Young British sailor Ben Ainslie, who won the Olympic Gold medal in the Laser Class in Sydney, joined the OneWorld Challenge syndicate for the 31st America’s Cup following his Olympic victory. Yesterday, Ainslie made public his desire to return to his dream of Olympic competition.

“The last year-and-a-half being a part of OneWorld has been an amazing learning experience for me. This is a tremendous team of people from all over the world pulling together toward a common goal. Watching the whole campaign unfold has been remarkable,” said Ainslie. ” I have made friendships that will last a lifetime and wish the team the greatest success. I have also learned a great deal about myself and what motivates me. I realise that the world of small boat sailing, where I have spent my sailing career is where I want to put my efforts at this point in my life.”

Gary Wright, CEO of the OneWorld syndicate commented, “We have all enjoyed having Ben be a part of our team and don’t want to ever stand between one of our teammates and his personal dreams. We understand and wish him well. Ours is a team of diverse age, nationality and sailing background. When we built this team we knew we were asking certain individuals to take roles they were unaccustomed to and there would be people who would realise it wasn’t quite the right fit for them. We all feel we are fortunate to have Ben as a friend and a fan as we pursue our goal of an America’s Cup victory in 2003.”