Australia’s oldest living Olympian, legendary sailor Gordon Ingate, has turned 100 years old.
But getting to the Olympics almost didn’t happen for the New South Welshman, despite qualifying on three separate occasions.
Ingate, affectionately known as “Wingnut” competed at the 1972 Munich Games at the age of 46, lining up in the Tempest Class event alongside crewmate Robert Thornton, placing 19th.
Theirs was the lowest finishing position of any Australian sailors at that Games — the Aussies won two gold medals at Kiel-Schilksee Olympiazentrum in the Firth of Kiel to top the medal table.
However, as Ingate pointed out in an interview two years ago, the guy he beat in his event was the Prince of Thailand, Prinz Bhanubanda Bira.Â
Gordon Ingate was selected for Olympics in 1948 and 1952 but was denied time off work on both occasions. (Supplied: Australian Sailing)
Incredibly, Bira was one of three royals to compete in those Games alongside Crown Prince Harald, the future Harald V of Norway (10th in the Soling Class) and the then-exiled King of Spain, Juan Carlos I (15th in the Dragon Class). Future International Olympic Committee president Jacques Rogge, also took part, finishing 14th in the Finn Class.Â
That was the third time Ingate had qualified for the Games. However, on the other two occasions he made the cut, in 1948 and 1952, he was denied the time off from his work at the company that made the gearboxes for the first Holden motor cars.
“I won the right to represent Australia in the London Olympics, and back then you had to get a ship so I needed up to six months off work to get to England, compete and return home,” Ingate said in a 2024 interview with the Australian Olympic Committee (AOC).
“What do you want, son?” his Swedish boss belted back.
“I’d like to go to England and have time off, I’ve got to go by ship, I’ll need six months,” he asked.
“No way, son, get back to work!” was the unsympathetic response, ending the then 22-year-old’s Olympic hopes.
Even four years later, when the Games were in Helsinki, flights were available but Ingate’s leave request was still denied.
“I need a month off, sir,” Ingate recalled asking.
“No bloody way, son, get back to work!” the boss replied, the intervening four years doing nothing to soften the hard-nosed boss.
Gordon Ingate is Australia’s oldest living Olympian, having his 100th birthday on March 29, 2026. (Supplied: AOC)
Fortunately, by the time his next opportunity came around, 20 long years later, Ingate was in a position to finally achieve his Olympic dream.
Born in 1926 in Sydney, Ingate got his sea legs in the SeaScouts aged nine, sparking a life-long love affair with sailing that continues to this day, competing and winning into his 90s.
He won the Australian Championships Dragon class title four times, the most recent at the age of 94, making him the oldest champion in the sport’s history.
The veteran sailor competed across multiple classes throughout his life.
He skippered Caprice of Huon to second place in the 1965 Admiral’s Cup, then sailed the same boat to second in the 1972 Sydney to Hobart.
He also helmed Gretel II’s challenge for the 1977 America’s Cup.
Vice president of the AOC and fellow sailor Matt Allen said Ingate had a big influence on Australian sailing.
“Gordon Ingate has had a huge influence in sailing over many decades and classes and is very well respected both in Australia and internationally,” said Allen, a three-time Sydney to Hobart winner and former president of Sailing Australia.
“His sailing spans from the Munich 1972 Olympics in the Tempest Class to the Dragon Class, Sydney to Hobart races, the Admiral’s Cup and America’s Cup.
“He has been an inspiration to all sailors due to his love of life, sense of humour and the fact that he was still winning races and regattas well into his 90s.
“Gordon was the face of the inaugural Olympian’s Oath when he said at the end of the oath, with so much gravitas: ‘Once an Olympian always an Olympian’.
“On behalf of the Olympic Movement, congratulations on your 100th birthday, Gordon.”
Gordon Ingate competed — and won — well into his 90s. (Supplied: Australian Sailing)
Australian Sailing chief executive Malcolm Page also paid tribute.
“Gordon represents the very best of our sport,” Page said.
“His passion, curiosity and commitment to sailing have spanned a century, inspiring countless Australians along the way.
“To reach 100 years of age as Australia’s oldest living Olympian is an incredible milestone, but it is the legacy he has built, through perseverance, innovation and a lifelong love of sailing that will stand the test of time.”