Hans Marius Fogh (8 March 1938 – 14 March 2014) was one of the most successful competitive

sailors A sailor, seaman, mariner, or seafarer is a person who works aboard a watercraft as part of its crew, and may work in any one of a number of different fields that are related to the operation and maintenance of a ship. The profession of the s ...

in history, with dozens of national and international championships and in many different classes, including two Olympic medals.

Olympic career

Representing Denmark

Fogh represented his country of birth for the first time during the

1960 Summer Olympics The 1960 Summer Olympics ( it, Giochi Olimpici estivi del 1960), officially known as the Games of the XVII Olympiad ( it, Giochi della XVII Olimpiade) and commonly known as Rome 1960 ( it, Roma 1960), were an international multi-sport event held ...

Naples Naples (; it, Napoli ; nap, Napule ), from grc, Νεάπολις, Neápolis, lit=new city. is the regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 909,048 within the city's adminis ...

as helmsman in the Danish

Flying Dutchman The ''Flying Dutchman'' ( nl, De Vliegende Hollander) is a legendary ghost ship, allegedly never able to make port, but doomed to sail the seven seas forever. The myth is likely to have originated from the 17th-century Golden Age of the Du ...

''Skum'' with Ole Gunnar Petersen as crew, and won the silver medal. In

1964 Events January * January 1 – The Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland is dissolved. * January 5 - In the first meeting between leaders of the Roman Catholic and Orthodox churches since the fifteenth century, Pope Paul VI and Patriarc ...

Fogh returned to the Olympics in

Enoshima is a small offshore island, about in circumference, at the mouth of the Katase River which flows into the Sagami Bay of Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan. Administratively, Enoshima is part of the mainland city of Fujisawa, and is linked to ...

again with Ole Gunnar Petersen as crew, Fogh took 4th place in the

Sailing at the 1964 Summer Olympics – Flying Dutchman The Flying Dutchman was a sailing event on the Sailing at the 1964 Summer Olympics program in Enoshima. Seven races were scheduled. 42 sailors, on 21 boats, from 21 nations competed. Results DNF = Did Not Finish, DNS= Did Not Start, DSQ = D ...

''Miss Denmark 1964''. With crew

Niels Jensen Niels Jensen (born 7 June 1939 in Copenhagen) is a sailor from Denmark. Jensen represented his country at the 1968 Summer Olympics in Acapulco. Jensen took 16th place in the Danish Flying Dutchman The ''Flying Dutchman'' ( nl, De Vliegend ...

and again in the Sailing at the 1968 Summer Olympics – Flying Dutchman, Fogh took 16th place in the

1968 The year was highlighted by protests and other unrests that occurred worldwide. Events January–February * January 5 – " Prague Spring": Alexander Dubček is chosen as leader of the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia. * Janu ...

in Acapulco. The last time Fogh represented Denmark at the Olympics was in the

during the 1972 Olympics in

Kiel Kiel () is the capital and most populous city in the northern German state of Schleswig-Holstein, with a population of 246,243 (2021). Kiel lies approximately north of Hamburg. Due to its geographic location in the southeast of the Jutland ...

. With

Ulrik Brock Ulrik Lennart Brock (born 16 January 1945, in Copenhagen) is a sailor from Denmark. Brock represented his country at the Sailing at the 1972 Summer Olympics, 1972 Summer Olympics in Kiel. Brock took 7th place in the Danish Sailing at the 1972 Summ ...

as crew, Fogh took 7th place.

Representing Canada

After Fogh emigrated to

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

he was selected to represent his new country at the

1976 Summer Olympics Events January * January 3 – The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights enters into force. * January 5 – The Pol Pot regime proclaims a new constitution for Democratic Kampuchea. * January 11 – The 1976 P ...

in Kingston. With Evert Bastet as crew, Fogh took 4th place in the Sailing at the 1976 Summer Olympics – Flying Dutchman. His final Olympic appearance came in the

Soling The Soling is an open keelboat that holds the World Sailing "International class" status. The class was used from the 1972 Olympics (Kiel) until the 2000 Olympics (Sydney) as " Open Three Person Keelboat". Besides the Olympic career of the Soli ...

at the

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, largest city in the U.S. state, state of California and the List of United States cities by population, sec ...

1984 Summer Olympics The 1984 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXIII Olympiad and also known as Los Angeles 1984) were an international multi-sport event held from July 28 to August 12, 1984, in Los Angeles, California, United States. It marked the sec ...

