Closure for 35th America’s Cup

The march toward Bermuda and the defense by Oracle Team USA included five Challengers seeking to relocate the oldest trophy in international sport. With the cards dealt on May 25, it was Emirates Team New Zealand that walked away with all the chips on June 26.

To relive the 35th America’s Cup, we have organized all the reports for each stage:

First Stage (May 25 to June 3) – America’s Cup Qualifiers
All six America’s Cup teams competed in a double round robin match race series where each competitor races every other team twice. The mission was to advance the top four Challengers, and it was Groupama Team France that got eliminated. Swedes, Brits, Japanese, and kiwis went on to the next stage. All reports here.

Second Stage (June 4 to 12) – America’s Cup Challenger Playoff
The top four Challengers split into two Semi-Finals (best of 9) with the winner of each match to meet in the Final (best of 9) to determine who will take on Defender in the America’s Cup Match. Emirates Team New Zealand beat Land Rover BAR 5-2 while Artemis Racing eliminated SoftBank Team Japan 5-3. The kiwis then knocked off the Swedes 5-2 to advance to ‘the match’. All reports here.

America’s Cup Match (June 17 to 26)
The final stage of the 35th America’s Cup saw Jimmy Spithill’s Oracle Team USA get manhandled by Peter Burling’s Emirates Team New Zealand, with the kiwi team winning eight races to reclaim the trophy it had lost in 2003. All reports here. If you want only imagery, go straight to the photo gallery and video highlights.