Sailing at the 1900 Summer Olympics – 1 to 2 ton explained

Event:1 to 2 Ton Sailing
Games:1900 Summer
Date:First race:
Second race:
Competitors:22 (documented)
Nations:3
Teams:9
Goldnoc:SUI
Silvernoc:FRA
Bronzenoc:FRA
Goldnoc2:GER
Silvernoc2:SUI
Bronzenoc2:FRA

The 1 to 2 ton was a sailing event on the Sailing at the 1900 Summer Olympics program in Meulan. Nine boats started during the two races in the 1 to 2 ton. Twenty–two competitors from three countries are documented. The races were held on 22 and 25 May 1900 on the river Seine.

Race schedule

bgcolor=DodgerBlue align=center ● Meulan competition bgcolor=Lime align=center ● Le Havre competition

Course area and course configuration

For the 1 to 2 ton the 19km (12miles) course in the Meulan course area was used.

Weather conditions

The race was troublesome due to an almost complete absence of any wind and that the wind there came perpendicular to the course (river Seine) and was blocked or diverted by trees and buildings.

Final results

Two separate races were sailed. No combined results were made.

Race of 25 May 1900

This race saw with Aschenbrödel (German for Cinderella) one more boat competing. One day earlier they had entered in the ½—1 ton class, but were not permitted to race as their boat measured in at 1.041 tons. In this class the German crew sailed the lightest boat, yet easily finished in the quickest time. Their low handicap served only to widen the gap between them and the second-place Swiss team.

Notes

Since Hélène de Pourtalès was the first female Olympic starter in the modern Olympics, she holds the first Olympic medals won by a woman. However her Swiss team did not win the first medals for Switzerland, that honor goes to Louis Zutter during the 1896 Olympics.

Other information

Initially only the race on 22 May 1900 was part of the Olympic program. However the race on the 25 May 1900, initially part of the Exposition Universelle program, was afterwards awarded with an Olympic status.

Further reading