London, May 10 (IANS/RIA Novosti): Britain's 2008 Olympic sailing champion Andrew Simpson was killed when his yacht capsized during a training session in the United States, his team said Friday.
"The entire Artemis Racing team is devastated by what happened," CEO Paul Cayard said.
Simpson, who won an Olympic gold in the Star class at the games in Beijing and silver in London last year, was one of the 11-man crew aboard Artemis Racing’s AC72 catamaran when it capsized during training on San Francisco Bay.
According to British media reports, the 36-year-old man was trapped underwater for about 10 minutes. He died despite attempts to revive him, both afloat and subsequently ashore.
Another crew member was injured, but his condition is not life-threatening. The rest of the team was unharmed.
The team was preparing for this summer’s America’s Cup when the accident happened.