Richard Dodson (born 19 February 1959) is a visually impaired New Zealand sailor. He has won several world championships in sailing, including but not limited to two

America's Cup The America's Cup, informally known as the Auld Mug, is a trophy awarded in the sport of sailing. It is the oldest international competition still operating in any sport. America's Cup match races are held between two sailing yachts: one f ...

s and an

Admiral's Cup The Admiral's Cup was an international yachting regatta. For many years it was known as the unofficial world championship of offshore racing. The Admiral's Cup regatta was started in 1957 and was normally a biennial event (occurring in odd-numbe ...

. Dodson also competed in the

2016 Summer Paralympics ) , nations = 159 , athletes = 4,342 , opening = 7 September , closing = 18 September , opened_by = President Michel Temer , cauldron = Clodoaldo Silva , events = 528 in 22 sports , stadium = Maracanã , sum ...

Accomplishments

Sailing career

Dodson joined Team New Zealand and sailed on ''

NZL 32 ''NZL 32'', or ''Black Magic'', is an International Americas Cup Class yacht which won the 1995 America's Cup by defeating the American defender ''Young America'' in a 5–0 victory off San Diego, California. Design ''NZL 32'' was, in many wa ...

'' in the afterguard during their

1995 America's Cup The 29th America's Cup was contested between the winner of the 1995 Citizen Cup, Team Stars & Stripes, which switched to the yacht ''Young America'' (USA 36) for the competition, and the winner of the 1995 Louis Vuitton Cup, Team New Zealand, w ...

win. He sailed in Team New Zealand's

2000 America's Cup The 30th America's Cup was won by Team New Zealand, who swept the 2000 Louis Vuitton Cup winner Prada Challenge in all five races. It was the first America's Cup without an American challenger or defender. Races Crew Team New Zealand * Sail ...

defense before joining ''OneWorld Challenge'' for the

2003 Louis Vuitton Cup 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 teams The Yacht Club Punta Ala was the challenger of record. Alinghi Founded by Swiss bus ...

. While preparing for the 2003 America's Cup, he sailed on ''

Team Tyco ''Team Tyco'' is a Bermudian Volvo Ocean 60 yacht, designed by Farr Yacht Design in 2000, and built by Eric Goetz Custom Sailboats in Rhode Island. She competed in the 2001–02 Volvo Ocean Race and finished fourth overall, skippered by Kevin S ...

'' in leg 3 of the 2001–02 Volvo Ocean Race. Leg 3 included the

2001 Sydney to Hobart Yacht Race The 2001 Sydney to Hobart Yacht Race, was the 57th annual running of the "blue water classic" Sydney to Hobart Yacht Race. As in past editions of the race, it was hosted by the Cruising Yacht Club of Australia based in Sydney, New South Wales. ...

. In 2013 he became involved with ''Kiwi Gold Sailing'', a group of Paralympians qualifying in a Sonar for the

2016 Paralympics The 2016 Summer Paralympics (), the 15th Summer Paralympic Games, were a major international multi-sport event for disabled sports, athletes with disabilities governed by the International Paralympic Committee, held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, fro ...

. The team originally included fellow America's Cup veteran David Barnes, who later had to withdraw. As Skipper, he represented New Zealand at the 2016 Summer Paralympics, sailing with Andrew May and

Chris Sharp Larry Christopher Sharp (born July 17, 1973) is an American musician, guitarist, singer, and record producer who participated in the Grammy Award-winning soundtrack of ''O Brother, Where Art Thou?''. He is considered to be an accomplished guit ...

in a Sonar. The team placed fourth in the event.

Personal life

In 1997, Dodson found out he had

multiple sclerosis Multiple (cerebral) sclerosis (MS), also known as encephalomyelitis disseminata or disseminated sclerosis, is the most common demyelinating disease, in which the insulating covers of nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord are damaged. This d ...

. However, he only informed fellow sailor Jeremy Scantlebury during the 2000 campaign. Despite worsening eyesight, Dodson continued to sail, and has subsequently participated in the

References

External links

*
archive
* 1959 births Living people New Zealand male sailors (sport) OK class sailors World champions in sailing for New Zealand People with multiple sclerosis 2003 America's Cup sailors 2000 America's Cup sailors 1995 America's Cup sailors Volvo Ocean Race sailors Paralympic sailors of New Zealand Sailors at the 2016 Summer Paralympics OK class world champions {{NewZealand-yachtracing-bio-stub