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Italy’s Luna Rossa wins the inaugural Women’s America’s Cup after defeating a British boat in the final | National sport

Italy’s Luna Rossa wins the inaugural Women’s America’s Cup after defeating a British boat in the final | National sport

BARCELONA, Spain (AP) — Italy’s Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli won the first-ever women’s America’s Cup after defeating Britain’s Athena Pathway on Saturday.

Luna Rossa led from the start and won the six-day match race off the coast of Barcelona by eight seconds over the British boat.

America’s Cup organizers said they created the women-only competition as a platform to attract more women to the elite sailing competition. Previous America’s Cups have featured women, but this edition of the 173-year-old regatta included no women on the crew.

The event featured 12 teams, six of which were sponsored by the America’s Cup teams and another six teams were invited.

The teams sailed on AC40 foiling boats, also used in the youth competition, which accommodated four sailors, compared to the larger AC75 boats with eight crew used in the America’s Cup.

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