Iain Bryden Percy (born 21 March 1976) is an English

sailor A sailor, seaman, mariner, or seafarer is a person who works aboard a watercraft as part of its crew, and may work in any one of a number of different fields that are related to the operation and maintenance of a ship. While the term ''sailor'' ...

and double Olympic champion for Great Britain.

Olympics

Percy competed in the

2000 Summer Olympics The 2000 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XXVII Olympiad, officially branded as Sydney 2000, and also known as the Games of the New Millennium, were an international multi-sport event held from 15 September to 1 October ...

Sydney Sydney is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales and the List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city in Australia. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Syd ...

, where he won a gold medal in the Finn class.Profile: "Iain Percy"
– ''databaseOlympics.com'' (Retrieved 31 December 2007) He memorably received his gold medal at a ceremony on the steps of the

Sydney Opera House The Sydney Opera House is a multi-venue Performing arts center, performing arts centre in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. Located on the foreshore of Sydney Harbour, it is widely regarded as one of the world's most famous and distinctive b ...

. He competed in the

2004 Summer Olympics The 2004 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXVIII Olympiad (), and officially branded as Athens 2004 (), were an international multi-sport event held from 13 to 29 August 2004 in Athens, Greece. The Games saw 10,625 athletes ...

Athens Athens ( ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Greece, largest city of Greece. A significant coastal urban area in the Mediterranean, Athens is also the capital of the Attica (region), Attica region and is the southe ...

and finished 6th in the double-handed Star class with Steve Mitchell. The same team received a bronze medal at the 2005 World Championships and a gold medal at the 2005 European Championships."Iain Percy MBE"
– ''British Olympic Association'' (Retrieved 21 March 2008) Percy won World Bronze in the Star class with Andrew Simpson in 2007 and European Championship Gold in 2009."Iain Percy Sailing Greats"
– ''olympics30.com'' (Retrieved 11 February 2012) The duo won Gold in the same class of boat at the 2010 World Championships which took place in Brazil. With previous partner, Steve Mitchell, Percy won the 2002 Star World Championship in Los Angeles, and medalled in the next three world championships, winning the bronze medal in each of them. At the

2008 Olympics The 2008 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXIX Olympiad () and officially branded as Beijing 2008 (), were an international multisport event held from 8 to 24 August 2008, in Beijing, China. A total of 10,942 athletes fr ...

Beijing Beijing, Chinese postal romanization, previously romanized as Peking, is the capital city of China. With more than 22 million residents, it is the world's List of national capitals by population, most populous national capital city as well as ...

he again won a gold medal, this time in the Star class, teaming up with Andrew Simpson. At the

2012 Olympics The 2012 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XXX Olympiad and also known as London 2012, were an international multi-sport event held from 27 July to 12 August 2012 in London, England, United Kingdom. The first event, the ...

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

he and Andrew Simpson won the silver medal, after a tight race against Swedish duo

Fredrik Lööf Max Emil Fredrik Lööf (born 13 December 1969 in Kristinehamn, Sweden) is a Swedish professional sailor who has participated in six Summer Olympics, winning one gold and two bronze medals. He won the gold medal in Star with Max Salminen at t ...

and Max Salminen. Percy is a member of Hayling Island Sailing Club and sails there regularly.

America's Cup

In 2005, Percy decided to take a break from full-time Olympic Class sailing and join America's Cup challenger +39 Challenge as helmsman. Due to limited funding, +39 only managed ninth place in the Louis Vuitton Cup. Iain then joined Great Britain's TEAMORIGIN competing in the

Louis Vuitton Trophy The Louis Vuitton Trophy was a series of four match race regattas in International America's Cup Class boats, held between November 2009 and November 2010. The Louis Vuitton Trophy was organised after the success of the Louis Vuitton Pacific Se ...

regattas (Nice, Auckland, La Maddalena) and on the TP52 circuit, prior to stepping onboard

Artemis Racing Artemis Racing is a professional sailing team founded in 2006 by businessman and sailor Torbjörn Törnqvist, named after Artemis, the ancient Greek goddess. Timeline * 2007: won the MedCup circuit, then called Breitling Medcup, and the TP52 Wo ...

for the Louis Vuitton Trophy – Dubai. Percy has been with Artemis Racing since then and was Sailing Team Director for the Challenger of Record for the 35th America's Cup. Since 2017 he has been CEO of Artemis Technologies.

Awards

Percy was appointed

Member of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...

(MBE) in 2005, as a recognition of his Olympic gold medal. He was appointed

Officer of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...

(OBE) in the 2009 New Year Honours. He was also awarded a Doctor of Laws honorary degree by the University of Bristol in 2009.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Percy, Iain 1976 births Living people Sportspeople from Southampton English male sailors (sport) People educated at Peter Symonds College Sailors at the 2000 Summer Olympics – Finn Sailors at the 2004 Summer Olympics – Star Sailors at the 2008 Summer Olympics – Star Sailors at the 2012 Summer Olympics – Star Olympic sailors for Great Britain English Olympic competitors Olympic gold medallists for Great Britain Officers of the Order of the British Empire Olympic medalists in sailing Artemis Racing sailors Olympic silver medallists for Great Britain Medalists at the 2012 Summer Olympics Medalists at the 2008 Summer Olympics Medalists at the 2000 Summer Olympics 2007 America's Cup sailors 2017 America's Cup sailors 2013 America's Cup sailors Star class world champions Farr 40 class world champions World champions in sailing for Great Britain