Ben Ainslie

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Sir Ben Ainslie
Ben-Ainslie.jpg
Ainslie in 2009
Personal information
Nationality  Great Britain
Born (1977-02-05) 5 February 1977 (age 36)
Macclesfield, England
Sport
Sport Sailing
Associated class(es) Finn, Laser

Sir Charles Benedict Ainslie, CBE (born 5 February 1977) is an English competitive sailor, who in 2012 became the first person to win medals in five different Olympic Games in sailing, the third person to win five Olympic medals in that sport, after Torben Grael and Robert Scheidt, and also the second to win four gold medals, after Paul Elvstrøm.[1][2][3] He is, as of 2012, the most successful sailor in Olympic history.

Contents

Early life[edit]

Ainslie was born in Macclesfield, England, the son of Roderick 'Roddy' Ainslie, who captained a boat that took part in the first Whitbread Round The World Race in 1973, and his wife Sue.[4] His elder sister, Fleur, is married to Jerome Pels, secretary general of the International Sailing Federation (ISAF).[4]

Ainslie was educated at the independent Truro School and Terra Nova School. Ainslie later attended Peter Symonds sixth form college in the city of Winchester.[5]

Career[edit]

Ainslie learned to sail at Restronguet Creek near Falmouth, Cornwall.[6] He started sailing at the age of eight and first competed at the age of ten.[7] Ainslie's first international competition was aged twelve at the 1989 Optimist world championships held in Japan where he placed 73rd. He also sailed in the 1991 and 1992 Worlds.

Olympics[edit]

Ainslie won silver at the 1996 Olympic Games and gold in the 2000 Summer Olympics in the Laser class. He gained some 18 kilograms (40 lb; 2 st 12 lb) and moved to the larger Finn class for the 2004 Summer Olympics, where he won gold, a feat he repeated in the 2008 and 2012 competitions. Both his gold medal winning Laser and Finn dinghies are currently at the National Maritime Museum Cornwall.

World Championship[edit]

World Championships Titles[edit]

Other World Championships Results[edit]

73rd 1989 Optimist World Championships held in Japan
109th 1991 Optimist World Championships held in Greece
37th 1992 Optimist World Championships held in Argentina
2nd 1994 IYRU Youth Sailing World Championships in Marathon
43rd 1994 Laser World Championship
21st 1995 Laser World Championship
3rd 1996 Laser World Championship
3rd 1997 Laser World Championship
3rd 2000 Laser World Championship
3rd 2009 Etchells World Championships
11th 2011 ISAF Sailing World Championships which effectively is the Finn World Championship

At the 2011 ISAF Sailing World Championships he was in a winning position going into the closing stages of the regatta but was disqualified under rule 69 (gross misconduct) for physically threatening a photographer. Ainslie felt the photographer's boat's wake had prevented him from passing a competitor.[9]

Other significant results[edit]

4th 2010 – Team Origin – TP52 Audi Medcup
1st 1993 Laser Radial European Championship, Greece

America's Cup[edit]

At the beginning of 2005 he worked in the role of Tactician in the New Zealand-based Team New Zealand who were preparing to compete in the challenger selection process to win the right to Challenge for the 32nd America's Cup.

In May 2005 Ainslie took the decision to relinquish the role of tactician and focus on improving his Match Racing skills as helmsman of the 'B' boat used to practise and tune the race boat helmed by Dean Barker.

Ainslie figureheaded a British challenge for the Cup alongside Sir Keith Mills the team was named Team Origin. However this challenge withdraw without competing following a period of discussion regarding the future format of the event.

On 10 January 2012 Ben Ainslie Racing was formally announced, figure-headed by Ben with the support of Grant Simmers. It will compete in the remaining AC45 America's Cup World Series events. The team was underwritten by the American defender Oracle Racing, with whom he has close links. The team's aim is to help prepare the defender for competition and to hopefully provide the building blocks for a British challenge to the 35th America's Cup.[10]

In the most recent world series event in San Francisco, finishing on the 7th October, Ben Ainslie and his team finished second overall in the fleet racing after dominating the competition with a podium finish every race except for the final one. In this he tied on points with team Oracle USA Spithill after the final race, however Spithill was awarded the win due to winning the last race of the regatta, in which Ainslie had had his worst result of the event, 4th, after an infringement on the start line. In the match racing however he was knocked out in the quarter finals.[11]

World Match Racing Tour[edit]

In December 2010, Ainslie finished in first place in the World Match Racing Tour, and is the 2010 ISAF Match Racing Champion.

