28 Facts About Conn Findlay

Francis Conn Findlay was an American Olympic rower and sailor.

Conn Findlay won four Olympic medals in those two sports, including two golds in coxed pair.

Conn Findlay was part of the America's Cup sailing crews that won in 1974 and 1977.

Conn Findlay is one of 11 sailors to have won both the America's Cup and an Olympic medal.

Conn Findlay participated in his first Olympic Games in 1956, winning his first gold medal in coxed pair.

Conn Findlay did not make another Olympic appearance for 12 years until returning in 1976, switching to sailing and securing bronze in Tempest class.

Conn Findlay was born in Stockton, California, on April 24,1930.

Conn Findlay went on to obtain a Master of Business Administration from the University of California, Berkeley.

Conn Findlay first competed as a member of the US Olympic rowing team at the 1956 Summer Games.

Conn Findlay won a gold medal in the coxed pair event with Dan Ayrault and Kurt Seiffert of the Stanford Cardinal.

Conn Findlay acted as rowing coach of the Stanford freshman team, and was named its varsity coach in 1959.

Conn Findlay regained gold in that discipline at the 1964 Summer Olympics in Tokyo.

Conn Findlay won a gold medal in coxed pair at the 1963 Pan American Games, while finishing fifth in that discipline at the World Rowing Championships the year before.

Conn Findlay crewed for Dennis Conner and won a bronze medal in the Tempest two-man keelboat class.

Conn Findlay acted as a crew leader for the victorious America's Cup teams in 1974 and 1977.

Conn Findlay sailed with the yacht Courageous for both events, skippered by Ted Hood and Ted Turner, respectively.

Conn Findlay is one of only two people to win the America's Cup and an Olympic gold medal in rowing.

Conn Findlay participated in the tumultuous 1979 Fastnet race, which saw 15 yachtsmen die and dozens of ships capsize.

Kent Mitchell, his teammate during the 1960 and 1964 Olympics, described Conn Findlay as having "just sailed right through it".

Conn Findlay was a key member of the Windward Passage, the award-winning Maxi Ocean Racer, for 12 years from 1974 until 1986.

Conn Findlay umpired regional rowing regattas from time to time.

Conn Findlay oversaw the construction of the original Stanford boathouse on the Palo Alto campus.

Conn Findlay was inducted to the National Rowing Hall of Fame on two occasions, in recognition of his Olympic gold medal performances in 1964 and 1956, respectively.

Conn Findlay was inducted into the Stanford Athletics Hall of Fame in 2005.

Conn Findlay was named to the Pac-12 Men's Rowing All-Century Team in May 2016.

Conn Findlay married Luella Anderson when the two were in their 60s.

Conn Findlay died on April 8,2021, at a care facility in San Mateo, California.

Conn Findlay was 90; the cause of death was unannounced.