. With fellow crew members Steve Calder and John Kerr Fogh, as helmsman took the bronze medal.

Personal life

Born on 8 March 1938 in Rødovre, Denmark, Fogh grew up in a family of gardeners and was expected to take over the family business. With the encouragement and support of long-time friend and fellow sailor Paul Henderson, who managed to lever Fogh’s former career as a gardener, Fogh emigrated to Canada in the 1969 and gained Canadian citizenship in 1975. Fogh was married to Kirsten for 49 years. They have two sons (Morten and Thomas) and five grandchildren. Hans Fogh died from

Creutzfeldt–Jakob disease Creutzfeldt–Jakob disease (CJD), also known as subacute spongiform encephalopathy or neurocognitive disorder due to prion disease, is an invariably fatal degenerative brain disorder. Early symptoms include memory problems, behavioral changes ...

on 14 March 2014 in Toronto.

Professional life

Expected to work in gardening, like the rest of his family, Fogh took a job at ''Elvstrom sailmakers'' where he learned the skills of sailmaking. In 1969 he set up a new sailmaking loft in Canada: ''Elvstrom Canada''. Later he produced sails under the labels: ''Fogh Sails'' and ''North Sails''. His involvement in the development of the standard Laser sail and the subsequent

Laser Radial The Laser Radial or ILCA 6 is a popular one-design class of small sailing dinghy, originally built by Laser Performance. It is a singlehanded boat, meaning that it is sailed by one person. The Laser Radial is a variant of the Laser standard, ...

sail, as well as the

Laser 28 The Laser 28 is a Canadian-built sailboat designed by New Zealander Bruce Farr and first produced in 1984. Production The boat was built by Performance Sailcraft, the builder of the Laser dinghy, in Canada from 1984 until 1990, but it is now ...

sails are of his many well-known accomplishments in his profession.

Sailing career

Hans Fogh won countless World, Continental, and National Championships in even so many Olympic, International, and National Classes. Hans took part of six Olympic Games (1960, 1964, 1968, 1972, 1976 and 1984) and took a silver medal in the

during the Pan Am Games in 1987. A list of major championships is given on the right. He helmed ''Evergreen'' for Don Green during the 1978

Canada's Cup The Canada’s Cup is a silver trophy, deeded in perpetuity in 1896, to be awarded to the winner of a series of match races between a yacht representing a Canadian yacht club and one representing an American yacht club, both to be located on t ...

.thespec.com: "Reliving the ill-fated Fastnet"
, 12 May 2007. See crew in photo #2. He sailed on ''Canada II'' during the

1987 Louis Vuitton Cup The 2nd Louis Vuitton Cup was held in Fremantle, Western Australia in 1987. The winner, Stars & Stripes, went on to challenge for and win the 1987 America's Cup. Teams Twelve syndicates from six countries (Canada, France, Italy, New Zealand ...

. Fogh is an Honoured member of the Canada Sports Hall of Fame from 1985, Canadian Olympic Sports Hall of Fame 1986 and the Etobicoke Sports Halls of Fame.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Fogh, Hans 1938 births 2014 deaths 1987 America's Cup sailors Canadian male sailors (sport) Canadian people of Danish descent Canadian sailors Danish male sailors (sport) Deaths from Creutzfeldt–Jakob disease Neurological disease deaths in Ontario European Champions Soling Flying Dutchman class world champions Hellerup Sejlklub sailors Medalists at the 1960 Summer Olympics Medalists at the 1984 Summer Olympics North American Champions Soling Olympic bronze medalists for Canada Olympic medalists in sailing Olympic sailors of Canada Olympic sailors of Denmark Olympic silver medalists for Denmark People from Rødovre Sailmakers Sailors at the 1960 Summer Olympics – Flying Dutchman Sailors at the 1964 Summer Olympics – Flying Dutchman Sailors at the 1968 Summer Olympics – Flying Dutchman Sailors at the 1972 Summer Olympics – Flying Dutchman Sailors at the 1976 Summer Olympics – Flying Dutchman Sailors at the 1984 Summer Olympics – Soling Soling class world champions World champions in sailing for Denmark Pan American Games medalists in sailing Pan American Games silver medalists for Canada Sailors at the 1987 Pan American Games Medalists at the 1987 Pan American Games Sportspeople from the Capital Region of Denmark