Inside two-time Olympic champion’s football-style plan to disrupt SailGP as ‘basically impossible’ scenario set to spark transfer chaos

Iain Percy has never been afraid to rock the boat.

Quite literally, too, given he won two Olympic and three World Championship gold medals sailing for Great Britain.

He’s proved himself equally adept out of the water having founded Artemis Technologies in 2017, a company born from Artemis Racing and dedicated to the de-carbonisation of the maritime industry, meaning the creation of vessels which produce zero emissions when in operation.

But now, the 49-year-old is ready to disrupt the sport he loves 25 years on from his maiden Olympic triumph in Sydney.

How did Percy get involved with SailGP’s 13th team?

Percy was unveiled on September 19 as the CEO of SailGP’s newest addition, Artemis, which will fly the flag for Sweden from 2026 onwards.

The four-time Olympian was announced as one of three key names tied to Artemis, with fellow Olympic gold medallist Nathan Outteridge confirmed as the driver and Swedish billionaire Torbjörn Törnqvist backing the venture.

It was a plan hatched by the trio over lunch in the British Virgin Islands, where Percy and Törnqvist were competing in a pro-am event while Outteridge was in town on his sabbatical.

But rather than Percy and Törnqvist pitching the idea to Outteridge, who had previously driven in SailGP for Japan during the first two seasons of the competition, it was the other way around.

“It was almost that he was introducing it to us,” Percy told talkSPORT.com.

“He knew more about the rules, he knew that they were bringing a 13th team on. He was saying that he was free, obviously.

“I have to give him credit for putting the concept of us together over lunch in the Caribbean.”

Amid the excitement and glamour of Artemis’ entry into the SailGP landscape, Percy and Outteridge have been working tirelessly behind the scenes on the make-up of the team for 2026.

SailGP

Does Percy plan to snap up crew members from rivals?

The duo’s presence at last weekend’s racing in Geneva left their rivals across SailGP uneasy knowing they were eyeing up some fresh recruits, with Percy ‘called a poacher everywhere I went’.

And the 49-year-old indeed has plans to pluck athletes from teams across the board.

“We have to,” Percy said.

“The lack of training, you have no time. It means experience is so rewarded. I can’t even think of anything as complex to compare it (racing on a SailGP boat). It’s like riding a bobsleigh while playing a PlayStation on the way down.

“You’ve got to try to do it with one day’s training and go at 100km/h. It’s basically impossible without experience.”

But as much as Percy wants and arguably needs to snap up members from rivals, the constant expenses means there’s an opportunity to adopt a football-like approach to filling out his team and make Artemis not just a sustainable venture going forward, but a profitable one too.

SailGP

“It encourages you to train up youngsters to create value,” Percy said.

“Us, as a new team, we want to come in and be the best we can be. We realise that means getting people who are already there.

“But we think there’s value if we can create that with others. I think that’s fantastic for the next generation.

“It might mean you have real value in academies and training up youngsters to eventually sell them on when they get a bit older, like in football.”

How does Percy plan to balance his jobs?

As Percy helps prepare the Artemis SailGP team to hit the water running when the 2026 season begins, he’s still doing his day-to-day job of being Artemis Technologies’ CEO which ‘is a 50 to 60-hour-a-week role’.

It’s only fair to question whether the 49-year-old will be burnt out by trying to juggle two high-pressure roles at once.

Iain Percy’s sailing medals

Gold medal at 2000 Sydney Olympics (Finn class)

Gold medal at 2008 Beijing Olympics (Star class)

Gold medal at 2018 World Championships (Farr 40 class)

Gold medal at 2010 World Championships (Star class)

Gold medal at 2002 World Championships (Star class)

Gold medal at 2005 European Championships (Star class)

Gold medal at 2009 European Championships (Star class)

Silver medal at 2012 London Olympics (Star class)

Silver medal at 2012 World Championships (Star class)

Bronze medal at 2007 World Championships (Star class)

Bronze medal at 2005 World Championships (Star class)

Bronze medal at 2004 World Championships (Star class)

Bronze medal at 2003 World Championships (Star class)

“I already am,” Percy joked.

“I was before I even started, so there’s a bit of a problem!”

But going full-throttle is all Percy has known since the 2004 Olympics.

In the aftermath of his glory in 2000, Percy admits he fell into the trap of thinking talent alone was enough, which is all too easy as a wide-eyed 24-year-old who was on top of the world.

And four years on, he was dealt a harsh reality check when he finished sixth in Athens alongside Steve Mitchell. 

“I came crashing down to earth in 2004 when I realised it wasn’t, and it was about hard work and dedication,” Percy said.

Getty

“I can laugh about it now, but at the time, the sense of guilt of not really going full on at something really impacted me.”

The mindset of leaving no stone unturned evidently bore fruit for Percy as nine of his 13 medals won representing Great Britain across the Olympics, World Championships and European Championships all came post-2004 while he also competed in the iconic America’s Cup.

His lengthy list of success on the water earned him an OBE and also an honorary doctorate from the University of Bristol, where he graduated prior to the 2000 Olympics.

Percy has put the honorary doctorate to good use and is even listed as ‘Dr Iain Percy’ on Artemis Technologies’ website.

But the notion of being called Dr Percy is something the Olympic hero would rather not think about.

“I’m quite insistent people don’t call me that,” Percy said.

AFP via Getty

“I remember in the fundraising days of the business, Dr was very useful. But I’m struggling to get away from it now, I must admit.

“Slightly embarrassingly, I employ a lot of people with PhD’s who are quite irritated with the Dr title on my card.”

How will Percy and Outteridge work together for Artemis?

Although the title of Dr Percy may have been valuable in Artemis Technologies’ infancy, his two Olympic gold medals are more than enough currency to make Artemis an attractive commercial entity in SailGP, which is ultimately where his main duties as CEO will lie rather than on the water.

“At this point, with SailGP, it will be even more about Nathan running the show,” Percy said.

“I will be there to support him, 100 per cent. I’m a friend of Nathan’s as well, I’ve enjoyed working with him over the years. 

“I want us to succeed and I want him to succeed, so I will be there to support as much as possible. 

Which teams will compete in SailGP in 2026?

Bonds Flying Roos SailGP Team (Australia)

Mubadala SaiLGP Team (Brazil)

NorthStar SaiLGP Team (Canada)

Rockwool Racing Sail GP Team (Denmark)

France SailGP Team

Emirates Great Britain SailGP Team

Germany Deutsche Bank SailGP Team

Red Bull Italy SailGP Team

Black Foils SailGP Team (New Zealand)

Los Gallos SailGP Team (Spain)

Switzerland SailGP Team

United States SailGP Team

Artemis SailGP Team (Sweden)

“On the sporting side, it will be his baby. He’s in charge. I’ll make it clear, the buck stops with him on the performance side.”

Despite Artemis’ looming threat of poaching crew members and Outteridge’s desire for success, Percy knows all teams are working towards the same goal of furthering SailGP.

It is a marked change from the cut-throat competitiveness he experienced while racing at the Olympics and in the America’s Cup.

But it is one that has left him ‘refreshed’ having already been involved with managerial meetings in Geneva.

“Here, we’re all part of the same job,” Percy said.

“We have to grow our sport, we have to grow the viewership, we have to make it exciting. That, we can collaborate on.

“On the water, Nathan will have to be not-so-collaborative. I hope he isn’t.

“But in my role, I would like to hope Artemis will be a real strong partner for the league and with other teams to make this a commercial success.” 

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