By Alexander Smith
(Reuters) – Italy will face Britain in the final of the America’s Cup challenger series, recovering from a breakage with a convincing win over their U.S. semi-final opponents on Thursday.
The Italian team beat the United States 5-3 in the first-to-five Louis Vuitton Cup semis, after the British crew had ended Switzerland’s challenge in Barcelona on Wednesday.
Britain clinched their semi-final over Switzerland in the America’s Cup challenger series on Wednesday to secure a place in the Louis Vuitton Cup final starting on Sept. 26.
The winner gets to take on America’s Cup defenders New Zealand for the coveted “Auld Mug”, which dates back to 1851 and is the oldest international sporting trophy.
There were celebrations on the water and ashore on the beach after Italy secured their place in the final, with co-helm Francesco Bruni pumping his fists aboard the sleek, silver Italian AC75 after crossing the finish line.
Italy suffered a dramatic breakage to their traveller track, a key part of their foiling monohull’s rig, on Wednesday which needed an all-night effort to get it fixed.
“We are a super strong team, we all deserve this win … It was not an easy night in the shed,” Bruni said on the America’s Cup live broadcast after finishing, referring to the vast hangar where the boats are housed.
His co-helm Jimmy Spithill dedicated the win — which he described as “one hell of a fight” — to Italy’s boat builders.
“This victory really has to go to our shore team,” he said, adding that when he went into the team’s shed “it was like a bunch of zombies walking around”.
For the United States, who suffered a setback when their co-helm Paul Goodison fell down a hatch and broke five ribs, the America’s Cup dream is over once again.
“A huge congratulations, the better team won,” said U.S. co-helm Tom Slingsby. “We knew we had a big fight on our hands, he said, adding: “We’ve got to hold our heads high.”
(Reporting by Alexander Smith; Editing by Ken Ferris)
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