Olympian Nathan Outteridge chasing success for Japan in Sail GP and NZ in Amercia'’s Cup

Covid caused chaos in sport but for this Australian Olympic gold medallist it had an upside - a new job with one of the best sporting teams in the world.

One of the SailGP crews preparing for the racing on Sydney Harbour.

It drove London Olympic gold medallist Nathan Outteridge nuts having to be indoors and isolated at the height of the Covid pandemic in his wife’s county of birth.

But in a strange twist of fate, it was this enforced time spent in New Zealand as the world battled the global pandemic, that made multiple Olympic medallist and world champion Nathan Outteridge eligible for a new job.

Outteridge, from Wangi Wangi on the NSW Central Coast and skippering the Japanese team in the Sail GP series in Sydney on Friday and Saturday, discovered his lengthy stay meant he was eligible to be part of New Zealand’s America’s Cup team now subject to newly introduced nationality rules.

Nathan Outteridge (left) with fellow London Olympian Tom Slingsby.

Sailors must hail from the country they are representing or spend a certain amount of time in it to be able to race for them.

“I was lucky to do so many days in New Zealand during Covid or I wouldn't have qualified,’’ said Outteridge, now back in Sydney for Sail GP and Christmas.

“I love the SailGP but this is a big challenge, design innovations, I really enjoy that.

“It will be cool to be a part of it. It’s a very strong teams and I’m learning as much as I can from the designers. I'm just happy to be part of the circus again.’’

Also a strong team is his Japanese crew, one of the favourites for the Sydney round of the Sail GP series on December 17 and 18.

“The Aussies (lead by Tom Slingsby) are only one point ahead and we are in equal second with Jimmy (Australian James Spithill and his USA crew),’’ Outteridge said.

“We all want to win on home waters so it will be good racing.’’

Regarded as one of Australia’s greatest sailors, Outteridge was a London Olympic gold medallist in the Olympic 49er class, the same year Slingsby won his Laser gold medal.

Tom Slingsby and Australia SailGP team talk during a practice session ahead of SailGP on Sydney Harbour on December 15, 2021 in Sydney, Australia. (Photo by Cameron Spencer/Getty Images)

AMERICA’S CUP SUPERSTAR OUT TO TOPPLE AUSSIE MATES IN SAILGP

DECEMBER 14: He’s Australia’s only two-time America’s Cup winning skipper and he’s hell bent on making waves in a rare return to Sydney Harbour racing this week.

Pittwater sailor James Spithill has flown into Sydney for some hight-speed racing on the harbour against a bunch of mates on identical rival crafts.

In his sights are former America’s Cup crew mate Tom Slingsby and the Australian team and Central Coast skipper Nathan Outteridge who heads the Japanese crew in the SailGP global series and recently signed on with the New Zealand America’s Cup team.

The racing when SailGP was held on the harbour in 2020.

And Spithill, the youngest skipper in an America’s Cup competition at just 19 and now a two time-winner after 2010 and 2013 victories, won’t be holding anything back in his quest for success for Team USA.

“The Australians lead us by one point so it’s going to be on,’’ said Spithill, who is likely to be with the Italian team at the next America’s Cup and crew up at Newport.

“The Aussies are favourites, they have the most hours spent together.

“But it’s tough, the level in the fleet is nothing you have ever seen. You have the best of the best, Cup winners, Olympic medallists.

“We have the same gear so there is no excuse. All the data is shared, you can see everything. that is going on every boat. It’s creates competitive racing. It is just awesome.’’

James Spithill when he was part of the winning Comanche crew in the Sydney to Hobart yacht race.

The eight strong fleet will race F50 wing-sailed foiling catamarans capable of reaching 50 plus knots.

Ahead of the Sydney leg of the series being raced Friday and Saturday on the harbour, former world and Olympic Laser champion Slingsby from the Central Coast leads from Spithill and his US crew with Nathan Outteridge and his Japanese team third.

Fourth is Ben Ainslie with Great Britain and then Peter Burling with New Zealand, Phil Robertson with Spain, Nicolai Sehested with Denmark and Quentin Delapierre with France.

The final event of the series is in San Francisco in 2022 where three boats will vie for a US $1m winner take all purse.

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