Sir Ben Ainslie has bolstered his America’s Cup team by signing up his apprentice and Olympic successor Giles Scott.

Lymington’s four-time gold medallist Sir Ben snapped up the 27-year-old Weymouth sailor to be part of his all-star crew that will attempt to win the America’s Cup for Great Britain.

The two were fierce rivals in the Finn dinghy class in the lead-up to the London 2012 Olympics.

After months of battling one another Sir Ben was awarded the one available place on the Olympic team and went on to win his fourth gold.

But Scott used his time wisely, training with rival America’s Cup team Luna Rossa in the run up to the 2013 competition.

Now Scott, who is a firm favourite for gold at Rio 2016, will become a key figure in Ben Ainslie Racing.

Announcing the appointment, Sir Ben said: “There are a handful of sailors of his generation in the world that stand out as really a cut above the rest, and Giles is clearly one of those.

“We have been very selective about the people that we have brought in; we know that they will gel with the team.

“And with Giles, it was a ‘no-brainer’ – he’s a good team player and a winner. We are very excited about him being with us.”

Scott, who will now split his time between the Olympic sailing team headquarters in Weymouth and Sir Ben’s brand new base in Portsmouth, added: “I’m hoping it will be easy to integrate the two, and achieve my Olympic goals and have a positive impact on the Cup.

“It’s an amazing project to be involved in. I’m just feeling very excited about getting my teeth into it and trying to make it all happen.”

The next America’s Cup is due to take place in 2017.