"The best America's Cup sailing team of all time"

 "The "Kiwis" defy tricky conditions and win the America's Cup for the third time in a row. For the British, a long wait continues.

 

The Emirates Team New Zealand has won the traditional America's Cup for the third time in a row. The sailing crew led by skipper Peter Burling secured the decisive 7:2 victory in the battle for the oldest sports trophy in the world on Saturday and thus won the duel with challenger team Ineos Britannia off Barcelona.

 

The showdown of the 37th edition for the legendary silver mug, "The Auld Mug", began last weekend. The New Zealanders quickly pulled away with four wins. The British team led by four-time Olympic champion Sir Ben Ainslie gained new hope during the week with two wins.

 

"It's a fantastic feeling"

 

But Burling managed to come up with the perfect answer after a race-free Thursday before he and his Team now managed to make everything clear in tricky conditions. "It's a fantastic feeling," said Burling immediately after the race: "It was an incredible fight. I'm very proud of the whole team."

 

For the British, the hope of a historic first overall success in the 173-year history of the Cup was dashed again. The team from the United Kingdom had prevailed in the challenger regattas against competition from Italy, the USA, France and Switzerland.

 

"We congratulate the better team. For me they are the best America's Cup team of all time," said the defeated Sir Ben Ainslie. The British challengers must console themselves with the fact that they had come further than ever in their third attempt under Ainslie's leadership and were in a Cup match for the first time.

 

The America's Cup dates back to 1851, when great prestige was first sailed off the British Isle of Wight.

 

The teams now float over the water in high-tech yachts and reach sailing speeds of up to 100 kilometers per hour.

 

Only the Swiss team Alinghi, with the German sailing icon Jochen Schümann, managed to bring the famous trophy to Europe in 2003 and 2007." [1]

 

1. "Das beste America's-Cup-Team aller Zeiten". Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung (online) Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung GmbH. Oct 19, 2024.