Sailing's Olympic hero

Britain's Olympic dreams are riding on Ben Ainslie

On the eve of the 33rd America's Cup, one of sailing's most prestigious events, WideWorld caught up with Ben Ainslie, who hopes to bring the cup back to Britain next year as he skippers Team Origin. Not only that, Ainslie is Britain's great Olympic hope for 2012.

As Britain’s most successful Olympic sailor ever and an unprecedented three-time winner of the World Sailor of the Year award, 32-year-old Ben Ainslie CBE could be forgiven for resting on his laurels. But that's not in his nature.

Ainslie recently captained Britain’s Team Origin to three consecutive victories in the Louis Vuitton Trophy in Nice, marking the start of the most demanding period of his career as an elite sailor. Over the next three years he is scheduled to represent Britain in the two most high profile events in sailing: the Olympics and the America’s Cup.

Winning a fourth successive Olympic gold medal in 2012 and skippering Team Origin, Britain's America's Cup Challenger, to glory in 2011 would elevate his reputation from being one the greatest sailors of his generation to one of the greatest of all time.

Ainslie’s journey to the summit of sailing began in a childhood environment that could not have been more conducive to the sport. Indeed, he admits that his introduction to sailing was somewhat inevitable given the supporting factors at work. “There were two things really,” he explains. “My parents – my dad especially – were keen sailors so they helped get me into the sport, plus growing up in Cornwall where sailing was really accessible.” Ainslie’s father, Roderick, was more than just a keen sailor, he captained a boat in the first Whitbread Round the World Race in 1973 and passed on his sailing knowledge to his son. When he retired, the Ainslie family moved from Cheshire to Restronguet near Falmouth. Their new home was a former fisherman’s cottage perched on a cliff above Restronguet Creek and this stretch of water proved the perfect training ground for Ainslie to practice the skills that would make him an Olympic champion. At....

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