 Coutts in 2010 | |||||||||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||||||||
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| Born | 1 March 1962 Wellington, New Zealand | ||||||||||||||
| Sailing career | |||||||||||||||
| Class(es) | Finn, AC45 | ||||||||||||||
Medal record
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Sir Russell Coutts KNZM CBE (born 1 March 1962) is a world champion New Zealand yachtsman. He won an Olympic gold medal and skippered three Americas Cup victories in 1995, 2000, and 2003.
Coutts was educated at Otago Boys' High School (1975–1979) and is a Life Member of Paremata Boating Club, where he learned to sail in a P class, and the Ravensbourne Boating Club. [1] At the age of 17, he became national champion of New Zealand in the Laser class. [2]
Coutts' achievements include a gold medal in the Finn class in the 1984 Olympic Games, [3] winning the America's Cup five times, [4] the ISAF World Youth championships, three World Match Racing Championships, numerous international match race wins and IOR, IMS and One Design World Championship victories. As skipper/helmsman in America's Cup racing, he has a perfect record with 15 wins and no losses (1995, 2000, 2003). He was CEO of the Oracle Team when it won the America's Cup twice with 14 wins and 16 losses (2010, 2013 and 2017 each time with James Spithill as skipper/helmsman).
In 2005 Slovenian designer Andrej Justin designed with input from him a new boat called the RC44, a high-performance one-design racer created for top-level racing in international regattas under strictly controlled Class Rules. The concept and the design features of the RC44 are dedicated to the amateur helmsmen racing in fleet racing sailing events. [5]
Coutts along with American billionaire businessman Larry Ellison co-founded the SailGP professional series in October 2019. [6]
In mid-March 2024, Coutts announced that SailGP would not return to Christchurch, New Zealand, in 2025 after the presence of endangered Hector's dolphins on the Lyttelton course led local authorities to cancel racing on 23 March. SailGP organisers had been expecting 22,000 people to attend the event. Coutts criticised "minority interests" particularly the Lyttelton harbourmaster, Department of Conservation, ECan (Environment Canterbury and local Māori iwi (tribe) Ngāti Wheke for what he called "extremely restrictive" protocols on racing. [7] [8] In response to Coutt's remarks, Te Hapū o Ngāti Wheke and the host city agency ChristchurchNZ defended their marine mammal management plan, with the former saying that SailGP had "knew what they signed up for when they decided to hold the event within a marine mammal sanctuary." University of Otago zoologist Professor emeritus Liz Slooten said it was normal for Hector's dolphins to swim in harbours in autumn and criticised the organisers for not hosting the race in winter. [9] Similar sentiments were echoed by Auckland City Councillor Josephine Bartley and Greenpeace Aotearoa New Zealand Executive Director Russell Norman. [8] [10] By contrast, Coutts was defended by former National Party leader and Auckland Business Chamber CEO Simon Bridges who said that interest groups were opposing major events such as the SailGP race across the country. [8] The Platform broadcaster Sean Plunket also made controversial remarks describing Hector's dolphins as the "Down syndrome kids of marine mammals." [11]
In early May 2024, Newsroom reported that Coutts' SailGP was negotiating with the economic development agency ChristchurchNZ over future SailGP events being hosted by Lyttelton. The website also reported that an evening call with Coutts had led to an urgent board meeting at ChristchurchNZ. [12]
In July 2007, Coutts was named CEO and Skipper of BMW Oracle Racing, sponsored by Golden Gate Yacht Club (GGYC), the United States Challenger to the 2010 America's Cup. He was involved in the pre-match litigation between the challengers Golden Gate Yacht Club and Société Nautique de Genève (SNG), in which the court decided that the GGYC was the rightful Challenger of Record. Cup Defender SNG's team was Alinghi. Coutts' yacht USA beat the defending yacht Alinghi 5 by considerable margins in both races. [13] [14]
Most observers stated that USA 17's rigid wing sail had given it a decisive advantage. [15]
Coutts again led the Oracle Team as CEO in the next America's Cup match against Emirates Team New Zealand. This match took place in the bay of San Francisco in September 2013. Oracle managed to come back from 8 races to 1 by winning the following 8 races and to defend the cup in the longest America's cup match ever. Both skipper James Spithill and team owner Larry Ellison praised Coutts' role in the defense of the oldest trophy in sports history. [16] [17]
He competed twice at the Olympics:
Coutts has been married twice and has four children. [1] His son, Grayson, was previously in a relationship with journalist David Farrier. [19]
In 2021, Coutts criticised the New Zealand government's response to COVID-19 and suggested that the government was acting like a dictatorship by establishing vaccine mandates and enforcing managed isolation. [20] In 2022, he announced that he would be attending the anti-mandate protest in Wellington. [21]
In New Zealand, Coutts was honoured with appointment as a Member of the Order of the British Empire in the 1985 New Year Honours [22] and then elevation to the rank of Commander of the Order of the British Empire in the 1995 Queen's Birthday Honours. [23] He was made a Distinguished Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit in the 2000 Queen's Birthday Honours, [24] and redesignated as a Knight Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit in August 2009. [25]
Coutts has been named ISAF Sailor of the Year twice.[ citation needed ] Other awards include:
Alinghi, or Alinghi Red Bull Racing because of the sports marketing branding by Red Bull, is the syndicate set up by Ernesto Bertarelli, racing under the colors of the Société Nautique de Genève, to challenge for the America's Cup, as well as other competitions. Bertarelli had raced several smaller yachts named Alinghi previously, but 2003 was his first attempt at the America's Cup. Alinghi challenged for and won the 2003 America's Cup in Auckland New Zealand and successfully defended it at the 2007 America's Cup in Valencia, Spain. Alinghi lost the America's Cup to the Golden Gate Yacht Club and their team BMW Oracle Racing in a Deed of Gift match in Valencia, Spain in February 2010.
