37th America's Cup: Peter Burling and Blair Tuke remain faithful: Mission Cup defence: New Zealand's dream team is set

It has taken them a while to finalise their core team behind the scenes. Now Emirates Team New Zealand has unveiled its key aces for the 2024 America's Cup defence. The sextet presented is nothing less than a dream team with a mission to successfully defend the most important trophy in international sailing: Peter Burling, Blair Tuke, Glenn Ashby, Nathan Outteridge, Josh Junior and Andy Maloney should and want to defend the jug for New Zealand and the Royal Yacht Squadron.

The most important message for fans at home: high-flyers Peter Burling and Blair Tuke, 2016 49er Olympic champions, two-time silver medallists (2008 and 2021) and two-time Cup winners, are staying on board. This did not always seem certain to many observers after their long hesitation, but now pleases New Zealand sailing fans and Emirates Team New Zealand itself. The confident Australian Glenn Ashby is also staying on. New to the team is 36-year-old Nathan Outteridge, who had already signed his contract in autumn 2021. Nathan Outterridge is an asset to the Kiwis and is regarded as a technically adept "wind whisperer" with great boat sense. He beat Peter Burling and Blair Tuke in the 2012 Olympic battle for 49er gold together with his 49er co-skipper before the Kiwis turned the tables in 2016 and replaced the Australian duo on the Olympic throne. Now the skiff and moth artists from Down Under and the land of the long white cloud form a strong joint team in the race for the America's Cup.

The heart of the New Zealand team also includes Andy Maloney and Josh Junior - two experienced Finn sailors who have already competed in the America's Cup. Together with Burling, Tuke, Ashby and Outteridge, they form the centre of a sailing team that will be hard to beat in the 37th America's Cup. In addition to pure sailing duties, they will all concentrate on boat development and other strategic tasks for Emirates Team New Zealand in the current Cup cycle. The Kiwis do not want to introduce any more sailors to their team until the "powerhouse grinders or cyclists" have been found and join the team full-time to give wings to the third generation of AC75 boats.

"One of the strongest formations in the team's history"

COO Kevin Shoebridge, a key figure in New Zealand's America's Cup endeavours since 1985, has been instrumental in bringing the Dream Team together. The usually sober New Zealanders described their core crew as "one of the strongest formations in the team's history". Shoebridge said: "Obviously we are very happy with the level of sailing talent we currently have in the team. The strengths of our core sailing team are clear to see. There's not much in sailing that this squad hasn't achieved together. After the last America's Cup, we carried out a very intensive and honest analysis of our winning campaign and considered how we could become stronger. Ultimately, all aspects of the organisation need to be improved if we want to be successful in the 37th America's Cup. One important aspect now is to work together to strengthen our sailing team as a unit." Planning for the Dream Team's first sailing events is already underway. If all Cup teams are allowed to sail in September and October of this year in accordance with the current regulations under the protocol for the 37th America's Cup, then the Kiwis also want to make the most of the time.