Johnny Hooper made history on 1 September 1960 when he and Peter Gray became the first Irish yachtsmen to win a race in Olympic competition, sailing their Flying Dutchman yacht to victory at the Rome Olympic Games in Naples – a race awarded after the disqualification of the Italian boat for an illegal manoeuvre.

Hooper and Gray, both members of the National Yacht Club in Dun Laoghaire, had nominated for the Games after finishing third in the 1959 World Championships in the 505 class. They travelled to Naples with their brand new yacht secured to a modified roof-rack on top of Hooper’s father’s Volkswagen Beetle, completing the journey across Europe and competing in regattas in England, Holland and Germany en route.

A brush with the religious bunting of the locals of Cecina and a terrifying passage between two juggernauts in the St Gotthard Tunnel did not prevent them arriving fit and ready to compete. The yacht had been purchased with a loan secured by a mortgage on the family home at Monkstown, Co. Dublin – a weight Hooper carried throughout the summer – but he sold the yacht to an American after the Games and used the VW Beetle again to transport it to Amsterdam for shipping to the USA. Hooper qualified as a lawyer in 1959. Despite gear failure in one race and twice hitting calms, the combination finished 10th of 31 boats overall.

He went on to compete at the Tokyo 1964 Olympics.