Isle of Wight resident Sir Ben Ainslie has announced he is stepping down as driver of the Emirates Great Britain SailGP Team.
Ainslie, who lives in Seaview and won his fourth Olympic gold medal in his final games at London 2012, took over as driver for the Great Britain Team in 2019 and went on to win the Sydney SailGP later in the season in October 2021.
Stepping down as driver, Ainslie will continue his role as Emirates GBR CEO but will hand over the wheel to double Olympic gold medallist and America’s Cup teammate Giles Scott.
Speaking after his final SailGP Event as driver in Dubai, Ainslie said it was “time for the next generation to come through.”
Ainslie said the decision to step down as driver was “probably the toughest decision I’ve ever had to make in my sporting career.”
In his role as Emirates GBR CEO, Ainslie will manage the overall performance of the Team, both on and off the water.
“As the CEO of both Emirates GBR and the INEOS Britannia America’s Cup Team, and most importantly, a husband and father, at some point, you’ve got to realise that you can’t do everything,” he said.
On his time in SailGP, Ainslie said: “I’ve loved every minute of sailing in the League. We’ve had some great moments and some challenging moments, but I’ve just loved it.
“It’s the best sailing I’ve ever done in my career. It’s so much fun.
“We’ve got a great team at Emirates GBR that has a really exciting future, and I’m still going to be part of it for many years to come.”
House Rules
We do not moderate comments, but we expect readers to adhere to certain rules in the interests of open and accountable debate.
Read the rules here