Profile
Austin Sperry was born in Oakland, CA and began sailing at a young age on San Francisco Bay. Austin started out in El Toros and 5.5 metres, but before long was sailing with his father in Star boats. It was then that Austin's passion and talent for sailing began to emerge.
Competing in large-scale events such as the Barcardi Cup when he was just 14 years old, Austin was inspired by world-class sailors such as Paul Cayard and Magnus Liljedahl, and soon set his sights on the Olympics.
An avid all-round athlete, Austin first attended Avon Old Farms all-boys school in Connecticut and went on to study at Whittier College in Los Angeles where he played lacrosse. From Los Angeles, Austin returned to San Francisco to focus on his sailing, while working as an institutional equities trader at Banc of America Securities.
Since then, Austin has sailed with and against the greatest names in sailing, yet his most treasured prize was winning the Star Masters with his father in 2002. Austin credits his success thus far to very hard work and truly believes that the harder you work, the more it pays off.
Austin sailed with three accomplished skippers in his campaign leading up to the 2004 Olympic Team Trials: He started crewing for George Szabo, moved on to sail with John Kostecki, and sailed the final year leading up to the trials with Andy MacDonald. Austin And Andy did not qualify for the Olympics that year, but Paul Cayard, the trials winner, personally selected Austin to sail the sparring partner boat with Andy Lovell. His training would teach Austin incomparable lessons about Olympic sailing and prepare him for his future in the Star.
In 2005, Austin competed in a Star event in the Western Hemisphere championship in the Bahamas, 'just for fun' and went on to finish second to Paul Cayard who had just returned from the Olympics. From there, he set his sights on the Barcardi Cup (2006), which he won, competing in a fleet of 92 boats. Before long he was campaigning for the 2008 Olympics.
In October 2007, Austin found himself in a tight last race. One point behind Austin's former skipper, George Szabo, and 4 points ahead of former Laser Olympian Mark Mendelblatt, Austin had to corral his composure for this pressure-filled race. They won the race, and subsequently won the Olympic Trials in Los Angeles. Leading up to the 2008 Olympic Games, Austin was coached by Hans Wallen (Star Silver, Sweden '96), Steve Erickson (Star Gold, USA '84), and Rodney Hagebols (AUS).
When he is not sailing, Austin runs his own mobile home development business and his latest venture is Fregenes Pizza.
Austin hails from St. Francis YC and Pass Christian YC, and lives in Gulfport (MS) with his wife Sally.