LONDON :Ben Ainslie’s Athena Racing named former British sailor and coach Ian Walker as CEO of their America’s Cup challenge on Monday as they prepare their bid for another tilt at New Zealand.
Walker is a two-time Olympic medallist who, as well as skippering a British America’s Cup crew in 2003, has led three Ocean Race campaigns and was also performance director for Britain’s successful sailing team at Tokyo 2020.
“It’s an exciting moment to return to the America’s Cup with a British challenge that has the continuity of the last three campaigns, alongside the recent creation of the America’s Cup Partnership (ACP),” Walker said in a statement.
Ainslie’s team became the first British entry in 60 years to qualify for the America’s Cup Match last year, but were defeated by the defenders New Zealand in Barcelona, Spain.
Walker said the signing last month of the long-term accord had played a big part in his decision to take the role at Athena Racing, which represents the “Challenger of Record” for the 38th America’s Cup due to be held in Naples, Italy in 2027.
“The Cup has evolved enormously since I was last involved in terms of the boats, the technology, and even the balance between sailors and designers,” Walker said.
“But at its core, it remains unchanged, it’s about managing your resources, getting the best out of your people, and making every second count, in a race against time, and the clock is ticking,” the 55-year-old added.
Walker and Ainslie go back decades. Both were part of the British sailing team at the Olympics in 1996 and 2000.
Ainslie, who described Walker as “an exceptional leader with a proven track record of success with high-performance campaigns across the very top of our sport”, said that his team “needed a CEO who could hit the ground running”.
Last week, the 48-year-old told Reuters he expects to announce within weeks who will bankroll his next America’s Cup campaign, as well as the team he has on board.
Ainslie, who as well as being the most successful Olympic sailor also lifted the “Auld Mug” in 2013 with Oracle Team USA, has made it his goal to “bring the Cup home” to Britain, where it was first contested off the south coast in 1851.
Echoing Ainslie’s mantra, Walker said: “Just imagine how cool it would be for the team to win it for Britain”.
