, a pre-requisite to being accepted in the Olympics.
New Zealand