| Personal information | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Full name | Durward Randolph Knowles | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Nationality |  Bahamas | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Born | (1917-11-02)2 November 1917 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Died | 24 February 2018(2018-02-24) (aged 100) Nassau, Bahamas | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Sport | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Sailing career | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Class | Star | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Medal record
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Sir Durward Randolph Knowles (2 November 1917 – 24 February 2018) was a sailor and Olympic champion from TheBahamas. He won the gold medal in theStar class at the1964 Summer Olympics in Tokyo, together withCecil Cooke.[1][2] He won the bronze medal in the same class at the1956 Summer Olympics in Melbourne.[3] He had previously competed for the United Kingdom in the 1948 Olympics, finishing in4th place in the Star class together withSloane Elmo Farrington.[4] Representing the Bahamas, Knowles also won gold in the1959 Pan American Games star class (with Farrington). He is one of only five athletes who have competed in the Olympics over a span of 40 years, along with fencerIvan Joseph Martin Osiier, sailorMagnus Konow, showjumperIan Millar, and sailorPaul Elvstrøm.[5]
In 2014, the secondLegend-class patrol boat of the Royal Bahamas Defence Force was commissioned as HMBSDurward Knowles. In May 2016, following the death ofSándor Tarics, he became the oldest living Olympic champion.[6] Heturned 100 in November 2017[7] and died on 24 February 2018.[8][9]
Knowles was appointedOfficer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in the1965 New Year Honours for public services in the Bahamas.[10]
Knowles wasknighted in the1996 Birthday Honours "for services to the community and to sport, particularly sailing."[11][12] In 1997, he was awardedThe Bahamas' Order of Merit.[13]
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