SAN DIEGO (AP) — Two-time America’s Cup-winning skipper Jimmy Spithill is experiencing what athletes in mainstream sports go through — free agency.
While he’s in talks with software tycoon Larry Ellison to return to Oracle Team USA, Spithill says he’s also been approached by other syndicates as they scramble to fill key roles for the 35th America’s Cup, which probably won’t be sailed until 2017.
It would be a surprise if Spithill, an Australian, signed with another team. During an appearance in San Diego, he said he would love to try for a three-peat. At 30 years old in 2010, he became the youngest skipper to win the America’s Cup. In September, he steered Oracle Team USA to its remarkable comeback against Emirates Team New Zealand on San Francisco Bay, rallying from an 8-1 deficit to win 9-8.
