Joe MacMenamin became the oldest Irish competitor in Olympic history at the 1972 Munich Olympic Games when he crewed in the first two races of the Dragon class sailing at the age of 59 years and 319 days – a distinction he still holds.

The boat owner and funder of the Dragon class campaign, MacMenamin joined helmsman Robin Hennessy and Harry Byrne in the opening races before being replaced by Treen Morris, a Finn sailing specialist, for the remaining races. His participation at Munich came as part of a lifelong devotion to sailing and his substantial personal investment in enabling Irish yachtsmen to compete at the highest level.

He had served on the OCI executive committee from 1971. The Dragon crew finished 16th of 26 boats.