Victory Challenge

SWEDEN

Syndicate head:

Mats Johansson, project leader

Skipper/helmsman:

Jesper Bank (Sweden), Magnus Holmberg (Sweden)

The Swedes are in the America's Cup for the first time since 1992 and keen to fulfil former syndicate head Jan Stenbeck's dream of America's Cup glory for his country.

Stenbeck's untimely death

in August 2002, while the challenge was building momentum in Auckland, has only added to their determination to succeed.

Victory Challenge has a strong team, including Magnus Holmberg, winner of the Swedish Match Grand Prix Sailing Tour, and Jesper Bank, two-times Olympic gold medal winner.

Other heavyweights are boat designer German Frers jnr, sail designer Andrew Lechte, as well as former Team New Zealand boat builder Chris Mellow.

Frers was one of Prada's head designers for the 1999-2000 America's Cup campaign when the Italian syndicate reached the final against Team New Zealand.

Mellow took part in building the Team New Zealand boats for the 1995 and 2000 America's Cups. The Swedes purchased one of the 1995 boats, NZL-38, and used it in training. (New Zealand won the Louis Vuitton Cup with NZL-38 in 1995, before switching to NZL-32 for its 5-0 sweep of the America's Cup final.)

Victory Challenge hired former Australia II port trimmer Skip Lissiman as a coach. Lissiman was part of the Australian team who took the cup from the United States in 1983. It was the first time in 132 years that the cup had left the US.

History

Previous Swedish challenges were mounted in 1977 (when they lost the challenger's final to Australia), 1980 and 1992. This is their first venture on the the Hauraki Gulf.

Crew

None of the crew has raced in the Cup before. But Victory Challenge does boast some of the world's best sailors, including top match-racing skipper Magnus Holmberg and Soling hot-shot Jesper Bank. They boast four Olympic gold and two bronze medals as evidence of their talents and 27 golds in various classes at world championships. While it's a mainly Swedish crew, most Nordic countries are represented.

The crew includes:

Roger Hall (NZ, trimmer)

Chris Mellow (ex Team NZ, boatbuilder)

Money

While declining to reveal their budget (reported to be $53-63 million), they say they are a "small syndicate" but a cost-effective one. They are not poor and have three major sponsors in publisher Metro, Swedish television channel TV3 and Tele2, a large telecommunications company.

Strengths

The dedication to the cause coupled with their country's strong match-racing background and a design team in which they have the utmost faith. By the time the event starts they reckon they will have spent more time sailing than any other syndicate. They maintain their first boat was fast, and their second even faster.

Prospects

Like most their sights are set, initially at least, on reaching the Louis Vuitton semifinals. Few would discount their determination to reach the last four given their early boat speed.

New boats:

SWE-63 Örn (Eagle)

SWE-73 Orm (Serpent)

,

launched Aug 20

Designer: German Frers jnr

Hull colour: black

Trial horse:

SWE38 Christina

(ex NZL38 - Team NZ's 1995 Louis Vuitton Cup winner)

Club:

Gamla Stans Yacht Sallskap

Team website