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Nick Dempsey
DOB: 18/8/1980
Event: Sailing (windsurfing)
Birthplace: Norwich, England
Mhairi Spence
DOB: 31/8/1985
Event: Modern Pentathlon
Birthplace: Inverness, Scotland
Matthew Pinsent
DOB: 10/10/1970
Event: Rowing:
Medals: 4 Gold
Linford Christie
DOB: 02/04/1960
Event: Sprints
Medals: Gold 1992, 2 Silver 1988
Ones to watch
Team GB Legends
- Features +
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Matthew Pinsent
DOB: 10/10/1970
Event: Rowing:
Medals: 4 Gold
Nadia Comaneci
DOB: 12/11/1961
Event: Gymnastics
Medals: 9 (five gold, three silver and one bronze)
1984 - Los Angeles
A revenge boycott led by the Soviet Union depleted the field in certain sports but a record 140 nations still took part as American sprinter Carl Lewis stole the show with four gold medals.
2000 - Sydney
Generally considered to be the best-ever Games as Britain's Steve Redgrave became a hero.
Olympic Legends
Olympics History
Ben Ainslie
With gold medals at three consecutive Olympics to his name, Ben Ainslie is Britain's most successful sailor of all time.
Fascinating Facts:
- Ainslie is the only sailor ever to be crowned ISAF World Sailor of the Year three times (1999, 2002, and 2008).
- His father Roderick 'Roddy' Ainslie captained a boat that took part in the first Whitbread Round The World Race in 1973.
- He finished 37th in his first international competition in 1989 - the Optimist world championships in Japan.
The 34-year-old, who was born in Macclesfield, began sailing when he was just four-years-old and by the age of 16 was already the Laser Radial World Champion.
He clinched silver in the Laser class at the Atlanta Olympics in 1996 aged 19 before winning his first gold at the 2000 Millennium Games in Sydney - also in a Laser.
For the 2004 Olympics in Athens Ainslie put on 40lbs in weight and moved up to the larger Fin class boats, in which he claimed his second gold medal.
And four years later he completed his Olympic hat-trick, winning the Finn class again at the Beijing Olympics.
He was appointed an MBE in 2001 following his success in Sydney, an OBE after his Athens triumph and was promoted to a CBE with his gold in China in 2008.
In the build up to the London Olympics he won gold in a highly competitive Finn class at the Sail For Gold World Cup regatta in Weymouth in June 2011.
Ainslie beat British world champion Ed Wright and last year's winner Giles Scott at the venue, which is hosting the 2012 Olympic sailing competition.
Ben Ainslie
- DOB: 5/2/1977
- Event: Sailing
- Medals: 3 Gold, 1 Silver
Ainslie's Olympic Record
| Year | Games | Event | Medal |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | Beijing | Finn - Heavyweight Dinghy | Gold |
| 2004 | Athens | Single-handed dinghy (Finn) | Gold |
| 2000 | Sydney | Single-handed dinghy open (Laser) | Gold |
| 1996 | Atlanta | Single-handed dinghy open (Laser) | Silver |
Total:
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