“Gold medalist dead” is something you don’t want to hear before the weekend starts, but it’s the unfortunate truth.
The Atlantic Wire reports that British Olympic gold medalist Andrew “Bart” Simpson, 36, died in a boat accident on Thursday after his catamaran capsized with him on it. He was underwater for 10 minutes as rescuers tried to get him out. After being pulled from the boat, he was brought ashore and pronounced dead at the scene.
Simpson was reportedly training for the America’s Cup in the San Francisco Bay at the time of the accident. The boat race has a reputation for being dangerous, and it has become even more so in recent years as the races become faster and more fierce.
Before the accident, Simpson had won a gold medal in the 2008 Beijing Olympics in Men’s Sailing. He won a silver at the 2012 London Olympics.
The accident probably won’t change plans for 2013’s America’s Cup race. It’s still scheduled to take place in September of this year in San Francisco with the Golden Gate Yacht Club as the defender and the Kungliga Svenska Segelsällskapet as the Challenger of Record.
Here’s some raw footage of the rescue operation:
[Image: Team GB]