He won Olympic gold with his best friend and then lost him in a tragic accident in the America's Cup. Iain Percy and Andrew "Bart" Simpson were inseparable until Simpson drowned in a training accident off San Francisco on 9 May 2013. Iain Percy is still involved in the America's Cup, leading the Swedish team Artemis as team manager and tactician into the challenger round for the 35th America's Cup.
In this interview, Artemis' strong man talks about his dual challenge as team manager and tactician, looks back on the past and gives an insight into his motivation
In an interview, the Brit talks about the trials of life in the America's Cup fast lane and about his team's hopes in the battle with the favourites for the Cup battle off Bermuda in June. As a double Olympic champion in the Finn dinghy and the Star boat and multiple world champion, Percy is one of the most experienced forces in the Cup business. He says: "It's the intellectual challenge of solving the collective problems of an America's Cup team as a unit that fascinates me. You do that for a team that you care about. And that's what it's all about for me."
The likeable, often thoughtful man of quiet tones gained his first Cup experience in 2005, when he acted as helmsman for the financially troubled Italian +39 campaign. The Brit was also part of the hapless British Team Origin campaign and was hired as tactician by the Swedish Team Artemis in 2012 after winning Olympic silver with Simpson in his home waters off Weymouth. After a difficult few months following the fatal accident of his friend and team-mate 'Bart' Simpson, Percy officially took on the role of team manager for the Swedish team in October 2013.
Tatjana Pokorny
Sports reporter
