Sailing

One of the few sports to make a debut with both men's and women's competitions in place, Sailing set off the mark in the 1900 Paris Games and has been sailing since then, with the exception of 1904 St Louis Games. Though earlier known as yachting, it was changed to its current name 'Sailing' at the 2000 Sydney Games. Since the sport's inclusion in the Olympic Games, Great Britain leads the gold medals tally, winning 24 out of the 162 that have been awarded; whereas USA and Norway and second and third with 19 and 17 gold medals respectively. As far as overall medals tally is concerned, USA with 59 medals out of 461 awarded is at the top; whereas Great Britain and France second and third with 49 and 37 medals respectively. However, in the last three Olympic Games, Great Britain has been the most successful of all the countries. Having said that, the most successful sailor in the Olympics has been, undoubtedly, Paul Elvstrom of Denmark; he won 4 gold medals in four consecutive games, beginning 1948. In the upcoming 2012 London Olympics, 380 sailors-237 men and 147 women-will participate in 10 different events. The competition will be held at Weymouth and Portland, Dorset from 29th July to 11th August.