New Zealand win America's Cup

TEAM New Zealand won the America’s Cup yesterday, laying the ghost of 2013 with a crushing victory over Oracle Team USA.

The gritty Kiwi challengers, led by 26-year-old helmsman Peter Burling, downed the defenders 7-1 in the first-to-seven points series.

Burling supplanted Team USA skipper Jimmy Spithill as the youngest helmsman to claim the oldest international trophy in sport.

Spithill was 30 when he steered the USA to victory in 2010, and he propelled their remarkable comeback from 8-1 down to a 9-8 triumph over New Zealand four years ago.

In fact, New Zealand needed eight race wins to get the victory, having started at minus-one thanks to the USA’s topping the standings in round-robin qualifying.

But no obstacle was too much for Burling, and the innovative Kiwi catamaran that featured a radical cycle-powered grinding system to power its hydraulics. – AFP