Main Page | Newsletter | Sailing calendar | America's Cup | Glossary

Five win Swedish Golden Anchor

STOCKHOLM, Sweden (CNN) -- Five Swedish sailors have been awarded the country's top sailing prize, the Golden Anchor.

Victory Challenge sailors Magnus Holmberg, Stefan Rahm, Lars Linger, Magnus Augustson and Mikkel Røssberg were given the prize (the Gyllene Ankare) for their victory in last year's Swedish Match Tour.

RESOURCES America's Cup team profiles    YOUR SAY E-mail us with your views  on the world of sailing

"It's really nice to get some attention and it's an acknowledgement for the efforts the team has made in match racing during the last two years," said Holmberg.

The Swedish Sailing Association described Holmberg as "focused, well-prepared and systematic with an extraordinarily strong drive and analytic ability."

"He is also a proficient and respected team leader of his crew and shows that it is possible to combine a family life with match racing at the highest international level. Magnus is a very good example for everyone in Swedish sailing and a worthy winner of the Gyllene Ankare for 2001."

The Swedish Match Tour victory put the five sailors at the top of the world rankings, a position that skipper Holmberg has retained during most of the past twelve months.

In the final standings of last year's Swedish Match Tour, they were ahead of Prada's Gavin Brady, Team New Zealand's Bertrand Pacé, Alinghi's Russell Coutts, Team New Zealand's Dean Barker and OneWorld's Peter Gilmour.

All the top placings in Swedish Match Tour are skippers or helmsmen taking part in America's Cup that begins with the Louis Vuitton challenger cup on October 1.

The Swedes are currently training for the America's Cup in Auckland.

The Gyllene Ankare jury includes representatives from the Swedish Boating Union, the Swedish Cruising Association, the Swedish Powerboat Racing Association, the Swedish Sailing Association, KMK (Royal Powerboat Club), the Royal Swedish Yacht Club and the Royal Gothenburg Yacht Club.