Auto Amazon Links: No products found. Blocked by captcha.
Great Britain is set to compete in the America’s Cup for the first time since 1964 after defeating Italy 7-4 in a qualifying event held in Barcelona, Spain. Ineos Britannia won the best-of-13 series against the Italian Luna Rossa team, securing their place in the America’s Cup finals, where they will face off against New Zealand on October 12. The team, led by four-time Olympic champion Sir Ben Ainslie, receives backing from British billionaire and Manchester United minority owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe.
“It’s a massive day for our team,” Ainslie stated during the America’s Cup live broadcast. “This moment is for you.” Speaking exclusively to BBC sports editor Dan Roan in Barcelona, Ratcliffe shared his thoughts on the team’s victory, saying, “It’s 60 years since we’ve been in this place. They sailed a faultless race today. This is right up there really. It’s not followed by the mass public, but I think in the UK now it’ll pick up momentum, and it should do because it’s the oldest international trophy in the world and the only one we haven’t won.”
Ineos Britannia established a lead of 150m over Luna Rossa following the first leg of eight, but the gap closed to below 30m during the fifth leg. However, the British team once again stretched their lead and finished around 300m ahead of the Italians. The America’s Cup, the oldest international sporting competition in the world, started in 1851 and has never been won by Great Britain.
Meanwhile, Hannah Mills, the most successful female sailor in Olympic history, is leading the British challenger Athena Pathway team in the first-ever female-only America’s Cup. Mills is skipper and co-helm of the team and set up the Athena Pathway organization alongside Ainslie. “Ben Ainslie and I started it together to create a mission for more youth and more women in our sport to have the opportunity to get to the America’s Cup – on and off the water,” Mills stated during an interview with BBC Radio 5 Live. The qualification round for the female-only event takes place on October 5.
The female-only event’s format is different from that of the male event, as it is largely fleet racing and involves four people on board. Unlike the male event, which is typically match racing, the teams are using identical boats. “There’s six teams racing at once in a boat called the AC40, which is 40ft long,” Mills explained. “We go in speeds of up to 50mph. It’s seriously fast. They’re very short, intense races- about 15 minutes each- and ultimately, we’re trying to finish in the top two to qualify for the final, which is then a match race.” Mills hopes the female-only event becomes the norm, as she believes it is “crazy” that it took so long to create one
Read the full article from The BBC here: Read More
Auto Amazon Links: No products found. Blocked by captcha.