Personal life[edit]

Ainslie lives in Lymington, and belongs to the Royal Lymington Yacht Club. There he is coached by David Howlett, who raced a Finn dinghy at the 1976 Summer Olympics.[4]

He drives an Aston Martin, plays golf, and supports Chelsea F.C..[4]

Awards and honours[edit]

Insignia of Knight Bachelor

He was appointed Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) in the 2001 New Year Honours after his success in Sydney and Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in the 2005 New Year Honours following the Athens Games.[12][13] He was appointed Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in the 2009 New Year Honours following the Beijing Games[14] and was knighted in the 2013 New Year Honours for services to sailing.[15][16]

He won the International Sailing Federation top Award more times than anyone else being named ISAF World Sailor of the Year in 1998, 2002, 2008, and 2012. He was also nominated 2004 and 2011.

He was awarded the title of British Yachtsman of the Year in 1995, 1999, 2000 and 2002. He was nominated for BBC Sports Personality of the Year in 2012.[17]

On 19 May 2012 he became the first person to carry the Olympic torch in the UK. Starting the 70-day tour of the United Kingdom at Land's End, he was the first of 8,000 torch carriers, passing the flame to 18-year-old Cornish surfer Tassy Swallow.[18] His gold medal at the 2012 Olympics was presented by two Royal former Olympians, Princess Anne and King Constantine of Greece. He was selected on 11 August 2012 to carry the flag for the Great Britain team at the London 2012 Olympics closing ceremony.[19]

References[edit]

  1. ^ Morris, Steven (5 August 2012). "Ben Ainslie wins his fourth Olympic gold medal for Great Britain". The Guardian. Retrieved 5 August 2012. 
  2. ^ McEvoy, Jonathan (5 August 2012). "London 2012 Olympics: Sailing – Ben Ainslie wins gold". Mail Online. Retrieved 5 August 2012. 
  3. ^ "Ben Ainslie wins fourth Olympics sailing gold medal". Retrieved 5 August 2012. 
  4. ^ a b c d Elaine Bunting (5 August 2012). "20 things about Ben Ainslie". yachtingworld.com. Retrieved 2012-08-10. 
  5. ^ "Ben Ainslie". Sailor Biography. ISAF UK. Retrieved 17 August 2008. 
  6. ^ Steven Morris (18 May 2012). "Ben Ainslie's Olympic torch run sets course for London Games". The Guardian. 
  7. ^ "About Ben". www.benainslie.com. Retrieved 6 November 2011. 
  8. ^ Finn World Website Press Release
  9. ^ "Ben Ainslie disqualified from World Championships after TV row". The Guardian. 10 December 2011. Retrieved 10 December 2011. 
  10. ^ [1][dead link]
  11. ^ Ben Ainslie. "Ben Ainslie's impressive performance at the America's Cup looks set to guarantee his place in 2013 edition". Telegraph. Retrieved 2012-12-29. 
  12. ^ The London Gazette: (Supplement) no. 56070. p. 13. 30 December 2000. Retrieved 22 August 2008.
  13. ^ The London Gazette: (Supplement) no. 57509. p. 9. 31 December 2004. Retrieved 22 August 2008.
  14. ^ The London Gazette: (Supplement) no. 58929. p. 7. 31 December 2008.
  15. ^ The London Gazette: (Supplement) no. 60367. p. 2. 29 December 2012.
  16. ^ "Knights Bachelor". Cabinet Office. 29 December 2012. Retrieved 29 December 2012. 
  17. ^ BBC Sport: Bradley Wiggins wins BBC Sports Personality of the Year (accessed 17 December 2012)
  18. ^ "Ben Ainslie Starts the Torch Relay". The BBC. 19 May 2012. Retrieved 19 May 2012. 
  19. ^ "Ben Ainslie to carry British flag at Olympics closing ceremony". BBC Sport. 2012-08-10. Retrieved 2012-08-10. 

External links[edit]

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