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Sir Charles Benedict Ainslie, CBE (born 5 February 1977) is an English competitive sailor.
The most successful sailor in Olympic history, Ainslie won medals at five consecutive Olympics from 1996-2012, including gold at the last four.
He was the first person to win medals in five different Olympic Games in sailing, the third person to win five Olympic medals in that sport (after Torben Grael and Robert Scheidt) and also the second to win four gold medals, after Paul Elvstrøm.
Ainslie won silver at the 1996 Olympic Games and gold in the 2000 Summer Olympics in the Laser class. He gained some 18 kilograms (40lb; 2st 12
Sir Charles Benedict Ainslie, CBE (born 5 February 1977) is an English competitive sailor.
The most successful sailor in Olympic history, Ainslie won medals at five consecutive Olympics from 1996-2012, including gold at the last four.
He was the first person to win medals in five different Olympic Games in sailing, the third person to win five Olympic medals in that sport (after Torben Grael and Robert Scheidt) and also the second to win four gold medals, after Paul Elvstrøm.
Ainslie won silver at the 1996 Olympic Games and gold in the 2000 Summer Olympics in the Laser class. He gained some 18 kilograms (40lb; 2st 12lb) and moved to the larger Finn class for the 2004 Summer Olympics, where he won gold, a feat he repeated in the 2008 and 2012 competitions.
In December 2010, Ainslie finished in first place in the World Match Racing Tour and is the 2010 ISAF Match Racing Champion.
September 11, 2013, Ainslie was put in as tactician by Oracle Team USA to replace John Kostecki as they trailed 6-1 to Team New Zealand in the 2013 America's Cup. In one of the sport's great comebacks, Ainslie's Oracle Team USA beat Team New Zealand by 9-8 in the America's Cup decider in San Francisco on 25 September.
He was appointed Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) in the 2001 New Year Honours after his success in Sydney and Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in the 2005 New Year Honours following the Athens Games. He was appointed Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in the 2009 New Year Honours following the Beijing Games and was created a Knight Bachelor in the 2013 New Year Honours for services to sailing.
Ben Ainslie won the International Sailing Federation top Award more times than anyone else being named ISAF World Sailor of the Year in 1998, 2002, 2008 and 2012. He was also nominated 2004 and 2011.
He was awarded the title of British Yachtsman of the Year in 1995, 1999, 2000 and 2002.
On 19 May 2012 he became the first person to carry the Olympic torch in the UK. Starting the 70-day tour of the United Kingdom at Land's End, he was the first of 8,000 torch carriers. His gold medal at the 2012 Olympics was presented by two Royal former Olympians, Princess Anne and King Constantine of Greece. He was selected on 11 August 2012 to carry the flag for the Great Britain team at the London 2012 Olympics closing ceremony.
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