David Bond, the hitherto last surviving British gold medallist from the
1948 London Olympic Games, has died.

The Royal Yachting Association (RYA) described his passing as a ‘great sadness’.

Mr Bond, who lived in Falmouth, passed away peacefully at home at the end of March, shortly before his 91st birthday.

He
claimed Olympic gold in the Swallow class at Torquay with helm Stewart
Morris on the last occasion the Olympic Games were staged in Great
Britain, winning by a tight margin in the last race at the so-called
post-war ‘Austerity Games’.

Mr Bond and Mr Morris never sailed
together again after their 1948 triumph, but their feats were relived
during the 2012 Olympic celebrations, during which time Mr Bond met with
Britain’s modern-day sailing hero Ben Ainslie at their mutual hometown
of Falmouth during the RYA’s Sail for Gold exhibition, which celebrated
Britain’s rich Olympic sailing heritage.

The RYA would like to convey its deepest sympathies to Mr Bond’s family and friends.

(Picture: David Bond, 90, last surviving gold medallist from the 1948 London Games with Olympian Ben Ainslie. Credit: Mike Roberts)