5.5 metres, Open

Racing over a 14 nautical mile (26 km) course, this was a dominating victory for Sweden’s Lars Thörn aboard Rush V. They won three races, finished second in two, and could have skipped the last race and won the gold medal. They could have actually skipped the final two races and still won silver. Thörn later won a silver medal in this class at the 1964 Olympics.

The British boat, Vision, came from behind by placing third in the final race and moved up to second place ahead of Australia’s Buraddoo. The Buraddoo’s helmsman Jock Sturrock, later made Australia’s first America’s Cup challenge, in 1962 aboard Gretel, losing 4-1 to the American yacht, Weatherly, although Sturrock’s victory in the second race was the first by a challenger since 1934.