Britain's Ben Ainslie, three-time Olympic gold medallist, has just become world champion in match racing. But instead of joy, the title obviously causes frustration, as it is a vivid reminder of an apparently missed career opportunity.
Ainslie fears he will have to give up his lifelong dream of competing in the Americas Cup. The decision by Cup defender BMW Oracle Racing to switch from monohulls to multihulls has serious implications for a whole generation of the world's best match racers. "The decision was very disappointing," Ainslie told the New Zealand Herald. "Guys like me have spent the last 10 to 15 years learning the game, learning how to match race on big monohulls to one day compete in the Americas Cup."
He fears that this was all for nothing. Because the importance of the match race would be greatly diminished in the new Cup, the main focus would be on building the fastest boat. The development is all the more annoying for Ainslie because he was on the verge of realising his dream. He had been the reserve skipper for the New Zealanders since 2005 and switched to the British Team Origin after the 2007 Cup, where he was regarded as the regular helmsman. Origin's owner Sir Keith Mills cancelled his participation in the 2013 Cup, as did the former winners Alinghi, both stating that the rules favoured the defender too much and that they saw no future in the new format.
"I think their (BMW Oracle) number one vision is to retain the Cup," said Ainslie.
Lars Bolle
Chief Editor Digital
