Sir Durward Randolph Knowles (2 November 1917 – 24 February 2018) was a sailor and Olympic champion from The

Bahamas The Bahamas, officially the Commonwealth of The Bahamas, is an archipelagic and island country within the Lucayan Archipelago of the Atlantic Ocean. It contains 97 per cent of the archipelago's land area and 88 per cent of its population. ...

. He won the gold medal in the Star class at the

1964 Summer Olympics The , officially the and commonly known as Tokyo 1964 (), were an international multi-sport event held from 10 to 24 October 1964 in Tokyo, Japan. Tokyo had been awarded the organization of the 1940 Summer Olympics, but this honor was subseq ...

in Tokyo, together with

Cecil Cooke Cecil George Cooke (May 31, 1923 – May 1, 1983) was a sailor and Olympic champion from the Bahamas. He competed at the 1964 Summer Olympics in Tokyo, where he won a gold medal in the Star class, together with Durward Knowles.

."Olympic Games Medallists – Sailing"
''gbrathletics'' (Retrieved 1 June 2008) He won the bronze medal in the same class at the

1956 Summer Olympics The 1956 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XVI Olympiad and officially branded as Melbourne 1956, were an international multi-sport event held in Melbourne, Victoria (Australia), Victoria, Australia, from 22 November to 8 December ...

in Melbourne. He had previously competed for the United Kingdom in the 1948 Olympics, finishing in 4th place in the Star class together with Sloane Elmo Farrington. Representing the Bahamas, Knowles also won gold in the

1959 Pan American Games The 1959 Pan American Games, officially known as the III Pan American Games and commonly known as Chicago 1959, were held in Chicago, Illinois, United States between August 28 and September 7, 1959. Host city selection One city initially su ...

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 fencer Ivan Joseph Martin Osiier, sailor Magnus Konow, showjumper

Ian Millar Ian Millar CM (born January 6, 1947) is a Canadian Equestrian Team athlete for show jumping. He is a two-time winner of the Show Jumping World Cup, and an Olympic silver medallist. Due to his longevity and accomplishments, he is often nickn ...

, and sailor

Paul Elvstrøm Paul Bert Elvstrøm (25 February 1928 – 7 December 2016) was a Danish yachtsman and the founder of Elvstrøm Sails. He won four Olympic gold medals and thirteen world titles in a range of classes including Snipe, Soling, Star, Flying Du ...

. In 2014, the second ''Legend''-class patrol boat of the Royal Bahamas Defence Force was commissioned as HMBS ''Durward Knowles''. In May 2016, following the death of

Sándor Tarics Sándor Tarics (23 September 1913 – 21 May 2016) was a Hungarian water polo player who won a gold medal in the 1936 Summer Olympics. Biography Born in Budapest, Tarics was part of the Hungarian team which won the gold medal, pushing Germany ...

, he became the oldest living Olympic champion. He

turned 100 A centenarian is a person who has reached the age of 100. Because life expectancies at birth worldwide are well below 100, the term is invariably associated with longevity. The United Nations estimated that there were 316,600 living centenarian ...

in November 2017 and died on 24 February 2018.

Honours

Knowles was appointed

Officer of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...

(OBE) in the

1965 New Year Honours The New Year Honours 1965 were appointments in many of the Commonwealth realms of Queen Elizabeth II to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of those countries. They were announced in supplements to the '' Lo ...

for public services in the Bahamas. Knowles was

knighted A knight is a person granted an honorary title of a knighthood by a head of state (including the pope) or representative for service to the monarch, the church, or the country, especially in a military capacity. The concept of a knighthood ...

in the

1996 Birthday Honours Queen's Birthday Honours are announced on or around the date of the Queen's Official Birthday in Australia, Canada, New Zealand and the United Kingdom. The dates vary, both from year to year and from country to country. All are published in suppl ...

"for services to the community and to sport, particularly sailing." In 1997, he was awarded The Bahamas' Order of Merit.

References

External links

Honours

See also

References

External links