And the Nominees Are...

And the Nominees Are...

• New Zealand America’s Cup heroes nominated for Laureus Team of the Year
• NZ Sailors up against teams including Real Madrid and Golden State Warriors
• Nominees in eight Laureus categories announced TODAY
• Cristiano Ronaldo, Roger Federer and Serena Williams also nominated

MONACO, January 16, 2018 – The New Zealand America’s Cup Team, who sailed to glory led by skipper Glenn Ashby, have been selected by the world’s sports media as a Nominee for the Laureus World Sports Awards, which take place in Monaco next month.

Emirates Team New Zealand won sailing’s greatest prize with a stunning 7-1 victory over defending champions Oracle Team USA in Bermuda in June. Helmed by 26-year old Olympic gold and silver medallist Peter Burling, now the youngest winning helmsman in the history of the America’s Cup, New Zealand gained revenge against Team USA, to whom they had suffered a crushing 9-8 defeat in the 2013 America’s Cup.

Team New Zealand have been shortlisted in the Laureus World Team of the Year category alongside five of the biggest sports teams in the world: NBA Champions Golden State Warriors, Formula One World Champions Mercedes-AMG Petronas, Super Bowl champions New England Patriots, Champions League winners Real Madrid and tennis’ France Davis Cup Team.

The eventual winners, as voted for by members of the Laureus World Sports Academy, will be revealed in Monaco on February 27.

QUOTES:

Emirates Team New Zealand CEO Grant Dalton, said:

“Emirates Team New Zealand are truly honoured to be nominated for this prestigious award alongside some other remarkable teams. We know the effort that went into winning the America’s Cup but what we are equally proud of is the very special group of people that came together in the true essence of the word team. Without the team there would not have been the victory.”

Sean Fitzpatrick, All Black legend and Chairman of the Laureus World Sports Academy, said:

“The Laureus World Team of the Year category is one of the strongest in this year’s list of Nominees. With the support of the entire country, The New Zealand America’s Cup Sailing Team showed great spirit and fight to win the greatest prize in their sport. It is testament to their efforts that they are now competing with the biggest football, Formula One, American football and basketball teams in the world for a prestigious global sports Award. Huge congratulations to Glenn Ashby, Peter Burling and the entire team for their well-deserved Nomination.”

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