Team New Zealand wins the 37th America's Cup off Barcelona. The title defense against the challenger Great Britain succeeds. The New Zealanders secure the final series with a 7:2 victory.
Team New Zealand immediately capitalized on the first match point on Saturday. The title holders had won all of the first four regattas in the best-of-13 series. The British briefly filled their hopes last week when they won two regattas in a row and reduced the deficit to 2:4. On Friday (2) and Saturday (1), however, the favorite secured the overall victory with three more victories.
The New Zealand crew of eight hugged and cheered on the hull of the 75-foot Taihoro after holding off the "Britannia" in race 9. "What a great day, what a great team, what a great feeling," said New Zealand skipper Peter Burling.
Third title in a row
The New Zealanders took an early lead in the decisive regatta. Already on the first of six legs, New Zealand pulled away by 200 meters. Although the British made up this deficit by the halfway point of the race, the Oceanians immediately pulled away again. The New Zealanders then drove the victory over the finish line in a controlled and calm manner. The defending champions did not make any more mistakes as the wind remained light.
Over the entire America's Cup (= final series), the New Zealanders established themselves as superior. Only on Wednesday were both races lost, on all other days only the Kiwis around the two skippers Peter Burling and Nathan Outteridge cheered. Unlike Burling, Outteridge triumphed in the America's Cup for the first time: "It's something very special, it was a huge journey and I enjoyed every minute of it. The whole team made a big dream come true."
New Zealand won for the third time in a row. The New Zealanders had already won the oldest trophy in international sport in 2017 and 2021. It was the fifth overall victory for the Pacific island nation - all five victories have come in the last 29 years since 1995.
Great Britain ever closer
And Great Britain? The British have never won the America's Cup in its 173-year history. They reached the final series for the first time in six decades. Their skipper, Ben Ainslie, was a fair loser: "In my opinion, Team New Zealand is the best team that has ever competed in the America's Cup. I can't thank our team enough for all the effort they put in to get us this far. We had our moments, but at the end of the day, the best team won."
The Brits considered it a success to have prevailed against all challengers, including the Swiss syndicate Alinghi. Ainslie: "I would like to thank everyone who supported us. We set out to win the Americas Cup ten years ago and we're getting closer every time."
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