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

BARCELONA, Spain (AP) — 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.

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.

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INEOS Britannia sailing team competes during the Louis Vuitton Cup Final Day 7 at the Barcelona's coast, Spain, Friday, Oct. 4, 2024. (AP Photo/Joan Monfort)

INEOS Britannia crew celebrate their victory against the Luna Rosa Prada Pirelli's sailing team during the Louis Vuitton Cup Final Day 7 at the Barcelona's coast, Spain, Friday, Oct. 4, 2024. (AP Photo/Joan Monfort)

INEOS Britannia, right, and Luna Rosa Prada Pirelli sailing teams compete during the Louis Vuitton Cup Final Day 7 at the Barcelona's coast, Spain, Friday, Oct. 4, 2024. (AP Photo/Joan Monfort)

INEOS Britannia crew celebrate their victory against the Luna Rosa Prada Pirelli's sailing team during the Louis Vuitton Cup Final Day 7 at the Barcelona's coast, Spain, Friday, Oct. 4, 2024. (AP Photo/Joan Monfort)

INEOS Britannia crew celebrate their victory against the Luna Rosa Prada Pirelli's sailing team during the Louis Vuitton Cup Final Day 7 at the Barcelona's coast, Spain, Friday, Oct. 4, 2024. (AP Photo/Joan Monfort)

INEOS Britannia sailing team competes during the Louis Vuitton Cup Final Day 7 at the Barcelona's coast, Spain, Friday, Oct. 4, 2024. (AP Photo/Joan Monfort)

INEOS Britannia Chairman Jim Ratcliffe, right, and team skipper Ben Ainslie crew celebrate their team victory against the Luna Rosa Prada Pirelli's sailing team during the Louis Vuitton Cup Final Day 7 at the Barcelona's coast, Spain, Friday, Oct. 4, 2024. (AP Photo/Joan Monfort)

INEOS Britannia's team celebrate their victory against the Luna Rosa Prada Pirelli's sailing team during the Louis Vuitton Cup Final Day 7 at the Barcelona's coast, Spain, Friday, Oct. 4, 2024. (AP Photo/Joan Monfort)

Luna Rosa Prada Pirelli sailing team competes during the Louis Vuitton Cup Final Day 7 at the Barcelona's coast, Spain, Friday, Oct. 4, 2024. (AP Photo/Joan Monfort)

Luna Rosa Prada Pirelli sailing team competes during the Louis Vuitton Cup Final Day 7 at the Barcelona's coast, Spain, Friday, Oct. 4, 2024. (AP Photo/Joan Monfort)

INEOS Britannia, left, and Luna Rosa Prada Pirelli sailing teams compete during the Louis Vuitton Cup Final Day 7 at the Barcelona's coast, Spain, Friday, Oct. 4, 2024. (AP Photo/Joan Monfort)

Shohei Ohtani has mashed 100 mph fastballs for homers, stolen bases against some of the game's best catchers and recently wrapped up one of the best regular seasons in Major League Baseball history.

Now the Japanese superstar and his Los Angeles Dodgers have to face something that's arguably even more daunting.

A five-day break.

Since MLB’s most recent 12-team playoff format took effect in 2022, five of the eight top seeds have lost in the Division Series, unable to capitalize on the supposed reward of earning a bye through the Wild Card Series.

This year, the Dodgers and Philadelphia Phillies have the top two seeds in the National League, while the New York Yankees and Cleveland Guardians are in the same position in the American League. That's given all of them five days to prepare for the best-of-five Division Series that begin Saturday.

Sure, a few days to heal bumps and bruises while other teams fight it out is nice. But there's also a downside.

“It’s not a vacation,” Phillies second baseman Bryson Stott said following a workout earlier this week.

Maybe more than any other professional sport, baseball is one that relies on rhythm and routine. MLB squeezes 162 regular-season games into 187 days over six months, meaning teams are playing games almost daily from April to September. Other than the All-Star break in July, there's never two scheduled days off in a row.

Five days is a relative eternity. And it hasn't always been a good thing.

“It’s a trade-off,” said Chris Antonetti, Cleveland's president of baseball operations. “The benefit is you get time off. The downside is you’re not in the major league environment facing live major league pitching in the normal cadence that you would be during the season.

"But on balance, I think I’d still take the trade-off and want the bye.”

The Guardians have played simulated games the past three days to keep fresh. On Wednesday, they played in an empty Progressive Field with crowd noise piped in, giving it the same aura as the pandemic-marred 2020 season.

“What we’ve tried to do is be really deliberate this week about the environments we’re creating to keep our guys ready and ready to compete on Saturday,” Antonetti said.

The Yankees are one of the teams that have had success under the current playoff format, winning their 2022 Division Series against the Guardians following a five-day layoff. Manager Aaron Boone said last week that part of his plan was to bring some of the organization's minor leaguers to New York so there were fresh arms for hitters to face while they wait for Saturday.

“We'll do our best to prioritize taking advantage of the rest, which I'm sure several guys at this time of the year will benefit from,” Boone said. “But we're also trying to make sure we keep that mental edge and keep guys as sharp as we possibly can with live looks.”

The Dodgers are the poster child for what can go wrong following a long break in October. They were the top NL seed in 2022 but lost in four games to the San Diego Padres. Last season, they also earned a bye before getting drilled by the Arizona Diamondbacks in a three-game sweep.

Now Los Angeles is back in the same position. The Dodgers are in a good spot in many ways — they've got one of the game's best offensive lineups with Ohtani, Mookie Betts and Freddie Freeman, and have clinched home-field advantage throughout the playoffs thanks to a 98-64 record in the regular season.

They've also tweaked their routine during the five-day break compared with the previous two years, getting some swings against high-velocity pitching machines that mimic MLB pitchers. A few of the team's players also have organized watch parties for the wild-card games in an effort to keep up camaradarie.

But one thing they won't have on Saturday is momentum.

They'll have to create it fast.

“I see some more hunger, I see some more edge. I like that,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said. “Not to say that guys weren’t prepared or trying or cared, but there’s a different level of intensity.”

AP Sports Writers Tom Withers in Cleveland, Dan Gelston in Philadelphia, Beth Harris in Los Angeles and AP Baseball Writer Ronald Blum in New York contributed to this report.

AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/MLB

New York Yankees' Aaron Judge reacts after striking out during the sixth inning of a baseball game against the Pittsburgh Pirates, Saturday, Sept. 28, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II)

Cleveland Guardians' Jose Ramirez watches his double off Houston Astros relief pitcher Ryan Pressly during the eighth inning of a baseball game in Cleveland, Saturday, Sept. 28, 2024. (AP Photo/Phil Long)

Los Angeles Dodgers' Shohei Ohtani follows the flight of his single off Colorado Rockies pitcher Seth Halvorsen in the eighth inning of a baseball game Sunday, Sept. 29, 2024, in Denver. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)

Los Angeles Dodgers' Mookie Betts celebrates after hitting a single during the first inning of a baseball game against the San Diego Padres Thursday, Sept. 26, 2024, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Ashley Landis)

Philadelphia Phillies' Bryce Harper looks on from the dugout before a baseball game against the Washington Nationals, Saturday, Sept. 28, 2024, in Washington. (AP Photo/Nick Wass)