The Brit and the Australian have received the highest sailing awards. They are bitter opponents in the Louis Vuitton Cup final – why don’t they get involved in psychological games?
They were teammates, but now they are opponents: Ben Ainslie of Ineos Britannia and Jimmy Spithill of Luna Rossa. They are currently facing each other in the final of the Louis Vuitton Cup in Barcelona – the series is 2-2. Whoever wins seven races first can challenge Cup holders New Zealand in the fight for the 37th America’s Cup in October.
Ben Ainslie and Jimmy Spithill – this is a duo that has shaped the sport of sailing over the last 25 years. The Englishman Ainslie, 47 years old and therefore two years older than his opponent, is the most successful Olympic sailor with five medals won. Australian Spithill is taking part in the America’s Cup for the eighth time and has won the trophy twice as helmsman and skipper.
Even if they would never admit it: the two team leaders are under enormous pressure. They have to win, make history, because neither team has won the America’s Cup yet. At Luna Rossa, it is primarily the fans who demand cup victory. Jimmy Spithill says: “No other sailing competition has more Italian fans than this one. We’re trying to use that as a competitive advantage.”
The two sailors treat each other very carefully
And Ben Ainslie, the helmsman on the British boat, is supposed to bring the famous trophy back home after 173 years. “We have been there with our team for ten years and it takes this time to build it up.” But now they want to steal the America’s Cup from New Zealand. “Bring the Cup home,” Ainslie demands.
Ben Ainslie, the helmsman of Ineos Britannia: four-time Olympic champion.
Ainslie and Spithill don’t want to talk about the pressure exerted by their billionaire employers. Both Jim Ratcliffe, owner of the chemical company Ineos and the British team, and Patrizio Bertelli, owner of the fashion house Prada and Luna Rossa, have been present in Barcelona at times since the start of the Cup. And it goes without saying: after two or five failed attempts, both are demanding to win the cup, which would bring them prestige and an entry into the history books. Ainslie and Spithill are exposed to this intense desire from their team owners.
Despite this competitive situation, the two sailors treat each other very carefully and calmly. There have been no psychological games like the two of them used to play – they have matured over the many years of professional sports life. The harmony may also be explained by the fact that the two helmsmen have a common Cup past that was very successful.
In 2013, Ben Ainslie was employed by Oracle as coxswain of the second Cup boat. After the skipper Spithill was almost hopelessly behind 1:7 in the cup final against New Zealand, he brought the Englishman on board as a tactician. With multiple Olympic champion Ainslie, the Americans turned the series into a 9-8 victory and celebrated one of the greatest comebacks in sports history. For Spithill it was the second cup success after the win against Alinghi in 2010, and for Ainslie it was a first.
Ainslie was knighted by the royal family
It was unforeseeable in his childhood that Ben Ainslie would one day hold a noble title and win four Olympic gold medals. Although the young sailor won a silver medal in the Laser (1996) at the age of 21, after his switch to the Finn class after the Laser Olympic victory in 2000, no one believed in an incredible series of three consecutive gold medals from 2004 to 2012 – the switch finally happened been associated with significant weight gain. Ainslie, rather reserved and shy, mutated into a folk hero; he was the standard bearer at the closing ceremony of the Olympic Games in his homeland. And the following year he was knighted by the royal family and has been able to call himself sir ever since.
Jimmy Spithill can’t point to royal or Olympic honors. The Sydney-born sailor, whose stature is reminiscent of a boxer and who uses this sport to keep himself fit, focused on match racing and the America’s Cup from the start. While Ainslie began his Olympic career in Europe, Spithill celebrated his cup debut in 1999/2000 as a cheeky youngster. With an inferior boat, he stood out for his aggressive driving style; As a 20-year-old, he left a lasting impression on the established cup scene.
Spithill is called a “pit bull”.
This marked his path – as a helmsman and later skipper in various cup teams. With Oracle he was the youngest helmsman and skipper to win the America’s Cup twice. What was interesting from a Swiss perspective was the match between Oracle and Alinghi in Valencia in 2010, “the craziest and most extreme America’s Cup that has ever been held,” as Spithill says. After the victory, “the dream of a nine-year-old redhead” became reality.
While Spithill is very much linked to Luna Rossa, whose colors he is wearing for the third time, Ainslie has been trying his luck with British teams for ten years. Spithill has the greatest respect for his former teammate: “On land he is very polite and well-mannered. But on the water he is very, very aggressive and achieves his goals.” Ainslie’s brutal methods in competition earned him the nicknames “wild animal” and “monster” in the British press – expressions that he never defended himself against.
Spithill’s nickname is also memorable: he is called “Pitbull” because of his aggressive starting maneuvers. The Australian lives from his great self-motivation. He believes firmly in himself and in victory. That’s how he appears, not arrogant, but convincing and self-confident. «The time after a defeat is the best time to learn. “I rarely think about victories,” he says. Now the two fathers face each other again, as they did three years ago in Auckland, also in the final of the Louis Vuitton Cup final. At that time Spithill won.
The opposing boats in the Louis Vuitton Cup final: the British team (left) and the Italian team. The series is 2-2 between them.