Jyrki Järvi & Thomas Johanson

Thomas Mark Mikael Johanson was born June 3, 1969, in Helsinki. Before turning to skiff sailing, he built one of the most decorated careers in single-handed dinghy racing: an Optimist Worlds competitor in the early 1980s, a top-six regular in the Europe dinghy through the late 1980s, back-to-back Laser European Champion in 1991 and 1992, and Laser World Champion in 1993 in Takapuna, New Zealand, before finishing 8th in the Laser at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics. He moved into the new 49er class for the Sydney cycle, teaming with Jyrki Järvi to take bronze at the 2000 Worlds in Sonora Bay, Mexico, then gold at the Sydney 2000 Olympics — the class's first-ever Olympic title. Johanson returned to the 49er for Athens 2004 with a new partner, finishing 8th. He later moved into ocean racing, crewing on Ericsson 3 in the 2008–09 Volvo Ocean Race and on PUMA Ocean Racing in 2011–12.

Jyrki "JJ" Järvi was born February 7, 1966, in Helsinki. Paired with Thomas Johanson, he won bronze at the 2000 Worlds before the two claimed gold at the Sydney 2000 Olympics, the 49er's first Olympic Games — a result that made Järvi and Johanson joint ISAF World Sailors of the Year for 2000. He has stayed closely connected to the class since retiring from top-level competition, driving the 49er Grand Prix Series in Finland for a decade and then serving as 49er Class president.