Kiwis fly, by Suso Pérez

The kiwi is a wingless bird, the size of a chicken, that has become the national symbol of New Zealand and, by extension, names the inhabitants of this southern country. In other words, a bird that lives on the ground represents the best sailors in the world in an era in which sailing has taken flight. So yes, Team New Zealand has gotten the Kiwis flying. Emirates Team New Zealand is the king of the America’s Cup in the most recent era of this legendary competition. Since they won it for the first time in 1995, in San Diego (California), with an unappealable 5-0 against the American defender, this is the fourth time that they have imposed their dominance in the eight editions held since then. And what is more significant: this is his third consecutive victory. The team created by Grant Dalton around Peter Burling and Blair Tuke, two extraordinary Olympic and world champions in the 49er class, completed with the Australian Nathan Outteridge as second driver and Andy Maloney as second trimmer, has become one of the Defenders strongest in the history of the modern America’s Cup.

Total domain. In this 37th Louis Vuitton America’s Cup Barcelona 2024, New Zealand has shown that no one can beat the flying Kiwis. Their dominance has been so relentless that there was a moment in the final against Ineos Britannia when it seemed like the result could be 7-0. The challenging team, coached by Sir Ben Ainslie, found a way to defeat them with two victories on Wednesday 16 October, looking for a direct confrontation in the pre-starts to gain a decisive advantage, but the New Zealanders certainly knew how to analyze what had happened that day to not let it happen again.

The next headquarters. The end of one edition of the Copa del América opens the cycle of the next. It was already known that New Zealand and Ineos had agreed to be the Defender and Challenger of Record for the 38th edition. Now the unknown is where it will be held. Barcelona has options to repeat, since it has the maximum attraction for sponsors and, in addition, the teams already have their bases in the port and the sailboats are designed for these wind and sea conditions. Even so, the teams are packing all their material in anticipation of making a move if necessary. There are other candidate cities. It is known that Valencia is seriously interested. And Jeddah, in Saudi Arabia, keeps its checkbook open. There is also talk of an offer from Sir Jim Ratcliffe to take it to England, so that the British, who have never won the Cup they put into play in 1851, could have it very close. And, obviously, we must not rule out that the Cup return to New Zealand, where the political opposition is pressing for the government to support a new defense in the country.

Great success. Barcelona has enjoyed a magnificent edition. The regattas have been attractive and the creation of the women’s competition, together with the third edition of the youth competition, has been a success, rounded off by the great performance of the Spanish sailors. The ceremony on Bogatell beach was also a success. The competition is not only the oldest in the world, but it is the ultimate in the sport of sailing, an area in which Spain is also a global force, due to tradition and the level of its sailors. A new edition in Barcelona would allow us to reap everything that has been sown in this one, especially in terms of knowing what the Copa del América is to be able to fully enjoy it from the first day.