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Sir Ben Ainslie has been robbed of his Rolex watch at knifepoint in Barcelona, ahead of qualification races for the America's Cup, Spanish media have reported.

The most successful Olympic sailor of all time was threatened with a knife by a group who took his Rolex, worth €20,000 (£16,858), on Saturday night, newspaper La Vanguardia reported.

The 47-year-old confirmed the theft in a statement.

The four-time gold medallist is aiming to lead the British crew to a first-ever victory at the America's Cup.

The robbery had taken place near a swimming club close to where the British team has based itself in the city, El Periodico reported.

Sir Ben said in a statement given to ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ News: "Barcelona is a fantastic host city for the America’s Cup. 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. This is now a matter with the local authorities."

The regional Catalonia police Mossos d'Esquadra told ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ News it was investigating to identify and locate the suspect.

A spokeswoman said: "Mossos d'Esquadra became aware of the theft with intimidation of a luxury watch from a man linked to a America's Cup competition team, within the framework of the security device established in Barcelona on the occasion of this sporting event."

³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ News has contacted his team Ineos Britannia for further details.

On Thursday, Sir Ben will start racing in the Louis Vuitton Cup - a series of races to decide which boat will take on defending champions New Zealand for the America's Cup in October.

Sir Ben is the team principal and skipper of the Britannia team, which is backed by billionaire and Manchester United co-owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe's Ineos Group.