John Edwin Bertrand AO (born 20 December 1946) is a yachtsman from

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

, who skippered ''

Australia II ''Australia II'' (KA 6) is an Australian 12-metre-class America's Cup challenge racing yacht that was launched in 1982 and won the 1983 America's Cup for the Royal Perth Yacht Club. Skippered by John Bertrand, she was the first successful ...

'' to victory in the 1983

America's Cup The America's Cup, informally known as the Auld Mug, is a trophy awarded in the sport of sailing. It is the oldest international competition still operating in any sport. America's Cup match races are held between two sailing yachts: one f ...

, ending 132 years of American supremacy, and the only time Australia has won. Bertrand won the bronze medal in the Finn competition 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 Phi ...

Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-most populous city in Canada and List of towns in Quebec, most populous city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian ...

. In 2010 and 2016, he won the world Etchells class sailing championships. He is a life member of both the

Royal Brighton Yacht Club The Royal Brighton Yacht Club (founded in 1875) is located at Brighton, Victoria, Australia at 253 Esplanade Brighton.https://www.bayside.vic.gov.au/community-directory/royal-brighton-yacht-club-inc History It is said to have all begun as a re ...

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...

, and the Sorrento Sailing Couta Boat Club.

Biography

John Bertrand was born in

Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Victoria (Australia), a state of the Commonwealth of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, provincial capital of British Columbia, Canada * Victoria (mythology), Roman goddess of Victory * Victoria, Seychelle ...

. He wrote ''Born to Win'', ''The Power of a Vision,'' about the 1983 America's Cup victory, including insightful observations on the strategy for an unfavoured team against very long odds. During the 1983 competition, Bertrand and his crew deliberately employed their own psychological strategy ahead of the America's Cup breakthrough in refusing to refer to the all-conquering American team by their names and instead calling their opposition simply "the red boat" in order to mislead the rival. In the 2016 Rio Olympics, Mack Horton, an Australian freestyle swimming champion, admitted the criticism towards another swimmer Sun Yang was a deliberate strategy to try and gain a mental edge on his rival, borrowing from the tactics employed by Bertrand in the lead-up to Australia II's famous triumph in 1983. Bertrand is the chairman of the

Sport Australia Hall of Fame The Sport Australia Hall of Fame was established on 10 December 1985 to recognise the achievements of Australian sportsmen and sportswomen. The inaugural induction included 120 members with Sir Don Bradman as the first inductee and Dawn Fraser th ...

(2005+) and The Alannah and Madeline Foundation (2001+). He is also the President of

Swimming Australia Swimming Australia is the peak governing body for competitive swimming in Australia. The body has approximately 100,000 registered members nationally in 1100 clubs across the country, which includes swimmers, coaches, officials, administrators ...

(Oct 2013+).

Honours

* 26 January 1984:

Member of the Order of Australia The Order of Australia is an honour that recognises Australian citizens and other persons for outstanding achievement and service. It was established on 14 February 1975 by Elizabeth II, Queen of Australia, on the advice of the Australian Gove ...

(AM) in recognition of service to yachting, particularly as skipper of the ''Australia II'' in the America's Cup challenge 1983. * 10 December 1985: Induction into the Sport Australia Hall of Fame * 18 September 1993: Member of the

America's Cup Hall of Fame The America's Cup Hall of Fame, located at the Herreshoff Marine Museum of Bristol, Rhode Island, USA, honors individuals for outstanding achievement in the America's Cup sailing competition. Candidates eligible for consideration include skippers, ...

for outstanding achievement in the America's Cup. * 14 July 2000:

Australian Sports Medal The Australian Sports Medal is an award given to recognise achievements in Australian sport to commemorate Australian participation in major sporting events. Original recipients of the award included competitors, coaches, sports scientists, offi ...

for outstanding achievement in the America's Cup and general contribution * 1 January 2001:

Centenary Medal The Centenary Medal is an award which was created by the Australian Government in 2001. It was established to commemorate the centenary of the Federation of Australia and to recognise "people who made a contribution to Australian society or go ...

for service to Australian society through the sport of Sailing. * 2008 Melburnian of the Year for community leadership. * 25 October 2013: Awarded an Honorary Doctorate, Victoria University. * 10 October 2014: Elevated to Legend of The Sport Australia Hall of Fame. * 2014: Bertrand was made a Monash University Vice Chancellor Professorial Fellow. *

2016 File:2016 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Bombed-out buildings in Ankara following the 2016 Turkish coup d'état attempt; the impeachment trial of Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff; Damaged houses during the 2016 Nagorno-Karabakh ...

: Upgraded to

Officer of the Order of Australia The Order of Australia is an honour that recognises Australian citizens and other persons for outstanding achievement and service. It was established on 14 February 1975 by Elizabeth II, Queen of Australia, on the advice of the Australian Gove ...

(AO), the 2016 Queen's Birthday Honours list. In recognition for sporting administration, in particular swimming and sailing, children's welfare, higher education and mentoring of young people.

Personal

* Bertrand has a Bachelor of Engineering (

Monash University Monash University () is a public research university based in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Named for prominent World War I general Sir John Monash, it was founded in 1958 and is the second oldest university in the state. The university has a ...

1970) and a Master of Science (

Massachusetts Institute of Technology The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is a private land-grant research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Established in 1861, MIT has played a key role in the development of modern technology and science, and is one of the ...

1972). * He has been married, since 1969, to Rasa Bertrand, whom he met as a student.

Notes

References

* ::Sydney : Bantam Books, circa 1985. * * !-- https://web.archive.org/web/20211028204251/https://herreshoff.org/inductees/john-bertrand/ -->https://herreshoff.org/inductees/john-bertrand/ America's Cup Hall of Fame biography*

External links

* * * * * Untold
The Race of the Century

Netflix Netflix, Inc. is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service and production company based in Los Gatos, California. Founded in 1997 by Reed Hastings and Marc Randolph in Scotts Valley, California, it offers a fil ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bertrand, John 1946 births Living people Etchells class world champions World champions in sailing for Australia 1970 America's Cup sailors 1974 America's Cup sailors 1977 America's Cup sailors 1980 America's Cup sailors 1983 America's Cup sailors 1995 America's Cup sailors Australian Champions Soling Australian male sailors (sport) Medalists at the 1976 Summer Olympics Members of the Order of Australia Monash University alumni Olympic bronze medalists for Australia Olympic medalists in sailing Olympic sailors of Australia Sailors at the 1972 Summer Olympics – Finn Sailors at the 1976 Summer Olympics – Finn Sport Australia Hall of Fame inductees Sportspeople from Melbourne