British Olympic medalist Andrew Simpson killed in capsize of America’s Cup catamaran

An America's Cup catamaran capsized during training in San Francisco Bay on Thursday, killing British gold medalist Andrew "Bart" Simpson and seriously injuring another person.

Simpson, 36, was representing the Swedish team "Artemis" when the 72-foot catamaran nosedived during a difficult maneuver and broke into many pieces near Treasure Island at 1:15 p.m.

In a news conference Friday, America's Cup Regatta Director Iain Murray said the manuever required the "Artemis" to change direction abruptly.

Simpson became trapped under the vessel for between 10 to 15 minutes, spokeswoman Mindy Talmadge said, the LA Times reported.

After eventually being freed, Simpson was rushed on a support boat to the St. Francis Yacht Club where a paramedic performed CPR, but he could not be saved, said Talmadge, the San Francisco Chronicle reported.

Another team member suffered minor injuries and was treated at the scene.

In all, 13 crew members from the boat, operated by the Artemis racing team, were pulled from the water.

On its website, the Artemis team wrote: "It is with immense sadness that Artemis Racing confirms the tragic death of crewmember Andrew 'Bart' Simpson today in San Francisco."

The international sailing race is scheduled to kick off this summer in San Francisco.

Simpson is not the first sailor ever to die in training for the competition.

In 1999, Spanish sailor Martin Wizner was killed after a boat component came loose and struck him in the head.