Ben Ainslie of Great Britain celebrates his gold medal during the Finn dinghy class medal race at the London 2012 Summer Olympics, Sunday, Aug. 5, 2012, in Weymouth and Portland, England. AP Photo/Francois Mori.
The Olympic games may be over but there is one golden star from London 2012 who still has her moment to shine.
Rita, Ben Ainslie’s loyal Finn from the games is returning to National Maritime Museum Cornwall on Tuesday 21 August after helping Ben win his incredible fourth gold medal, cementing him as the most successful Olympic sailor in history.
Together, Ben and ‘Rita’ have won three Olympic Gold medals, in Athens, Beijing and now London and their partnership has become legendary.
Rita’s home, when she’s away from Ben, has been the Maritime Museum in Falmouth, along with Ben’s gold medal winning Laser from the 2000 Sydney Olympic Games. Visitors will soon be able to see all of Ben’s gold medal winning boats in the main hall of the Museum forming an installation in honour of what Cornwall’s great man has achieved. Ben Lumby, Exhibitions Manager at the Maritime Museum says: “We’re here to celebrate the sea, boats and Cornwall and what better story to tell than that of Ben and Rita. We are so proud, and still a little hoarse from screaming at the TV! We streamed all the Olympic action on the water in our lecture theatre and there were times when I thought the roof was going to lift off – the passion of support was incredible.
You can read the full article via ArtDaily here.
