 In the 1956 Olympic Games in Melbourne, Australia Payne competed in the Men’s Finn single handed dinghy category and placed 16th.Four years later at the Olympic Games held off the coast of Naples, Italy, he competed in the same category and placed 18th, in what was his final sailing competition.John Somers Payne, also simply known as 'Somers' was often described by family and friends as an ‘inspiration’, as he was one of the first individuals from the coastal Cork village of Crosshaven to sail into the olympics.