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Andrew Simpson (sailor)

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Andrew Simpson
MBE
Personal information
Born(1976-12-17)17 December 1976
Chertsey, Surrey, England
Died9 May 2013(2013-05-09) (aged 36)
San Francisco, California, USA
Sport
CountryEngland
Medal record
Representing  Great Britain
Men's Sailing
Olympic Games
Gold medal – first place 2008 Beijing Star
Silver medal – second place 2012 London Star
World Championships
Bronze medal – third place 2003 Cadiz Finn
Bronze medal – third place 2007 Cascais Star
Gold medal – first place 2010 Rio de Janeiro Star
Silver medal – second place 2012 Hyères Star
European Championships
Silver medal – second place 2001 Malcesine Finn
Bronze medal – third place 2007 Malcesine Star
Silver medal – second place 2009 Kiel Star
Updated on 10 May 2013

Andrew James Simpson MBE (17 December 1976 – 9 May 2013), nicknamed "Bart", was a British sailor. He won a gold medal at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, as crew for skipper Iain Percy in the Star class. Simpson was killed in an accident in May 2013 while training for the America's Cup in the San Francisco bay area.

Career

Simpson started his competitive sailing career in the Laser class, before switching to the heavier Finn class.[1][2] He claimed the bronze medal at the 2003 ISAF Sailing World Championships in Cadiz in the Finn class; his training partner Ben Ainslie took the gold, with Great Britain topping the medal table.[3]

Simpson then moved to the two-man Star class, partnering lifelong friend Percy; they won a bronze medal at the 2007 ISAF Sailing World Championships in Cascais to qualify for the 2008 Summer Olympics.[1][4] The pair won the gold medal in Beijing in the Star class.[5] After winning the Olympic gold, Percy and Simpson took a break from Star sailing and were in the TeamORIGIN afterguard for the 2010 America's Cup.[6] In 2010, he and Percy won the Star World Championships in Rio de Janeiro.[7]

Simpson and Percy made the podium in every meeting of the ISAF Sailing World Cup in 2012, including gold at the Hyeres French World Cup regatta.[8] They competed at the 2012 Olympic Games, again in the Star class, failing to defend their title but winning the silver medal.[9][10] After the Star class was removed from the Olympic sailing disciplines, Simpson turned his attention to the America's Cup, moving to San Francisco to train in March 2013.[4]

Death

Simpson died on 9 May 2013 after his yacht capsized in San Francisco bay during training with the Swedish team Artemis Racing for the 34th America's Cup. He became trapped underneath the boat for ten minutes,[11] and despite attempts to revive him, by doctors afloat and subsequently ashore, his life was lost.[12] Performance director of the Royal Yachting Association John Derbyshire described him as "a huge inspiration to others, both within the British Sailing Team and across the nation".[13] Other tributes were paid by, amongst others, Ainslie, Clive Woodward and British Foreign Secretary William Hague.[4]

Simpson is the second sailor to be killed during training for the America's Cup. Spanish sailor Martin Wizner died in 1999, after being struck on the head by a piece of equipment that became detached.[14][15]

Honours

Simpson was appointed Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) in the 2009 New Year Honours.[16]

Personal life

Born in Chertsey, Surrey, Simpson was brought up in Sherborne, Dorset, where he later lived.[17][2] He first learned to sail aged four or five, while visiting his grandparents at Christchurch, Dorset.[1] He was educated at Pangbourne College, a mixed boarding school in Berkshire and was a keen footballer.[18] He was affectionately known as "Bart" after the character Bart Simpson.[19] He has been described as having "steely determination and focus" but being "diplomatic, softly spoken".[4]

He is survived by his wife Leah and their son.[1]

References

  1. ^ a b c d Harris, Dominic (10 May 2013). "Andrew Simpson: A landlocked lad who caught the sailing bug". The Independent. Retrieved 10 May 2013.
  2. ^ a b "Andrew Simpson: A landlocked lad who fell in love with sailing". BBC Sport. Retrieved 10 May 2013.
  3. ^ "Britain top medal table". BBC Sport. 28 September 2003. Retrieved 10 May 2013.
  4. ^ a b c d "Andrew Simpson: Tributes for Olympic sailor killed in accident". BBC Sport. 10 May 2013. Retrieved 10 May 2013.
  5. ^ Bingham, John; Knapton, Sarah (21 August 2008). "Iain Percy and Andrew Simpson take sailing gold for Britain in Beijing Olympics". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 10 May 2013.
  6. ^ "Andrew Simpson". Artemis Racing. Retrieved 10 May 2013.
  7. ^ "Iain Percy and Andrew Simpson win Star worlds in Rio". BBC Sport. 21 January 2010. Retrieved 10 May 2013.
  8. ^ "Andrew Simpson". Royal Yachting Association. Retrieved 10 May 2013.
  9. ^ "Andrew Simpson – Sailing – Olympic Athlete". London 2012. Retrieved 9 May 2013.
  10. ^ "Men's Star – Olympic Sailing". London 2012. Retrieved 9 May 2013.
  11. ^ Carroll, Rory (10 May 2013). "British sailor and Olympian Andrew Simpson dies after yacht capsizes". The Guardian. Retrieved 10 May 2013.
  12. ^ "Andrew Simpson, UK Olympic Champion, Dies". Sky News. 10 May 2013. Retrieved 10 May 2013.
  13. ^ "Andrew Simpson, GB Olympian, dies as America's Cup boat capsizes". BBC News. 10 May 2013. Retrieved 10 May 2013.
  14. ^ "America's Cup capsize kills British sailor". 3 News NZ. 10 May 2013. Retrieved 10 May 2013.
  15. ^ Clarey C. (9 May 2013). "Olympian dies in America's Cup training after yacht flips". New York Times. Retrieved 10 May 2013.
  16. ^ "No. 58929". The London Gazette (invalid |supp= (help)). 31 December 2008.
  17. ^ "Simpson, Andrew". Beijing 2008. Retrieved 21 August 2008.
  18. ^ "Welcome to World Regattas – Sailing and Regatta Event Schedules and Information". Worldregattas.com. Retrieved 9 May 2013.
  19. ^ Jeffery, Tim (23 June 2008). "Qingdao to weed out problems". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 21 August 2008.

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