Ben Ainslie (CBE) is an English sailor and three-times Olympic gold medalist.

Ben Ainslie (CBE) is an English sailor and three-times Olympic gold medalist.

Ben's sailing began at an early age when given a small Optimist sailing dinghy as a gift from his parents. Ben successfully progressed through this very popular youth class and at the age of sixteen moved into the laser, which is the class used for the men's single handed division of the Olympics.

Ben went on to qualify for Great Britain and eventually take silver medal in the 1996 Olympics after a very close battle for Gold. After the Olympics, Ben moved to the top of the Laser fleet winning both the World and European titles in 1998 and 1999. Ben won the Gold Medal in the Laser Class in the Sydney Olympics. He also won the Gold Medal in Athens in the Finn Class in 2004.

Having competed in The America's Cup in 2007 for Emirates Team New Zealand, Ben had 12 months to prepare himself for 2008 Beijing Olympics where he has just won a third Gold Medal by competing in the Finn Class.

In 2008, Ben brought home another Gold medal for Great Britain confirming him as one of our true Olympic heroes.