Emirates Team New Zealand wanted a challenging race. Desafio Espanol gave them one.
With Luna Rossa of Italy already in the final, the Kiwis were pleased to get a tough contest from their Spanish opponents, taking the best-of-nine Louis Vuitton Cup semi-finals 5-2 in a series many expected the two-time America's Cup winners to sweep.
"There's a sense of relief. The Spanish were always a very dangerous team to pick," Emirates Team New Zealand tactician Terry Hutchinson said on Wednesday. "The series we had with them was a really good test for us. They sailed a good series and it'll help us prepare for the next round."
PHOTO: AFP
The Kiwis disposed of the Spanish in the seventh flight by one minute, 18 seconds with some aggressive controlling from helmsman Dean Barker.
Barker had some shaky starts in the series, but in a matchup where the team that came off the line with the lead always won, Barker locked counterpart Karol Jablonski out to the far right in the dial-up and crossed the start with a two boat-length lead and a 13-second advantage.
Barker's aggressive pre-start jousting was in contrast to his usual manner, which was reflected in the way the Kiwis celebrated after crossing the line -- like it was just another day at the office.
"We try to be as flatline as we can be whether it's a win or a loss," Hutchinson said. "The feel on the boat was the same as it was two days ago when we lost. We've got a lot left to get through. It'll be a daunting task."
After the seventh flight was postponed from Tuesday when strong wind and choppy sea conditions were deemed likely to damage the boats, Wednesday's conditions weren't much better.
Wind speeds reached some of the highest levels since the start of the America's Cup challengers series, reminding all of conditions at the 2003 Cup off Auckland, New Zealand.
"We gave it our all, but it wasn't enough to them and they have obviously spent many more hours sailing with similar conditions," Jablonski said.
The Kiwis likened the conditions to the Hauraki Gulf, site of the last America's Cup, as waves crashed over the bows of both boats.
"You definitely appreciate being ready after having sailed in the Hauraki Gulf when you get up here," Hutchinson said. "The nice thing about that is you have confidence in your equipment and these conditions. These experiences are worth their weight in gold."
The Kiwis start racing against Luna Rossa in the final on June 1 after the Italians screamed into the final with a 5-1 series win over BMW Oracle Racing.
A sumo star was born in Japan on Sunday when 24-year-old Takerufuji became the first wrestler in 110 years to win a top-division tournament on his debut, triumphing at the 15-day Spring Grand Sumo Tournament in Osaka despite injuring his ankle on the penultimate day. Takerufuji, whose injury had left him in a wheelchair outside the ring, shoved out the higher-ranked Gonoyama at the Edion Arena Osaka to the delight of the crowd, giving him an unassailable record of 13 wins and two losses to claim the Emperor’s Cup. “I did it just through willpower. I didn’t really know what was going
The US’ Ilia Malinin on Saturday produced six scintillating quadruple jumps, including a quadruple Axel, in the men’s free skate to capture his first figure skating world title. The 19-year-old nicknamed the “Quad god,” who is the only skater to land a quadruple Axel in competition, dazzled with an array of breathtakingly executed jumps starting with his quad Axel and including a quadruple Lutz in combination with a triple flip and a quadruple toe loop in combination with a triple toe. He added an unexpected triple-triple combination at the end to earn a world-record 227.79 in the free program for a championship
Shohei Ohtani’s interpreter is being criminally investigated by the IRS, and the attorney for his alleged bookmaker said Thursday that the ex-Los Angeles Dodgers employee placed bets on international soccer — but not baseball. The IRS confirmed Thursday that interpreter Ippei Mizuhara and Mathew Bowyer, the alleged illegal bookmaker, are under criminal investigation through the agency’s Los Angeles Field Office. IRS Criminal Investigation spokesperson Scott Villiard said he could not provide additional details. Mizuhara, 39, was fired by the Dodgers on Wednesday following reports from the Los Angeles Times and ESPN about his alleged ties to an illegal bookmaker and debts well
MLB on Friday announced a formal investigation into the scandal swirling around Shohei Ohtani and his former interpreter amid charges that the Los Angeles Dodgers superstar was the victim of “massive theft.” The Dodgers on Wednesday fired Ippei Mizuhara, Ohtani’s long-time interpreter and close friend, after Ohtani’s representatives alleged that the Japanese two-way star had been the victim of theft, which was reported to involve millions of dollars and link Mizuhara to a suspected illegal bookmaker in California. “Major League Baseball has been gathering information since we learned about the allegations involving Shohei Ohtani and Ippei Mizuhara from the news media,” MLB