Athena Pathway, the British team supported by Cobham Ultra and racing for the Royal Yacht Squadron Ltd, has secured a place in the first ever PUIG Women’s America’s Cup Final. The Brits will face the Italian team Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli in the one-match final on Saturday, with both teams battling to enter the history books as winners of the inaugural event.
Athena Pathway Team Principal and Skipper Hannah Mills said: “It’s amazing to be in the first ever Women’s America’s Cup Final. We are all so happy. We will enjoy this moment and then focus on what I’m sure will be an exciting and action-packed race against the Italians.”
Friday was a full on day for Athena Pathway, with a mammoth six races for the team. The Brits started the day with the final two races of the Qualifying Series for the women’s teams of those nations competing in the 37th America’s Cup. The first race got underway after a delay of several hours waiting for wind to pick up, but it was then stopped half way through as teams were falling off their foils in the light airs.
Race six then began once the breeze came back, and it was declared this would be the final race of Qualifying Series. Athena Pathway managed to dominate the race and take the win, securing their spot in the Semi-Final. Three spots were up for grabs in the Semi-Final and all six teams were giving it their all to stay in the competition. The series concluded with Athena Pathway, Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli (ITA) and Emirates Team New Zealand progressing to the next round. They joined Spain, Sweden and the Netherlands, who were the top three teams from the invited teams, in the Semi-Final.
The Semi-Final kicked off later that day, with four races for the fleet. Athena Pathway sailed exceptionally well in the challenging conditions with light wind making it a real test to stay up on the foils. The Brits finished the first race in third and the second race in second before absolutely dominating the third race and leading the fleet around the course to bag the win.
The fourth race saw Spain fighting for survival, with the home team having a chance of reaching the Final if they won the race and Athena Pathway came fifth or less. It was an extremely intense start, with all but one of the teams suffering an early start penalty. This meant Athena Pathway had to restart the race, losing serious distance and leaving them in fourth place. This had all the Brits on the edge of their seats, especially as Spain were leading the race, but the Athena Pathway crew managed to climb up to third and become the first team to make the Final, followed closely by Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli.
Mills said: “We are all so relieved and elated to be in the Final. The turnaround from the qualifying races to the Semi-Final was so quick and it was really challenging in the lighter airs. It was all about staying on the foils in those conditions. The fourth race was tough with that early start, but we pulled together and did what we needed to do to get into the Final. The Italians have been super strong this whole event, and I think we are evenly matched so I’m sure it will be a great race.”
The PUIG Women’s America’s Cup Final will take place on Saturday, the same day the 37th America’s Cup Match begins, with INEOS Britannia taking on Defenders Emirates Team New Zealand. UK viewers can watch all the action live on TNT Sports from 13:00 BST (14:00 CEST).
