As we countdown to the 35th America’s Cup The Royal Gazette will bring you one fun fact a day about the boats, the sailors, the crew, or the history of this illustrious competition. There are now 40 days until the month-long sporting spectacle gets under way.

At 40 years old, Sir Ben Ainslie is already considered the most successful Olympic sailor of all time, having won a silver and five gold medals in the five Games he competed at from 1996 in Atlanta to 2012 in London.

The final gold during his home Games was something Ainslie called a career highlight.

“Competing and winning at all the Olympic Games has been fantastic,” he said. “But London 2012 was a real highlight for me, winning my fifth medal in Weymouth in front of a home crowd was incredible, especially after such a tough week on the water.”

The skipper of Land Rover BAR, Ainslie is also well-known for the large part he played in helping Oracle Team USA complete one of the greatest comebacks in sport to win the 34th America’s Cup in San Francisco in 2013. He became the first Briton for 110 years to be part of a winning Cup team after the 9-8 victory over Emirates Team New Zealand.

From a member of Oracle Team USA, Ainslie is now plotting their downfall as the team principal of BAR, one of five challengers seeking to unseat the American team.