John Urquhart Cropp (23 May 1927 – 25 June 2016) was a New Zealand yachtsman. Together with

Peter Mander Peter Garth Mander (4 July 1928 – 21 June 1998) was a New Zealand yachtsman and Olympic gold medal winner. With Jack Cropp, Mander won the Sharpie class at the 1956 Summer Olympics in Melbourne. Mander then retired from competitive yachtin ...

, Cropp won the Sharpie class at the 1956 Olympics. Cropp and Mander were the first sailors from New Zealand to compete at Olympics. They finished second, and were promoted to the first place after Australian team was disqualified for obstruction. They were inducted into the

New Zealand Sports Hall of Fame The New Zealand Sports Hall of Fame is an organisation commemorating New Zealand's greatest sporting triumphs. It was inaugurated as part of the New Zealand sesquicentenary celebrations in 1990. Some 160 members have been inducted into the Hall ...

in 1990. Cropp was born on a small farm at Kowhitirangi, near

Hokitika Hokitika is a town in the West Coast region of New Zealand's South Island, south of Greymouth, and close to the mouth of the Hokitika River. It is the seat and largest town in the Westland District. The town's estimated population is as of ...

. When he was a toddler, his family moved to McCormacks Bay,

Christchurch Christchurch ( ; mi, Ōtautahi) is the largest city in the South Island of New Zealand and the seat of the Canterbury Region. Christchurch lies on the South Island's east coast, just north of Banks Peninsula on Pegasus Bay. The Avon Rive ...

. There he started sailing, together with Mander who lived nearby. Cropp initially worked as a

lithographer Lithography () is a planographic method of printing originally based on the immiscibility of oil and water. The printing is from a stone ( lithographic limestone) or a metal plate with a smooth surface. It was invented in 1796 by the German ...

in the printing industry, but after becoming a prominent sailor turned into a professional boatbuilder and designer. In 1973 Cropp, his wife Judith and their three children moved to

Tākaka Tākaka is a small town situated at the southeastern end of Golden Bay, at the northern end of New Zealand's South Island, located on the lower reaches of the Tākaka River. State Highway 60 runs through Takaka and follows the river valley ...

, where he died aged 89.Yahoo! News Australia, NZ sailing great Cropp dies at 89

References

External links

* * * 1927 births 2016 deaths New Zealand male sailors (sport) Olympic gold medalists for New Zealand in sailing Sailors at the 1956 Summer Olympics – 12 m2 Sharpie People from Hokitika People from Tākaka Olympic medalists in sailing Medalists at the 1956 Summer Olympics {{NewZealand-yachtracing-bio-stub