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JWR VerifiedFounding RecordJWR-2026-000038

Sports · Olympic GamesMost

Most Olympic Medals Won by a Jewish Sailor

Record holder

Valentin Grigoryevich MankinPerson

Record value

Four Olympic medals (three gold, one silver)

Country represented: Soviet UnionAchievement location: Soviet Union / UkraineAchievement date: 29 July 1980Current record

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Valentin Mankin in an Olympic sailing context

Valentin Mankin appears in the source imageWikimedia CommonsSource

Official record definition

The greatest verified total number of official Olympic medals won across a career in sailing/yachting by an athlete who satisfies the JWR Jewish Eligibility Standard.

Measurement methodology

career total of official Olympic sailing medals verified from World Sailing/Olympedia and Jewish-sports counter-search

Measurement point: official Olympic medals won as a sailing competitor across 1968, 1972, 1976 and 1980

Record story

Valentin Grigoryevich Mankin of the Soviet Union holds the record for the most Olympic medals won by a Jewish sailor, with a career total of four Olympic medals (three gold, one silver). The achievement spans the Olympic Games of 1968, 1972, 1976, and 1980. Mankin's fourth medal, a gold in the Star class, was secured at the Tallinn Olympic Regatta on 29 July 1980, finalising the record total.

Mankin's four medals were won in three different sailing classes across four separate Olympic venues. He earned a gold medal in the Finn class at Acapulco in 1968, followed by a gold in the Tempest class at Kiel in 1972. In 1976, he secured a silver medal in the Tempest class at Kingston, and his final gold was in the Star class at Tallinn in 1980. According to World Sailing, he is the only sailor to become an Olympic champion in three different classes. The International Jewish Sports Hall of Fame recognises Mankin, whose medal count surpasses other identified Jewish Olympic sailors.

Media

Record video

How JWR verified this record

Verification status
Verified
Verification date
1 September 2026
Verification standard
JWR Verification Standard 1.0

Achievement evidence

World Sailing and Olympedia document Walentin/Valentin Mankin's four Olympic sailing medals: gold in Finn (1968), gold in Tempest (1972), silver in Tempest (1976), and gold in Star (1980).

Superiority evidence

International Jewish Sports Hall of Fame recognizes Mankin and documents all four Olympic sailing medals. Its Jewish Olympic medalist chronology and targeted sailing counter-search place him ahead of identified Jewish Olympic sailors including Jo Aleh (2 medals) and Gal Fridman (2). No eligible Jewish sailor with more than four Olympic sailing medals was identified. The absolute/general sailing record is higher; this is the Jewish-record track.

Jewish Eligibility — Verified by JWR

Jewish eligibility verification

Evidence establishing that the holder qualifies as Jewish for JWR purposes.

  • Walentin Mankin | International Jewish Sports Hall of Fame — International Jewish Sports Hall of Fame
  • Jewish Olympic Medalists — International Jewish Sports Hall of Fame

Achievement / record verification

Evidence establishing that the holder achieved the result and holds the record as defined.

  • Seven Sailors inducted into World Sailing's Hall of Fame — World Sailing

Superiority / counter-candidate verification

Evidence comparing the result with other candidates relevant to the record claim.

  • Valentin Mankin | Olympedia — Olympedia

Jewish eligibility, achievement and superiority evidence retain their separate classifications and are never merged. Context and provenance are not presented as proof of the achievement. Restricted evidence and internal research notes are never published. Learn more about the seven-stage process on the verification page.

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Sources & Verification

  • Seven Sailors inducted into World Sailing's Hall of Fame

    Official recordWorld Sailing· 13 November 2015

    What this proves: Documents Mankin's Olympic gold medals in 1968, 1972 and 1980 and silver in 1976; states he is the only Olympic sailor to become champion across three different classes.

  • Walentin Mankin | International Jewish Sports Hall of Fame

    Reference databaseInternational Jewish Sports Hall of Fame

    What this proves: Recognizes Mankin as a Jewish sports Hall of Famer and documents three Olympic gold medals plus one silver in sailing.

  • Jewish Olympic Medalists

    Reference databaseInternational Jewish Sports Hall of Fame

    What this proves: Provides the Jewish Olympic medalist chronology used to compare sailing medal totals; identified Jewish sailors include Mankin at four, Jo Aleh at two and Gal Fridman at two.

  • Valentin Mankin | Olympedia

    Reference databaseOlympedia

    What this proves: Records four Olympic medals (3 gold, 1 silver), birth on 19 August 1938 in Belokorovichi and death on 1 June 2014 in Viareggio.

  • Potapov Abashkina Riga1976 image — Wikimedia Commons

    Reference databaseWikimedia Commons

    What this proves: Identifies Mankin in the 1976 Soviet Olympic sailing-team photograph and documents uploader-owned CC BY-SA 4.0 licensing.

History

  1. Verified

    Verified according to JWR Verification Standard 1.0.

  2. Publishedv1

    Published to the official JWR registry.

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Walentin Mankin with the Soviet Olympic sailing team in Riga in 1976.
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Record value

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Mark Spitz won 11 Olympic medals across Mexico City 1968 and Munich 1972, and the record page now identifies the events behind every medal. In 1968 he won gold in the 4×100 m freestyle relay and 4×200 m freestyle relay, silver in the 100 m butterfly and bronze in the 100 m freestyle. In Munich in 1972 he won seven gold medals—in the 100 m and 200 m freestyle, 100 m and 200 m butterfly, 4×100 m freestyle relay, 4×200 m freestyle relay and 4×100 m medley relay—setting world records in all seven winning events. His career total is nine gold, one silver and one bronze.

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