Photos: America’s Cup, Omega

Emirates Team New Zealand is the first team in the history of the America’s Cup to win the oldest sporting competition in the world three times in a row

The history of the America’s Cup dates back all the way to 1851, which is 45 years earlier than the first modern Olympic Games, held in Athens. That year, with Queen Victoria watching the race over afternoon tea, the British fleet gathered around the Isle of Wight, competing in a prestigious race. However, much to everybody’s surprise, the race was not won by a British boat; the winner was an American schooner with a meaningful name – the America.

As the legend goes, when the Queen asked her attendant who had come second, the answer was short: ‘Your Majesty, there is no second.’ And that was how the story was born of the most prestigious and demanding competition in the world of sailing.

During its rich history, the America’s Cup has been attracting some of the most famous names in business and sport – from Sir Thomas Lipton, Alan Bond and Aga Khan to Ted Turner and top-level sailors such as Dennis Conner, Russell Coutts and Peter Burling. They all had the same goal: to win the Holy Grail of sailing.

Winning the America’s Cup is one of the hardest things in sport. Only four countries have been able to win the iconic Auld Mug – the United States, Australia, New Zealand and Switzerland.