Two-Person Keelboat (Star), Men

The last two World Championships had been won by the Brazilian pair of Robert Scheidt and Bruno Prada, who had also won silver in this event at Beijing. They had won the Olympic Test Event and the June 2011 Sail for Gold World Cup at the Olympic site and came to London as heavy favorites. But it was not to be. In the end the gold medal went to the Swedish crew of Fredrik Lööf and Max Salminen, the first for Sweden in sailing since 1976. Loof and Salminen triumphed although they trailed the leaders, Great Britain, after the opening series, with Brazil second, eight points ahead of the Swedes. But they won the medal race for the gold medal, with Britain finishing only eighth to drop back to the silver medal.

Scheidt and Prada won the bronze medal, which was the fifth Olympic sailing medal for Scheidt, equaling the mark of his countryman for most Olympic medals in sailing, Torben Grael. A few days later, Britain’s Ben Ainslie would also win his fifth medal in sailing when he won the Finn class. Scheidt’s medals were a gold in 1996 and 2004 Laser, silver in 2000 Laser, a silver in Star in 2008, and the bronze in Star in 2012.

The Star class has been on the Olympic Program since 1932 but this was scheduled to be the final time, as it will be dropped from the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio.