One Person Dinghy (Finn), Open

This Finn event came down to the last race. Spain’s José Luis Doreste finished only third in the race, but it was good enough for the gold medal when Peter Holmberg of the United States Virgin Islands finished only second. Doreste had been disqualified in the fourth race and was upset with his opponents, accusing them of trying to win “in the jury room” instead of on the water. In that race, Holmberg had gone over the starting line and the premature start dropped him to last-place points, eventually depriving him of the gold medal. Doreste’s brother, Luis Doreste, had won a gold medal in the 470 class at the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics. Holmberg’s silver was the first Olympic medal won by the U.S. Virgin Islands.

In race five of the Finn class, Joseph Chan of Singapore, who was racing concurrently in the 470 class, went overboard and was being swept away by the currents, unable to resist much because of a back injury. He was rescued by Canada’s Finn entrant Lawrence Lemieux, who had been in second place when he saw Chan struggling in the water, but deviated from his course to rescue him. Lemieux eventually finished 11th in the class, but was awarded the points for a second place position in race five, his placement when he left for the rescue. For his actions, he was given the Pierre de Coubertin Award by the IOC.