Britain is back in America's Cup final for the first time in 60 years

BARCELONA, Spain — A British yacht is back in the America’s Cup finals for the first time in sixty years, and the island nation steeped in nautical heritage is one step away from ending the longest wait in international sports.

INEOS Britannia finished off Italy’s Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli on Friday with a regatta win to clinch the challengers' final series 7-4. That earned them a date against defending champion New Zealand.

“One more to go boys!” skipper Ben Ainslie told his sailors, who shouted with joy as they crossed the finish line within sight of the Barcelona beachfront.

Despite holding the most Olympic medals in sailing and having a rich maritime tradition, Britain has never won the biggest prize in the sport — a wait that runs back 173 years.

“It’s a big moment for British sailing, that’s for sure,” said Ainslie, a four-time Olympic gold medalist. “And we are under no illusion about how tough the battle is going to be against New Zealand for the America’s Cup, but it has been a long time (since) we’ve been this far.”

The last time a British boat raced in the America’s Cup final in 1964 the English soccer team was two years away from winning the World Cup and The Beatles were all the rage.

Britannia scored the winning point after a fast and flawless race that it finished 17 seconds ahead of Luna Rossa. Britannia claimed the Louis Vuitton Cup for being the best of five challengers.

The British team now has a week to prepare for Team Emirates New Zealand in their first-to-seven wins series for the America’s Cup starting on Oct. 12.

“It’s a massive day for our team. I can’t say how proud I am over everyone on the water, back on shore and back in the UK,” Ainslie said. "There is a lot of pressure on these organizations, a huge amount of investment and time and money, and so you want to make it count.”

Ainslie and his crew lifted the challengers’ trophy on board after it was delivered on a motorboat by two stewards wearing white gloves who removed it from a Louis Vuitton case. Billionaire backer Jim Ratcliffe, the part owner of Manchester United, then climbed on board to celebrate by spraying champagne.

Britain has been chasing the America's Cup ever since the schooner America won the race’s very first edition back in 1851 when it bested Royal Yacht Squadron in a loop around the Isle of Wight, with Queen Victoria herself in attendance. This is the 23rd time it has challenged for the Auld Mug, more than any other nation.

Now, it is the closest it has come to finally winning the cup in sixty decades.

It will face a New Zealand team that has won the past two editions in 2017 and 2021. As defending champion in this truly winner-takes-all competition, the Kiwis got to choose the rules and the location of the regattas, so in theory they should have an edge that the Brits must overcome.

“Bring on the Kiwis!” Ainslie's co-helmsman Dylan Fletcher said.

British go from dark horse to leading threat

The British will have on their side the real racing experience over recent weeks. They have gone from outside threat to the fastest ship of the challenger’s fleet. Before racing started, New Zealand leader Grant Dalton said that he put both Luna Rossa and American Magic a notch above Britannia, but warned that the Brits could pull off a surprise.

That they did, delivering a nearly flawless Louis Vuitton finals series, while Luna Rossa’s chances were hurt by structural problems to their silver-hulled yacht. Britannia, which is aided by a partnership with the Mercedes Formula 1 team, ran off three straight wins after the series was level at 4-4.

“I think the British out-learned the rest of the challengers, from where they started until now, they made the biggest progress,” Luna Rossa helmsman Jimmy Spithill said. “We threw everything at them. … The British are peaking at the right time.”

The British win over the Italians avenged a 7-1 loss to Luna Rossa in the same stage of the 2021 event in Auckland.

The America’s Cup was born some four decades before the modern Olympic Games, and is considered the world's oldest international sports trophy.

Only four nations have ever won the cup. After the 30 titles by American boats, New Zealand has won it three times, Switzerland twice and Australia once.