Sir Ben Ainslie robbed at knifepoint as £17k watch stolen from Olympic icon's wrist

Sir Ben Ainslie is in Barcelona to compete in the America's Cup (Image: Getty) British Olympics hero Sir Ben Ainslie was robbed of a watch worth almost £17,000 in Barcelona over the weekend. A gang of knife-wielding thieves are said to have cornered Sir Ben before taking his Rolex and fleeing the scene. The 47-year-old is in the Catalan city to lead the Ineos Britannia team at the America's Cup.

He reported the incident, which occurred on Saturday, to local police in Barcelona on Monday. After the theft, Sir Ben told The Telegraph : "Barcelona is a fantastic host city for the America’s Cup, and the team has felt welcomed and is enjoying our stay in this vibrant city. "Like in all big cities, you can be affected by opportunistic crime and my situation is no different.

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