Peter Holmberg claimed his fourth Congressional Cup championship in five years, defeating Prada Challenge’s Gavin Brady 2-1, and, in the process, winning his third consecutive Swedish Match Tour event. The defeat was a tough one for the Italian skipper as it marked Brady’s fifth runner-up finish on the Swedish Match Tour in the last 14 months. This year’s championship places Holmberg in a tie with Prada’s Rod Davis, as the only four-time winners of the event.

"I don’t think we had a brilliant day today but the team was strong and that carried us through," said Holmberg. "It took me a while to get used to the boat. We had a good series against Andy Green (in the semifinals). He gave us a tough time and Gavin really made us work for it, too.

When asked what was going so right for his team, Holmberg responded, "It’s obviously a number of things, the time we’ve put in as a team, the guys I have with me. When you get comfortable in your little zone and with the people around you, you just start shining."

Unlike a month ago at the Steinlager Line 7 Cup when Holmberg was awarded the championship on countback after the final was cancelled due to lack of wind, the Oracle skipper was pushed to the limit.

After losing the first match to Brady, Holmberg had to battle back – and he did. Holmberg won the second match in convincing fashion. Adding to the excitement of the third and final match was a 45-degree wind shift midway through, resulting in a course change. Holmberg made the adjustments, and in suddenly light air sailed to the 2002 Congressional Cup championship, with the day’s sunset as a backdrop.

In the petit finals Ken Read of Team Stars & Stripes defeated GBR Challenge’s Andy Green, 2-0, to claim third place, his best result at a Swedish Match Tour event in four appearances.

In the semifinals, top-seed Holmberg selected Green who would be appearing in his first Swedish Match Tour semi. It was an interesting choice considering Green handed Holmberg his first loss of the regatta two days prior while Holmberg had swept past Team Stars & Stripes Ken Read, another of his choices, 2-0, in round robin action.

Reaching the semis was no easy feat for Green. After splitting his final two matches of round robin competition with a win over Le Defi Areva’s Luc Pillot and a loss to Prada’s Rod Davis, Green found himself in a three-way tie for the fourth spot in the semifinals. Underscoring the fact that every match counts at the elite level of racing on the Swedish Match Tour, Green advanced over his peers by virtue of having swept Scott Dickson in round robin racing and splitting his series with Denmark’s Jes Gram-Hansen.

Green proved he was up to Holmberg’s challenge, giving the Oracle skipper quite a fight. After Holmberg handily defeated the young Brit in the first match, Green took the second match and forced a third and deciding face-off. Holmberg answered the call and after winning the start controlled Green around the race course eventually building a comfortable lead, advancing to his third straight Swedish Match Tour final and sending Green to the petit.

Reflecting back on his week in Long Beach, Green said, "It was a tiny margin of error all week. When you face nine skippers like this and you can advance to the semifinals on nine wins and nine losses it really says something about the quality of sailing. "All these results are good for us because it gives the syndicate confidence that we have a sailing team capable of competing at the highest level."

In the other semifinal Brady, a two-time winner of the Congressional Cup used his experience to balance Read’s familiarity of the local waters, gained from training with Team Stars & Stripes on Terminal Island, defeating Read 2-0.

In the conclusion of round robin competition held earlier in the day Holmberg showed no let-up even though he had clinched the regatta’s top seed, defeating his final’s opponent Brady and Gram-Hansen. Read also notched two wins to close out the robin, over American Ed Baird and Dickson. "

Finals Rounds Results

Final : Brady def. Holmberg - Holmberg def. Brady - Holmberg def. Brady

Petit Final : Read def. Green - Read def. Green

Semifinal 1 : Holmberg def. Green - Green def. Holmberg - Holmberg def. Green

Semifinal 2 : Brady def. Read - Brady def. Read

Overall RR Standings (Skipper/Wins/Losses)

Peter Holmberg, Oracle Racing, 15 3
Ken Read, Team Stars & Stripes, 12 6
Gavin Brady, Prada Challenge, 10 8
Andy Green, GBR Challenge, 9 9
Jes Gram-Hansen, Denmark/Team Marienlyst, 9 9
Scott Dickson, USA/LBYC, 9 9
Rod Davis, Prada Challenge, 8 10
Dean Barker, Team New Zealand, 8 10
Ed Baird, USA/Team Musto, 6 12
Luc Pillot, Le Defi Areva, 4 14

Round Robin Results

Flight 17 : Dickson def. Davis - Read def. Baird - Green def. Pillot - Gram-Hansen def. Barker - Holmberg def. Brady

Flight 18 : Read def. Dickson - Davis def. Green - Brady def. Baird - Barker def. Pillot - Holmberg def. Gram-Hansen