.jpg) Ainslie in 2024 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Full name | Charles Benedict Ainslie | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Nationality |  United Kingdom | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Born | (1977-02-05)5 February 1977 (age 49) Macclesfield,Cheshire, England | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Weight | 90 kg (198 lb)[1] | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Spouse | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Sport | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Sailing career | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Class(es) | Finn,Laser, Optimist, America's Cup | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Medal record
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Sir Charles Benedict Ainslie (born 5 February 1977) is a Britishcompetitive sailor. Ainslie is the most successful sailor inOlympic history. He won medals at five consecutive Olympics from1996 onwards, including gold at four consecutive Games from 2000 to 2012.[2][3]
He is one of three men to win medals in five different Olympic Games in sailing, doing so afterTorben Grael andRobert Scheidt, and the second to win four gold medals, afterPaul Elvstrøm.[3][4]
Ainslie is CEO of Athena Sports Group which includes the roles of team principal, CEO and skipper ofAthena Racing and CEO of theEmirates Great BritainSailGP Team.[5] He is also a Patron of the 1851 Trust, a British charity that supports young people in sailing and STEM education.[6]
Ainslie was born inMacclesfield, England to Roddy and Sue Ainslie. Roddy captained a boat that took part in the firstWhitbread Round The World Race in 1973.[7] Ben's elder sister, Fleur, is married to Jerome Pels, former secretary general of theInternational Sailing Federation (ISAF).[7] Ainslie was educated at twoindependent schools: at theTerra Nova School in a rural area near the village ofHolmes Chapel inCheshire in north west England, andTruro School in the city ofTruro, Cornwall, followed byPeter Symonds Sixth Form,Winchester,Hampshire.[8]
Ainslie learned to sail atRestronguet Creek nearFalmouth, Cornwall.[9]
He started sailing at the age of eight and first competed at the age of ten.[10] His first international competition was aged twelve at the 1989Optimist world championships held in Japan where he placed 73rd.
Ainsle originally sailed theLaser but he gained a reported 18 kilograms (40 lb; 2 st 12 lb) and moved to the heavier weightFinnBoth his gold medal-winning Laser and Finn dinghies are currently displayed at the National Maritime Museum Cornwall.
On 19 May 2012, Ainslie became the first person to carry the Olympic torch in the UK. Starting the 70-day tour of the United Kingdom atLand's End, he was the first of 8,000 torch carriers.[11] He was selected on 11 August 2012 to carry the flag for the Great Britain team at theLondon 2012 Olympics closing ceremony.[12]
At the2011 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.[14]
At the beginning of 2005 Ainslie worked in the role of tactician in the New Zealand-basedTeam New Zealand who were preparing to compete in the challenger selection process to win the right to Challenge for the 32ndAmerica's Cup. In May 2005 Ainslie took the decision to relinquish the role of tactician and focus on improving hismatch racing skills as helmsman of the 'B' boat used to practice and tune the race boat helmed byDean Barker.
Ainslie figure headed a British challenge for the Cup alongsideSir Keith Mills the team was namedTeam Origin. However this challenge withdrew without competing following a period of discussion regarding the future format of the event.
For the2013 America's Cup, Ainslie was recruited as a tactician by Oracle Team USA, as a replacement for John Kostecki during an Oracle practice session on 11 September 2013.[16] On 12 September, the following day, he replaced Kostecki going into race six of the2013 America's Cup.[17] His Oracle Team USA beat Team New Zealand in the America's Cup decider in San Francisco on 25 September.[18]
In January 2012, Ben Ainslie announced the formation of an eponymous team to compete in the America's Cup: Ben Ainslie Racing (BAR). His team competed in the AC45 class of the2011–13 America's Cup World Series,[19]2014 Extreme Sailing Series and set a multihull record for theRound the Island Race. The team won the2015–16 America's Cup World Series but were eliminated in the semi-finals of the2017 Louis Vuitton Challenger's Trophy competition to determine the challenger for the2017 America's Cup.
In April 2018 Ainslie announced the Americas Cup team would be renamed INEOS TEAM UK in partnership withINEOS andSir Jim Ratcliffe. Again based out of the Portsmouth HQ the team built two new 75-foot foiling monohull yachts to compete for the 36th Americas Cup set which took place in Auckland, New Zealand in 2021.
On 21 October 2020, Ben andINEOS TEAM UK launched their race boat for the 36thAmerica's Cup from their HQ in Auckland, naming the AC75 race boat 'Britannia'Following a disappointing performance in the Auckland ACWS event in December 2020, the team spent the following three weeks making modifications to their boat Britannia ahead of the start of the Prada Cup qualifying series. This included a new mast and sails as well as modifications to the hull and foils. The team received support from INEOS sponsored Mercedes-AMG Petronas F1 Team.
