Yachting: Team NZ through to final

Team New Zealand beat Swedish team Artemis 2-1 to win through to the final of the Louis Vuitton Trophy regatta at La Maddalena, Italy.

Emirates Team New Zealand won the re-start of the second of its semifinal matches against Artemis, setting the stage for a must-win third match for both.

But ETNZ was untroubled in the third race sailed in the early evening in a light and shifty breeze.

The first attempt to race the second match was abandoned early on the second beat when the wind died away and both teams were preparing to hoist gennakers.

Artemis won the first semifinal race after a 25-degree wind shift on the first beat got them back into the race. They were able to get inside Team New Zealand at the top mark and went on to win, crossing 48 seconds ahead.

In the second race re-start, Team New Zealand skipper Dean Barker picked up some good breeze to the right of the course and finished a comfortable 1m 01s in front.

On race three, Team New Zealand took control early on the beat and led around the first mark by 18s. After the first run Barker had extended to 57s, to 1m 34s at the third and at the finish, the margin was 1m 31s.

The other semifinal features the multi-national All4One team against the Russian team Synergy.

- NZPA