- Nationality
- United Kingdom
- Born
- 18 April 1974(52 years old)
- Gender
- Man
Biography
Alex Thomson was born on 18 April 1974 in Bangor, Wales, and is a British skipper. In 1999 he won the Clipper Round the World Race, becoming the youngest skipper to win a round-the-world race, and finished 7th in the Transat Jacques Vabre with Josh Hall.
In 2003 he set a solo monohull 24-hour distance record and took 2nd in the Transat Jacques Vabre with Roland Jourdain aboard Sill. He retired from the 2004-05 Vendée Globe after his boat's gooseneck failed, and from the 2006 Velux 5 Oceans when the boat was badly damaged in the Southern Ocean; he was rescued by fellow competitor Mike Golding.
He retired again from the 2008-09 Vendée Globe soon after the start because of hull delamination, then finished 3rd in the 2012-13 edition and 2nd in 2016-17 aboard Hugo Boss, setting a new solo 24-hour distance record of 536.81 miles.
In 2018 he finished 3rd in the IMOCA class of the Route du Rhum after a 24-hour penalty following a grounding on a Guadeloupe cliff. He retired from the 2020-21 Vendée Globe after hitting a floating object, and put his skipper career on hold in October 2021. Made a knight of the French Ordre national du Mérite in 2019, he later moved into management, notably backing Clarisse Crémer in 2023.
Boats
Timeline
Boats, teams, races and records, year by year.
2011
SkipperThe sailor in command of the boat, responsible for it in the race.See in the glossary · 2011 – 2013
Freelance.com · IMOCA
1974
18 April 1974
Born
Classes raced
Page reliability
4 sources · updated 6 Oct 2026