Oracle Team USA is an American yacht racing syndicate initially formed to compete for the 2003 America's Cup. They competed again in the 2007 event before winning the 33rd America's Cup regatta in 2010 – representing the Golden Gate Yacht Club. The team also won the 34th America's Cup in 2013.
Sir Charles Benedict Ainslie is a British competitive sailor. Ainslie is the most successful sailor in Olympic history. He won medals at five consecutive Olympics from 1996 onwards, including gold at four consecutive Games from 2000 to 2012.
Bradley William Butterworth is a New Zealand yachtsman known for the role he played as tactician and skipper in the America's Cup for Team New Zealand and the Alinghi team of Switzerland.
Team New Zealand or TNZ is a sailing team based in Auckland, New Zealand, representing the Royal New Zealand Yacht Squadron. The team has been branded as Emirates Team New Zealand at America's Cup competitions since 2007.
Dean Raymond Barker is a New Zealand yachtsman. He is best known internationally for his participation in America's Cup yacht races.
Christopher Stuart Dickson is a sailor from New Zealand. He was world youth champion three years in succession and later became world match race champion three times. He also skippered several yachts in America's Cup racing, and for New Zealand at the 2000 Summer Olympics, and in numerous other sailing competitions.
Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli, originally named Prada Challenge, then Luna Rossa Challenge, is an Italian sailboat racing syndicate first created to compete for the 2000 America's Cup. It won the Louis Vuitton Cup on its first attempt in 2000, but then lost the America's Cup match against the defending champion team, Team New Zealand.
James Spithill is an Australian yachtsman.
The 31st America's Cup was contested between the holder, Team New Zealand, and the winner of the 2003 Louis Vuitton Cup, Alinghi.
Tom Slingsby is an Australian competitive sailor. Slingsby's first successes came sailing Laser dinghies, where he won three consecutive world championships and the 2012 Olympic gold medal. Slingsby was the strategist for the America's Cup-winning Team Oracle USA in 2013. In 2016 he skippered the winner-of-line honours in the Sydney to Hobart Yacht Race line. Following this he skippered the Australian team in the inaugural SailGP competition.
The Louis Vuitton Pacific Series was a match race regatta in America's Cup Class yachts in Auckland, New Zealand, during January and February 2009. Racing started on 30 January. The Louis Vuitton Pacific Series was organised in association with the New Zealand Government, Emirates Team New Zealand, the Royal New Zealand Yacht Squadron, Auckland City and Skycity Entertainment Group. Bruno Troublé was Louis Vuitton's organizer and spokesperson for the Series.
The 6th Louis Vuitton Cup was held in Auckland, New Zealand, in 2003. The winner, Alinghi, went on to challenge for and win the 2003 America's Cup.
The 5th Louis Vuitton Cup was held in Auckland, New Zealand, in 2000. The winner, Prada Challenge, went on to challenge for the 2000 America's Cup. It was the first time in the competition's history that there would not be an American challenger or defender.
The 34th America's Cup was a series of yacht races held in San Francisco Bay in September 2013. The series was contested between the defender Oracle Team USA team representing the Golden Gate Yacht Club, and the challenger Emirates Team New Zealand representing the Royal New Zealand Yacht Squadron.
Peter Burling is a New Zealand sailor. He is the 3-time winning helmsman for Emirates Team New Zealand for the 2024, 2021 and 2017 America's cups..
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The 2017 Louis Vuitton Challenger's Trophy was a sailing competition held to determine the challenger in the 2017 America's Cup.
Joey Newton is an Australian sailor who has competed in multiple America's Cups.
Pieter van Nieuwenhuijzen is a Dutch sailor who has competed in multiple America's Cups.
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