Sport | Olympics

Ten essential facts... Stuart Bithell

 
Emma Ailes
10 August 2012

Stuart Bithell is a British sailor in the 470 Duo event with racing partner Luke Patience. They won Silver both at the World and European Championships in 2011. Here are his vital statistics.

Age: 25
Born: Manchester
Sport: Sailing (470 class)

  1. Stuart Bithell’s first experience of sailing was crewing for his dad at their local sailing club on Hollingworth Lake in Rochdale at the age of seven.
  2. He studied Sports Science at Hopwood Hall College in Middleton near Manchester.
  3. He names his father as the most influential person in his sailing career to date.
  4. He won Silver in Copenhagen, despite only having sailed with racing partner Luke Patience for a few weeks.
  5. London 2012 is the first Olympics for both Patience and Bithell
  6. The pair has reportedly been scouring videos of sailing legends Ben Ainslie and Iain Percy to try to hone their racing tactics.
  7. In his spare time, Bithell enjoys other watersports, including windsurfing, kitesurfing, and surfing.
  8. He says he also trains by doing climbing, and most racket sports.
  9. Outside of sailing, Bithell enjoys says he is a gardening fanatic. “ I've got the best vegetable patch on the whole of Portland,” he said.
  10. His sporting hero is four-time Gold medallist and Tour de France winner Bradley Wiggins.

MORE ABOUT

Boating
Sailing (yachting)
Water Sports