Ben Christopher Rhodes (born 10 May 1981 in

Southampton Southampton () is a port city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. It is located approximately south-west of London and west of Portsmouth. The city forms part of the South Hampshire built-up area, which also covers Po ...

) is a British

sailor A sailor, seaman, mariner, or seafarer is a person who works aboard a watercraft as part of its crew, and may work in any one of a number of different fields that are related to the operation and maintenance of a ship. The profession of the s ...

. Together with teammate

Stevie Morrison Stephen James "Stevie" Morrison (born 25 November 1978, in Eastbourne) is a successful British yachtsman who has enjoyed success in a classes from the International Cadet to the 49er. He is the son of Phil Morrison, the British yacht design ...

, Rhodes became the 2007 World champion in the 49er boat. In 2008, they won the silver medal in the same event, behind the

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

ns Nathan Outteridge and Ben Austin, while in 2006, they won the bronze medal.

Education

Rhodes was educated at two co-educational

independent school An independent school is independent in its finances and governance. Also known as private schools, non-governmental, privately funded, or non-state schools, they are not administered by local, state or national governments. In British Eng ...

s: at ''St. Peter's School'' in the coastal village of Lympstone in

Devon Devon ( , historically known as Devonshire , ) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South West England. The most populous settlement in Devon is the city of Plymouth, followed by Devon's county town, the city of Exeter. Devon is ...

, followed by ''

Exeter School Exeter School is an independent co-educational day school for pupils between the ages of 7 and 18 in Exeter, Devon, England. In 2019, there were around 200 pupils in the Junior School and 700 in the Senior School. History The School traces its ...

'', in the city of

Exeter Exeter () is a city in Devon, South West England. It is situated on the River Exe, approximately northeast of Plymouth and southwest of Bristol. In Roman Britain, Exeter was established as the base of Legio II Augusta under the personal comm ...

(also in Devon), in

South West England South West England, or the South West of England, is one of nine official regions of England. It consists of the counties of Bristol, Cornwall (including the Isles of Scilly), Dorset, Devon, Gloucestershire, Somerset and Wiltshire. Cities and ...

Life and career

Rhodes started sailing at age five at the Exe Sailing club in Exmouth along with Morrison. Rhodes was said to be far more interested in sailing than Steve, who preferred to watch football. They came in sixth at their first world championship in 2003, and picked up their first gold at the 2006 European Championships. He has three superstitions: his boat has to have a name, he salutes magpies, and he does not wear a t-shirt during an event. At the

2008 Summer Olympics The 2008 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXIX Olympiad () and also known as Beijing 2008 (), were an international multisport event held from 8 to 24 August 2008, in Beijing, China. A total of 10,942 athletes from 204 Na ...

, he and Morrison finished in 9th place, while at

London 2012 The 2012 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXX Olympiad and also known as London 2012) was an international multi-sport event held from 27 July to 12 August 2012 in London, England, United Kingdom. The first event, the ...

, they finished in 5th place.

References

External links

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49er World Championships

OUTTERIDGE And AUSTIN Win 49er World Title
1981 births Living people English male sailors (sport) Sailors at the 2008 Summer Olympics – 49er Sailors at the 2012 Summer Olympics – 49er Olympic sailors for Great Britain 49er class world champions World champions in sailing for Great Britain {{UK-yachtracing-bio-stub