Team New Zealand (TNZ) yesterday won the 36th America’s Cup, beating Luna Rossa 7-3 in the best-of-13 series with a dominant 46-second victory in Race 10 off the coast of Auckland, New Zealand.
Defenders TNZ retained the “Auld Mug,” international sport’s oldest trophy, four years after beating Oracle Team USA 7-1 at the 2017 match in Bermuda.
It was their fourth America’s Cup triumph after winning in 1995, 2000 and 2017.
Photo: AFP
“It’s unreal. Seeing all the people involved over three-to-four years,” TNZ helmsman Peter Burling said. “How many Kiwis are out here supporting the campaign? Messages from everyone, from the prime minister to high-school kids. It means the world to us.”
“We’re blown away by what we’ve achieved as a group,” Burling added.
New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said that TNZ had made the country proud.
“Team New Zealand have once again made us all so proud by retaining the America’s Cup as New Zealand’s cup,” Ardern said in a statement. “We want to see it all over again in 2023. The government has already agreed that the successful America’s Cup team will be supported to stay together while they plan their next defence of the Auld Mug.”
Italy’s hopes of winning sailing’s showpiece event were dashed again in the nation’s third America’s Cup match, having lost 5-0 to TNZ in 2000 and 4-1 to the US in 1992.
“Fantastic experience — [we] want to congratulate TNZ, who have done a fantastic job,” Luna Rossa cohelmsman Francesco Bruni said. “Also need to congratulate Luna Rossa — we proved to the world that we could do it and, yeah, it was hard luck in the last couple of days, but we did a great job as a team.”
After fierce sailing in Race 9 on Tuesday, the decider ended up a procession for the home yacht, as TNZ’s superior speed left the Italians praying for a mistake from the defenders.
However, there was no late twist, as TNZ rounded the final gate 49 seconds in front of the challengers to cross the finish line in 26 minutes, 8 seconds, triggering partying on spectator boats and among fans crowded on the shore.
The team pumped fists and embraced on the yacht, as Burling sprayed the other crew members with champagne.
It was TNZ’s fifth consecutive race win, having come back from 3-2 down after Race 5.
Race 10 was postponed twice as officials waited for favorable winds, but TNZ wasted little time in throwing down the gauntlet, with a quick tack to the right straight out of the starting gate.
It proved a masterstroke as they carved out an early lead after the first mark and extended it to 9 seconds going into the third leg.
Luna Rossa had a poor exit from the second gate and TNZ’s lead increased to 27 seconds, leaving the Italians needing a mistake from the New Zealanders.
However, the home yacht named Te Rehutai was 4 to 5 knots quicker on the downwind legs and enjoyed stable breezes to the finish.
“We got better and better every race, and today just showed the speed of the boat — sailed nicely and great way to end it,” TNZ flight controller Blair Tuke said. “Really happy to get a good start. We were on the right side of the racetrack... We never really gave them a chance.”
GUNNING FOR A WIN: The victory sending Arsenal to the final for the first time in six years was cathartic for a team who had lost their previous four semi-finals Arsenal on Tuesday reached the League Cup final for the first time in eight years as Kai Havertz sealed a 1-0 win against Chelsea in the semi-final second leg. Mikel Arteta’s side had put themselves in pole position in the first leg and Havertz came off the bench to finish the 4-2 aggregate victory in the closing moments at the Emirates Stadium. It was a cathartic triumph for the Gunners, who had lost their previous four semi-finals in last year’s UEFA Champions League and League Cup, the 2022 League Cup and the 2021 UEFA Europa League. In their first final for six years,
DEADLINE DAY: Rennes’ Jacquet had been linked with a transfer to Chelsea earlier this month, but was reportedly put off the move due to the Blues’ bloated squad Liverpool on Monday won the race to sign Stade Rennais defender Jeremy Jacquet on the quiet final day of the English Premier League transfer window, while Crystal Palace swooped for Wolverhampton Wanderers striker Jorgen Strand Larsen despite the collapse of Jean-Philippe Mateta’s move to AC Milan. The Reds agreed a reported fee of up to ￡60 million (US$82 million) for the highly rated Jacquet. However, the 20-year-old will not join the Premier League champions until the summer despite Liverpool’s need for defensive reinforcements. Jacquet had been linked with a transfer to Chelsea earlier this month, but was reportedly put off
SUPERSTAR DELIVERS: Victor Wembanyama scored 29 points and pulled down 11 rebounds to propel the Spurs to a 135-123 victory over the Dallas Mavericks The Los Angeles Lakers on Thursday shook off the early exit of injured star Luka Doncic, rallying without him in the second half for a 119-115 victory over the Philadelphia 76ers. Austin Reaves, again coming off the bench in his second game back from a 19-game injury absence, scored 13 of his 35 points in the fourth quarter, drilling a pair of back-to-back three-pointers to give the Lakers their first lead of the game early in the final frame. “Losing Luka, you know nothing’s going to be easy after that because he does so much for us, but we bonded together,” said
Mercedes Formula One boss Toto Wolff on Monday blasted rivals for casting doubt on the legality of his team’s new engine through secret meetings and letters. The sport is entering a new era with one of the most sweeping technical overhauls in decades and there has been talk of Mercedes and rivals Red Bull, now making their own engine, exploiting a loophole in the rules through the thermal expansion of components. That could put the three Ferrari-powered teams (Ferrari, Cadillac and Haas), Audi and Aston Martin (Honda) at a competitive disadvantage, if true. Mercedes provide engines to four teams, while
RSS