Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s INEOS missed out on a first America’s Cup as New Zealand clinched victory on Saturday.
The win is a third in a row for Emirates Team New Zealand after they also lifted the trophy in both 2017 and 2021 and a fifth overall for the nation.
INEOS Britannia, skippered by Great Britain’s four-time Olympic champion Sir Ben Ainslie, fell short 7-2 in Barcelona.
New Zealand had led the best-of-13 series 4-0 before the British boat fought back with two race wins on Wednesday.
But any hopes of a historic first were dashed as the defending champions roared back with three points in a row to take the title, securing victory by 37 seconds.
The three-peat is complete! 🇳🇿💪@emiratesteamnz win the @louisvuitton 37th America’s Cup. #AC37 #Day6 pic.twitter.com/g0oJs20Ltv
— americascup (@americascup) October 19, 2024
The America’s Cup is the oldest trophy in international sport.
Britain has never won the competition in its 173-year history and were appearing in their first final since 1964.
“A huge well done to Team New Zealand, what an amazing campaign and team, and in my view they are the best team ever in the America’s Cup,” Ainslie said after Saturday’s race in quotes carried by AFP.
“At the end of the day the better team won. This is not going to be the end of the journey for us, we set out 10 years ago to win the America’s Cup, we’re getting closer each time.
“The trick is to keep going and get it home the next time.”
British billionaire Ratcliffe founded chemical company INEOS in 1998, with the INEOS Britannia sailing team formed in 2012.
INEOS acquired a 27.7 per cent stake in Premier League club Manchester United in February and made waves earlier this week with their decision to bring to an end Sir Alex Ferguson’s ambassadorial contract as part of their ongoing efforts to cut costs.
(David Ramos/Getty Images)
