Kiwis to race Swedes for spot in Cup final

The Swedish syndicate have completed a 5-3 semi-final win over Team Japan to book a place in the America's Cup challengers decider against Team NZ in Bermuda.

America's Cup competitors Artemis Racing of Sweden

Sweden have secured an America's Cup Challenger showdown against Team NZ by knocking out Team Japan. (AAP)

Sweden have secured an America's Cup Challenger showdown against Team New Zealand by knocking out Team Japan in their semi-final.

"We're absolutely stoked, that was a tough race," Sweden's Australian skipper Nathan Outteridge said on BT Sport immediately after clinching the series 5-3.

The first-to-five play-off final begins on Saturday in Bermuda's Great Sound. The winner will challenge holders Team USA, skippered by Australia's Jimmy Spithill, for the oldest trophy in international sport in the America's Cup Match starting on June 17.

Sweden's billionaire backer Torbjorn Tornqvist leapt aboard the state-of-the art blue and yellow catamaran to congratulate Outteridge and the six-man crew following their deciding win.

"We're really happy to take it through to the next round ... It's a big family team here," Outteridge said.

Friday's race against the Japanese crew was tight, hinging on a tactical mistake by their skipper Dean Barker who was forced to a standstill by Outteridge when he tried to get past them in the middle of their head-to-head encounter.

"That was obviously the key moment," an elated Outteridge said of the way the race unfolded in high winds and choppy seas.

Although Barker, who was skipper of the losing New Zealand America's Cup crew in San Francisco in 2013, tried everything he could to catch Sweden, he was unable to close the gap in time and Artemis Racing romped home with a comfortable lead.

"We are disappointed not to be going into the final, but we are very proud of what we have achieved," Barker said in a live television interview on board Japan's sleek black 50-foot catamaran.

Sponsor SoftBank has said it wants to bring the "Auld Mug" to Japan and teamed up with holders Team USA, buying a design package to save costs on building its multi-million dollar craft.

"We have been very fortunate with our relationship with Oracle," Barker said.

While Japan are new to the America's Cup, Artemis Racing is one of the most established teams, backed financially by Tornqvist, the Swedish co-founder of oil trading giant Gunvor.


Share

2 min read

Published

Source: AAP



Share this with family and friends


Get SBS News daily and direct to your Inbox

Sign up now for the latest news from Australia and around the world direct to your inbox.

By subscribing, you agree to SBS’s terms of service and privacy policy including receiving email updates from SBS.

Download our apps
SBS News
SBS Audio
SBS On Demand

Listen to our podcasts
An overview of the day's top stories from SBS News
Interviews and feature reports from SBS News
Your daily ten minute finance and business news wrap with SBS Finance Editor Ricardo Gonçalves.
A daily five minute news wrap for English learners and people with disability
Get the latest with our News podcasts on your favourite podcast apps.

Watch on SBS
SBS World News

SBS World News

Take a global view with Australia's most comprehensive world news service
Watch the latest news videos from Australia and across the world