Ian Walker (sailor)
| Medal record | ||
|---|---|---|
Representing  United Kingdom |
||
| Men's Sailing | ||
| Olympic Games | ||
 |
Atlanta 1996 | 470 |
|
Sydney 2000 | Star |
Ian Walker (born 25 February 1970 in Worcester, Worcestershire) is one of Britain’s most successful sailors, with two Olympic silver medals to his name. Walker also coached Shirley Robertson and her Yngling Team to gold at the 2004 Athens Olympics. He is a member of Itchenor Sailing Club.
At the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta, Walker received the silver medal in the 470 class along with his sailing partner, John Merricks.[1] At the 1996 470-European-Sailing-Championship he won with his Partner John Merriks the bronze medal. On 15 October 1997, both Walker and Merricks were passengers in a minivan in Italy when the driver lost control, and Merricks was killed.[2]
In 1999, Walker began sailing with Mark Covell.[2] At the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney, Walker and Covell won the silver medal in the Star class.[3]
When Britain launched its first bid for the America’s Cup for 14 years in 2000, Walker was named as the skipper. Then, in the 2007 America’s Cup he joined fellow Olympic medallist Iain Percy as the tactician of the Italian team +39 Challenge. His America’s Cup commitments were combined with the highly successful TP52 campaign as skipper of 'Patches', owned by Eamon Conneely.[4]
Contents
Volvo Ocean Race
2008/09 Race
In 2008/09 he was the skipper of the Green Dragon boat in the Volvo Ocean Race.,[5] the boat finished fifth in this race out of eight competitors.
2011/12 Race
In 2011/12 Walker skippered Abu Dhabi's first entry in the Volvo Ocean Race - Abu Dhabi Ocean Racing. Overall the team finished fifth out of the six competitors.[6]
2014/15 Race
Ian was appointed as Skipper of Abu Dhabi's next entry into the 2014/2015 Volvo Ocean Race, sailing the new VO65 class. He successfully lead the team to victory, securing an insurmountable point lead over the other teams on the second to last leg.[7] During this race the team also won the in-port race series[7] and set a 24-hour distance record of 550.82 nautical miles while approaching Cape Horn.[8]
Records Held
- Fastest circumnavigation - Isle of Wight – 2 hours 21 minutes (Foncia) August 2012. Ratified by the World Sailing Speed Record Council
- Fastnet Monohull Race record - 42hrs 39min, (Volvo Open 70 Abu Dhabi) in August 2011
- VO65 24-hour distance record - 550.82 nautical miles (Volvo Ocean 65 Azzam) in April 2015
References
- ↑ "1996 Summer Olympics – Atlanta, United States – Sailing" databaseOlympics.com (Retrieved on 17 April 2009)
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Wallechinsky, David (2004). The Complete Book of the Summer Olympics, Toronto: Sport Classic Books. ISBN 1-894963-34-2
- ↑ "2000 Summer Olympics – Sydney, Australia – Sailing" databaseOlympics.com (Retrieved on 17 April 2009)
- ↑ Green Dragon Racing Team
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External links
- Ian Walker at the International Sailing Federation
- Green Dragon Racing Team - Official Green Dragon Racing Team site
- [1] - Interview with Ian Walker, Green Dragon skipper, May 2009
- [2] - Abu Dhabi Ocean Racing 2011-12
- sports-reference
- Use dmy dates from May 2011
- Use British English from May 2011
- 1970 births
- Living people
- Sportspeople from Worcester
- Olympic sailors of Great Britain
- British sailors (sport)
- English sailors (sport)
- Sailors at the 1996 Summer Olympics – 470
- Sailors at the 2000 Summer Olympics – Star
- Olympic silver medallists for Great Britain
- America's Cup sailors
- Olympic medalists in sailing
- Volvo Ocean Race sailors
- Medalists at the 2000 Summer Olympics
- Medalists at the 1996 Summer Olympics
