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

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

, 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 successf ...

'' to victory in the 1983

America's Cup The America's Cup is a sailing competition and the oldest international competition still operating in any sport. America's Cup match races are held between two sailing yachts: one from the yacht club that currently holds the trophy (known ...

, 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 The 1976 Summer Olympics (), officially known as the Games of the XXI Olympiad () and officially branded as Montreal 1976 (), were an international multi-sport event held from July 17 to August 1, 1976, in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Montreal ...

Montreal Montreal is the List of towns in Quebec, largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Quebec, the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-largest in Canada, and the List of North American cit ...

. 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. History It is said to have all begun as a result of a chance race challenge between two gentlemen cleaning their boats on t ...

Melbourne Melbourne ( , ; Boonwurrung language, Boonwurrung/ or ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city of the States and territories of Australia, Australian state of Victori ...

, and the Sorrento Sailing Couta Boat Club.

Biography

John Bertrand was born in

Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Queen Victoria (1819–1901), Queen of the United Kingdom and Empress of India * Victoria (state), a state of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, Canada, a provincial capital * Victoria, Seychelles, the capi ...

. 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 The 2016 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXXI Olympiad () and officially branded as Rio 2016, were an international multi-sport event held from 5 to 21 August 2016 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, with preliminary events i ...

Mack Horton Mackenzie James Horton (born 25 April 1996) is an Australian retired freestyle swimmer. He is an Olympic gold medallist, World Championships gold medallist, and 4-time Commonwealth Games gold medallist. At the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Jan ...

, an Australian freestyle swimming champion, admitted the criticism towards another swimmer,

Sun Yang Sun Yang (; ; born 1 December 1991) is a Chinese Swimming at the Summer Olympics, Olympic and former List of world records in swimming, world-record-holding competitive Swimming (sport), swimmer. In 2012, Sun became the first Chinese athlete ...

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'' 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 Don Bradman, Sir Don Bradman as the first inductee and ...

(2005–present). He served as the chair of

The Alannah and Madeline Foundation The Alannah & Madeline Foundation is an Australian charity which was launched on 30 April 1997."Our History"
. amf. ...

from 2002 to 2017, and as 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 ...

from 2013 to 2020.

Honours

* 26 January 1984:

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

(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, off ...

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 g ...

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 2016 was designated as: * International Year of Pulses by the sixty-eighth session of the United Nations General Assembly. * International Year of Global Understanding (IYGU) by the International Council for Science (ICSU), the Internationa ...

: Upgraded to

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

(AO), the

2016 Queen's Birthday Honours The 2016 Queen's Birthday Honours are appointments by some of the 16 Commonwealth realms of Queen Elizabeth II to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of those countries. The Birthday Honours are awarded as p ...

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

1970) and a Master of Science (

Massachusetts Institute of Technology The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is a Private university, private research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Established in 1861, MIT has played a significant role in the development of many areas of moder ...

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
at

Netflix Netflix is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service. The service primarily distributes original and acquired films and television shows from various genres, and it is available internationally in multiple lang ...

{{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 Soling class sailors 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 for Australia Sailors at the 1972 Summer Olympics – Finn Sailors at the 1976 Summer Olympics – Finn Sport Australia Hall of Fame inductees Sailors (sport) from Melbourne Sportsmen from Victoria (state) 20th-century Australian sportsmen