First, Formula One got hot in the U.S. and beyond. Then came the pickleball craze, which started during the pandemic and hasn’t lost much momentum. What niche sport will break out next?
Russell Coutts, the CEO of the upstart professional racing organization SailGP, is making his case for sailing, that genteel, elitist country-club pastime, which is indeed gaining some momentum in the U.S. Coutts, the five-time America’s Cup winner, 1984 Olympic gold medalist, and two-time World Sailor of the Year, co-founded SailGP in 2018, along with Oracle founder and chairman Larry Ellison.
Coutts met with TIME in New York City in mid-January to discuss the trajectory of SailGP, the circuit’s high-tech catamarans, and the challenges facing the sport.
‘As long as it’s a good race, they will watch.’—Russell Coutts, SailGP…
