Haakon BARFOD

Hakon Barfod was introduced to competitive sailing at a young age by his father and after WWII, together with Sigve Lie, became a crew member of the Norwegian boat Pan, which was built and skipped by Thor Thorvaldsen. The crew of Pan was considered as the world’s best Dragon class crew during the late 1940s and early 50s, as they won Olympic golds in 1948 and 1952 and won the Dragon Gold Cup, a regatta that was considered as the unofficial World Championships during that era, in 1948 and 1950. Besides sailing in Dragon class, Barfod was also a competent Snipe class sailor. By profession, Barfod was a boat builder, building lifeboats, as well as Snipe and Flying Junior class racing boats in a factory located in Leangbukta Maritime Center in Vettre, near Oslo. Barfod continued sailing well into his 80s and at the time of his death in November 2013, was the oldest living Norwegian Olympic gold medalist.