Sport

America's Cup claimed - how did we get here?

09:59 am on 27 June 2017

Team New Zealand has won the America's Cup for the third time, with an emphatic victory over Oracle Team USA. Look back at the turning points along the Kiwis' path to victory - including the dramatic capsize in the semifinals.

Apart from a spectacular nosedive in the semifinals, it was remarkably smooth sailing for Team New Zealand Photo: PHOTOSPORT

Look back at RNZ's live coverage of the winning race and reaction here.

Louis Vuitton America's Cup qualifiers

  • 'Round Robin' 1 & 2: Team New Zealand wins all of its races except against Oracle, which came out on top in both clashes.

Challenger playoffs: semifinal series

  • Team New Zealand beats the Land Rover BAR team from Great Britain 5-2.
  • The Kiwis were just through the start line in the fourth race against the Brits when their boat Aotearoa rose high up onto its foils and then spectacularly nose-dived into the water. Some of the crew were thrown from the vessel and the boat was damaged, giving their rivals the race.
  • Thankfully, high winds caused racing to be called off the following day, allowing Team New Zealand's ground crew time to make repairs.

Photo: ACEA 2017 / Ricardo Pinto

Challenger playoffs: final series

  • Team New Zealand comfortably beats the Swedish Artemis team 5-2 to take out the challenger final series.
  • RNZ correspondent in Bermuda Todd Niall says Team New Zealand's mastery over Artemis - the only team that had beaten Oracle - showed it had what was needed to beat the Americans.

The 35th America's Cup

Photo: ACEA 2017 / Ricardo Pinto