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Evening Standard
Evening Standard
World
Jacob Phillips

Sir Ben Ainslie has Rolex robbed at knifepoint in Barcelona

Four time Olympic champion Sir Ben Ainslie has had his Rolex stolen at knifepoint in Barcelona.

The 47-year-old, who is the most successful Olympic sailor of all time, was robbed by a gang while leaving a restaurant on Saturday evening, local media reported.

The watch is believed to have been valued at around £16,858.

The sailor is leading the UK's Ineos Britannia team in the America's Cup.

Sir Ben told The Daily Telegraph: "Barcelona is a fantastic host city for the America's Cup, and the team has felt welcomed and is enjoying our stay in this vibrant city.

"Like in all big cities, you can be affected by opportunistic crime and my situation is no different. This matter is now with the local authorities."

Barcelona has had a spate of luxury watch thefts and the city has a specialist police team investigating.

Sir Ben has won medals at five consecutive Olympics from 1996 onwards, including gold at four consecutive games between 2000 and 2012.

Britain has never won the America’s Cup and Sir Ben will be trying for the third time to right that wrong after shortcomings in Bermuda and New Zealand.

Sir Ben stepped down as the driver of the Emirates Great Britain SailGP team in January.

Double Olympic gold medallist and America’s Cup team-mate Giles Scott MBE assumed the role as driver but Sir Ben stayed on as CEO of the side.

Sir Ben said he took the step away from his role as driver to make way for the next generation.

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