Is Ben Ainslie the best sailor in the world?
by Gael Pawson, Creating Waves 8 Aug 2012 08:31 BST
8 August 2012
Ben Ainslie wins a historic fourth gold medal at the London 2012 Olympic Sailing Competition © Tom Gruitt /
www.tom-gruitt.co.uk
They're calling him the greatest sailor ever, but he's still got a way to go to take that title... there's a certain Danish legend called Paul Elvstrom who is still hard to match
There's a lot of talk here about Ben Ainslie being the best sailor ever, but that might be going a bit far. He is undoubtedly the world's most decorated Olympic sailor – with four consecutive gold medals to add to his silver of Atlanta. But does that make him the greatest sailor ever? I think not – and I'm sure Ainslie would agree; he has a way to go to match the amazing record of Denmark's Paul Elvstrom.
The man that Ben beat to win gold this week, Jonas Hogh Christensen was eloquent in his reply, shrugging his shoulders and smiling the broad, likeable grin that had won him fans all week. "It's hard because it's about 50 years apart. Paul's record is great. He won, I think, 15 world championships besides his four Olympic golds, that's a great achievement." The actual count is 15 world championship medals, 11 of them gold, but who's counting. The simple fact is Paul Elvstrom is still the only sailor in the world to have won world championships in seven different classes (the 505, Snipe, Finn, Flying Dutchman, Star, Soling and 5.5m).
While Ainslie talks of retiring from Olympic sailing – and who can blame him, without the Star it's difficult to see a class he could compete in - Elvstrom went on to compete in a further four Games, making it eight in total. Most recently, sailing with his youngest daughter Trine, he finished fourth in the Tornado class at the Los Angeles Olympics in 1984 – he was 56.
It wasn't just about what Paul Elvstrom, now 84, did on the water: he was an innovator, and a developer of new technique and equipment. His written works have inspired generations of sailors and his inventions have helped to make the sport what it is today. "The great thing about Paul was his sportsmanship and what he put back into sailing," Jonas explained. "A lot of the things we are using today – the ratchet block... half the things you use on a modern boat today he invented and therefore he had a tremendous influence on the sport.
Jonas concluded: "There's no doubt that Ben is the best sailor in the world right now, and in that sense you can compare the two. I think what Ben has done to day is a great achievement and should be applauded."
Obviously Ben is just 35, so he has a few years to go yet, and we are certainly going to see his achievements continue to build. You could say that he has earned the right to be mentioned in the same paragraph as the Great Dane. Give it a few more years and it might be the same sentence.
www.YachtsandYachting.com/London2012
Gael Pawson has been editor of the UK's top performance magazine,
Yachts and Yachting, for over 10 years and runs
Creating Waves, which supplies editorial content for a range of publications. A keen and experienced sailor in her own right – having learnt to sail at the age of five - small, fast boats are her first love, but she has sailed everything from America's Cup yachts to foiling Moths. She has been involved in covering the UK's amazing Olympic sailing success story since the 2000 Sydney Games.