BARCELONA, Spain — Italy beat Britain to clinch the first Women’s America’s Cup, which sailors hope will help bridge the experience gap at the male-dominated top end of the sport.
The Italian quartet of Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli led from the start of the 18-minute race and finished eight seconds ahead of British Athena Pathway.
“Speechless, it’s just an immense joy really,” Italy’s skipper Giulia Conti said when asked how she felt on the America’s Cup live broadcast, adding: “the cohesion of the team is just so unique”, raising both arms with joy.
The Italian and British flags flew proudly from cranes high above their respective team bases as the inaugural America’s Cup final for women unfolded between the top two teams of 12.
“We always knew the Italians were going to be really strong, they sailed the boat really well,” Britain’s skipper Hannah Mills told Reuters when back ashore, adding that her crew were “gutted” not to have pulled off a win.
It was the first America’s Cup to feature an event for all-female crews in the 173 years of its existence.
While women have competed in previous America’s Cup races, men generally dominated the competition, in part due to the lack of female sailors with extensive competition experience and the physical demands of the race.
“We couldn’t quite get past them, but we pushed them all the way,” Mills said, adding that the sea state had been “really tricky” and the Italians had just not made many mistakes.
Mills, who led the British campaign, said she would be spending time with her young daughter and having some time to decompress after the long haul to the final.
While women have competed in previous America’s Cup events, the contest has been dominated by men, with physical demands and a lack of women with the necessary experience among reasons previously cited for the historic imbalance.
But a new generation of craft almost like Formula One racing cars on water mean four of the eight sailors in the latest edition of the America’s Cup perform roles which do not depend on strength, offering new opportunities for women.
That is a door the women selected to race the identical AC40s, which are sailed by two co-helms and two sail trimmers paired on opposite sides of the boat, plan to push through.
“I’m sure this is just the start,” Britain’s Mills said as she fought back tears after the race finished.
“For the young girls out there watching, this is happening and it’s going to be your turn next,” she added.
Britain’s Ben Ainslie said afterwards that he “couldn’t be prouder of the girls”. The start “could have gone either way”, Ainslie said, adding that the crew had done “a really good job” to keep the race close until the finish.
America´s Cup organisers said they launched this all-women competition as a platform to get more women into the elite sailing event. Women have sailed in previous America´s Cups but none are on the crews of this edition of the 173-year-old regatta.
New Zealand’s America’s Cup skipper Peter Burling said the women’s event had got the “pick of the conditions” for the day and had resulted in “amazing racing”, adding: “full credit to the Italians for getting the job done”.
Italy had already won the Youth America’s Cup in the smaller AC40 boats that are being used for the women’s event.
The Italian team lost the Louis Vuitton Cup to Britain and with it the right to challenge New Zealand for the America’s Cup itself.
“We demonstrated that we are very good sailors, that we can do what we want with these kind of boats.” said Luna Rossa helmswoman Margherita Porro.
“And I think we sent a good message to the world of sailing. So what comes next? I don´t know. But I think this is a big step not only for us, but for every girl that was out there with us,” Rossa added according to AP.
