"There were some very good offers out there, but at the end of the day, I wouldn't be here today without Russell and Larry." With this kind sentence, 34-year-old Australian Jimmy Spithill announced that he wanted to stay with the American America's Cup defender Oracle Team USA. His focus is on winning the America's Cup for the third time in a row.
There had previously been speculation that Spithill could switch to his home team, Team Australia, which has the First new challenge handed in. Especially as his sailing career began with an Australian AC team. In the 1999/2000 Cup, he was the youngest ever Cup helmsman at the age of 20 with Team Young Australia.
But Spithill remains loyal to the Cup winner. Spithill has already celebrated successes with the team of software billionaire Larry Ellison, which is led by America's Cup veteran Russell Coutts (New Zealand). In 2010, at the age of 30, he was the youngest helmsman ever to win the America's Cup in the Cat v Tri duel. In September, he was able to defend it off San Francisco.
Spithill was honoured for this defence at the boot in Düsseldorf with the title "Seamaster of the Year".
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Lars Bolle
Chief Editor Digital
