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10/05/2013
Olympic Sailor Dies After Boat Capsizes
British Olympic sailor, Andrew 'Bart' Simpson, has died.
In a statement on the Royal Yachting Association (RYA) website, Mr Simpson died after a Swedish catamaran capsized during a training session for this year's America's Cup.
The 36-year-old, a double Olympic medallist, was one of an 11-man crew on board the Artemis Racing vessel. It is understood he became trapped under the boat and efforts to revive him failed.
Artemis is a Swedish team due to take part in the America's Cup in San Francisco Bay later this year.
On its website, Artemis Racing said: "It is with immense sadness that Artemis Racing confirms the tragic death of crewmember Andrew 'Bart' Simpson today in San Francisco.
"Our prayers are with Andrew Simpson’s family, his wife and kids, and also the rest of my teammates. It’s a shocking experience to go through, and we have a lot to deal with in the next few days in terms of assuring everybody’s well being.
"The boat’s under control, but that’s not the first of our concerns. We’re focused on the people."
Artemis added that doctors "afloat" with the team tried unsuccessfully to revive the British sailor after he was freed from the wreckage.
Mr Simpson represented Great Britain at two Olympic Games, sailing in the Star class alongside Iain Percy, his Artemis team boss.
At the Beijing 2008 Games, the pair took gold and were close to replicating the result at London 2012, only to claim silver in the medal race.
Before last summer's Olympics, Mr Simpson admitted that winning the America's Cup was his biggest goal.
The BBC has said San Francisco Fire Department spokeswoman Mindy Talmadge said that, following the capsize, two sailors were brought to shore and taken to the St Francis Yacht Club where paramedics performed CPR on one of them.
The other person's injuries were not life-threatening and the rest of the crew from the capsized boat were transferred to a support boat operated by Oracle Racing.
It is not yet clear what caused the vessel to capsize.
The America's Cup is inshore yachting's premier event, and will take place in San Francisco this year between July and September.
(JP/CD)
In a statement on the Royal Yachting Association (RYA) website, Mr Simpson died after a Swedish catamaran capsized during a training session for this year's America's Cup.
The 36-year-old, a double Olympic medallist, was one of an 11-man crew on board the Artemis Racing vessel. It is understood he became trapped under the boat and efforts to revive him failed.
Artemis is a Swedish team due to take part in the America's Cup in San Francisco Bay later this year.
On its website, Artemis Racing said: "It is with immense sadness that Artemis Racing confirms the tragic death of crewmember Andrew 'Bart' Simpson today in San Francisco.
"Our prayers are with Andrew Simpson’s family, his wife and kids, and also the rest of my teammates. It’s a shocking experience to go through, and we have a lot to deal with in the next few days in terms of assuring everybody’s well being.
"The boat’s under control, but that’s not the first of our concerns. We’re focused on the people."
Artemis added that doctors "afloat" with the team tried unsuccessfully to revive the British sailor after he was freed from the wreckage.
Mr Simpson represented Great Britain at two Olympic Games, sailing in the Star class alongside Iain Percy, his Artemis team boss.
At the Beijing 2008 Games, the pair took gold and were close to replicating the result at London 2012, only to claim silver in the medal race.
Before last summer's Olympics, Mr Simpson admitted that winning the America's Cup was his biggest goal.
The BBC has said San Francisco Fire Department spokeswoman Mindy Talmadge said that, following the capsize, two sailors were brought to shore and taken to the St Francis Yacht Club where paramedics performed CPR on one of them.
The other person's injuries were not life-threatening and the rest of the crew from the capsized boat were transferred to a support boat operated by Oracle Racing.
It is not yet clear what caused the vessel to capsize.
The America's Cup is inshore yachting's premier event, and will take place in San Francisco this year between July and September.
(JP/CD)
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