INEOS Team UK dominated the Round Robin phase of the Prada Cup which saw them race and beat each of the two other challenger teams three times, securing their place in the Prada Cup Final beginning on 13 February 2021. The team's place in the Prada Cup final marked a significant point in their campaign, being the furthest any British challenge had progressed in the competition since the introduction of a challenger selection series.
After Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli's win in the Prada Cup Semi-Finals against American Magic, the American team was eliminated from the event, securing the Italian team's place in the Prada Cup Final alongside INEOS Team UK.
The Prada Cup Finals were held in predominantly light wind (8-14 knots), with Luna Rossa showing great improvement in boat handling, winning the first 5 races consecutively.INEOS Team UK showed superior downwind pace in Race 6, taking their sole race win before Luna Rossa dominated Day 4 to take their sixth and seventh race win, winning the Prada Cup overall, and securing their place in the 36th America's Cup Match against Emirates Team New Zealand.
On 17 March 2021, following Emirates Team New Zealand's defence of their title (their seventh win overall), the Chairman of Royal Yacht Squadron Racing, Bertie Bicket, issued a pre-arranged, "friendly" challenge to the Commodore of theRoyal New Zealand Yacht Squadron, Aaron Young.[20][21] This made Royal Yacht Squadron Racing Ltd and their renamed sailing teamINEOS Britannia the Challenger of Record for the 37th Louis Vuitton America's Cup.[22]
The challenge agreed that the37th Americas Cup would be raced in the America's Cup 75 (AC75), a 23 m (75 ft) foiling monohull class, that there would be nationality rules in place, a cost reduction programme and that the America's Cup will be raced inBarcelona as a first-to-seven-wins series from 12 October 2024 (expected to be completed on or before 21 October 2024).[23] The Royal Yacht Squadron's challenge is the first time a British team had competed in three consecutive America's Cup cycles since 1930 when Sir Thomas Lipton challenged in the yachtShamrock V.[21][24]
On 4 October 2024, after a 7–4 win, the yachtBritanniaINEOS Britannia defeatedLuna Rossa representingCircolo della Vela Sicilia winning theLouis Vuitton Challenger Selections Series to challengeEmirates Team New Zealand for the 37th America's Cup.[25][26] This is the first time the UK has challenged the America's Cup since 1964 when Tony Boyden'ssovereign (representing the Royal Thames Yacht Club) lost 4-0 toEric Ridder'sConstellation.[27][24]
The match was raced betweenTaihoro, helmed byPeter Burling andNathan Outteridge, andBritannia helmed by Ainslie andDylan Fletcher, the winners of qualifying event - the2024 Louis Vuitton Cup.[28] Races were held, from 12 October – 19 October, with Reserve Days on 14-15 Oct, 17. Eventually losing the series 7-2,INEOS Britannia became the first UK challenger to score in an America's Cup match since 1934 whenSir Thomas Sopwith'sEndeavor (representing theRoyal Yacht Squadron) lost 4-2 toHarold S. Vanderbilt'sRainbow.
On 23 January 2025 it was announced that Ben Ainslie had split from the INEOS sponsorship and that consequently he would be continue the 38th America's Cup as the Challenger of Record with the team renamedAthena Racing.[29]
In December 2010, Ainslie finished in first place in theWorld Match Racing Tour, and is the 2010 ISAF Match Racing Champion.
In January 2014, it was announced that Ainslie would compete in the 2014 Extreme Sailing Series as part of his preparation for the America's Cup. He raced for J.P. Morgan BAR, finishing 5th.
Ainslie helmed theGreat Britain SailGP Team'sF50 in theSailGP Championship between2021–22 and2023-24 seasons.
Ainslie lives inLondon. He is a member of the Sea View Yacht Club and is an honorary member of theRoyal Yacht Squadron. He supportsChelsea.[7]
In August 2014, Ainslie was one of 200 public figures who were signatories to a letter toThe Guardian expressing their hope that Scotland would vote to remain part of the United Kingdom in September'sreferendum on that issue.[31]
On 20 December 2014, Ainslie married formerSky Sports News presenterGeorgie Thompson.[32] The couple have a daughter, Bellatrix, born in 2016.[33] and a son, Fox, born in 2021.[34]
Welcome to the World Fox Ainslie ❤️Our second miracle baby being adored by our first ❤️ We couldn't be more grateful, more humbled or more amazed by those who helped @AinslieBen and I make this moment a reality or more in love with our little fox cub ❤️
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