UK Olympian Simpson drowns, tributes pour in
Source: Agencies |
May 11, 2013, Saturday
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Print Edition
Print Edition
THE British sailing community was mourning the death of Olympic champion Andrew Simpson after the 36-year-old drowned when his vessel capsized in San Francisco Bay during training for the America's Cup on Thursday.
Simpson, who won gold in the Star class at the Beijing Olympics in 2008, died when he became trapped as the 72-foot catamaran the Artemis, Sweden's entry in the America's Cup, overturned.
"We're devastated by the news from San Francisco," RYA performance director John Derbyshire said in a statement from the Royal Yacht Association and British Sailing Team.
"Andrew is someone I've worked closely with since the age of 16 - he was a great talent, and a key figure in our world class program."
Simpson, nicknamed 'Bart' after the cartoon character, also won a silver medal at the London Olympics last year, again in the Star class, and was a close friend of four-time Olympic champion Ben Ainslie.
A statement from Ainslie's Oracle team, which was also testing its AC72 on San Francisco Bay read: "Today is a sad day for all of us in the sailing community."
The British Olympic Association said it was "devastated" at the tragic death of Simpson.
His death also touched other Olympians, including Spanish tennis player Rafael Nadal.
"A tragedy what happened in the Americas Cup," he said on Twitter. "All my support to the family of the great Andrew Simpson."
Simpson's twin-hulled boat was performing a so-called "bear-away" maneuver, turning away from the wind, when one bow dropped under the water's surface, and the vessel flipped over, America's Cup spokesman Tim Jeffery said.
Simpson, who was working as the team's tactician, ended up trapped beneath the boat in the water for around 10 minutes and had to be pulled out by rescue divers, who tried and failed to revive him.
The incident was believed to be the first fatality in connection with the America's Cup since the early 1990s, when a crew member from a Spanish team died in a training accident off the coast of Mallorca in the Mediterranean.
Simpson, who won gold in the Star class at the Beijing Olympics in 2008, died when he became trapped as the 72-foot catamaran the Artemis, Sweden's entry in the America's Cup, overturned.
"We're devastated by the news from San Francisco," RYA performance director John Derbyshire said in a statement from the Royal Yacht Association and British Sailing Team.
"Andrew is someone I've worked closely with since the age of 16 - he was a great talent, and a key figure in our world class program."
Simpson, nicknamed 'Bart' after the cartoon character, also won a silver medal at the London Olympics last year, again in the Star class, and was a close friend of four-time Olympic champion Ben Ainslie.
A statement from Ainslie's Oracle team, which was also testing its AC72 on San Francisco Bay read: "Today is a sad day for all of us in the sailing community."
The British Olympic Association said it was "devastated" at the tragic death of Simpson.
His death also touched other Olympians, including Spanish tennis player Rafael Nadal.
"A tragedy what happened in the Americas Cup," he said on Twitter. "All my support to the family of the great Andrew Simpson."
Simpson's twin-hulled boat was performing a so-called "bear-away" maneuver, turning away from the wind, when one bow dropped under the water's surface, and the vessel flipped over, America's Cup spokesman Tim Jeffery said.
Simpson, who was working as the team's tactician, ended up trapped beneath the boat in the water for around 10 minutes and had to be pulled out by rescue divers, who tried and failed to revive him.
The incident was believed to be the first fatality in connection with the America's Cup since the early 1990s, when a crew member from a Spanish team died in a training accident off the coast of Mallorca in the Mediterranean.
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