Biography
Iain Percy is one of Great Britain’s most successful Olympic sailors. Adding to the gold medal he won at the Sydney 2000 Olympic Games with a gold medal in the star class at the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games. He also received an OBE in the 2009 New Years Honours list.
In 2009 Percy and his sailing partner Andrew Simpson, placed second at the star European Championships and later in the summer they went on to win gold at the Sail for Gold Regatta in Weymouth.
Percy began sailing at the age of four, when his family decided to take up a sport they could enjoy together. He began his sailing career at Weston Sailing Club in Southampton in an Optimist dinghy and never looked back.
Percy turned professional in 1998 and within two years was representing Great Britain at the Sydney Olympics. It was in Sydney where Percy struck gold, winning the highly technical Finn class. As a result of his gold medal, he was honoured by the Queen and received an MBE. Iain changed classes for the Athens 2004 Olympic Games and chose to race alongside Steve Mitchell in the double-handed Star class. After a disappointing sixth place at the Games, Percy and Steve bounced back very quickly taking bronze at the 2005 World Championships and gold at the European Championships in the same year.
It was in 2005 that Percy decided to take a break from full time Olympic Classes sailing and join America’s Cup challenger +39 Challenge as helmsman. Due to a lack of funding +39 only managed ninth place in the Louis Vuitton Cup. However, this has allowed Percy to get back on the water in his Star with his new crew Andrew Simpson. The pair have gelled well as a team since joining forces in January 2007 and in their first major test, the ISAF World Championships, won a bronze medal following that up with bronze at the Star European Championships in September.
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Last Updated August 2009