LONG BEACH, Calif. – Australia’s Cole Tapper and his Kairos Racing Team from Sydney were down but certainly not out and stormed back from a 2-0 deficit to win the 61st Congressional Cup at the Long Beach Yacht Club. The win earned Tapper the coveted Crimson Blazer – the sport’s equivalent of the golf’s Geeen Jacket at the Masters – and etched his name into sailing history.
Sailing with crewmates Max Brennan, Jack Frewin, Nathan Guliksen, George Richardson, and Hamish Vass, Tapper became the first Australian skipper to win the prestigious event since Peter Gilmour in 2004. Defending champion Eric Monnin (SUI) finished runner-up, while Chris Poole (USA) claimed third place. The Congressional Cup is the premier race of the World Match Racing Tour international series.
The final day of racing delivered high drama, surprise twists, and an unforgettable comeback. Entering the morning, formerchampions Johnie Berntsson (SWE) and Chris Poole both held commanding 2-0 leads in their semifinal matches and appeared destined to advance to the final.
But Tapper and Monnin had other ideas. Facing elimination and needing three consecutive wins to survive, both teams mounted extraordinary turnarounds. Tapper reeled off three straight victories over Poole, while Monnin matched the feat against Berntsson, setting the stage for a thrilling championship showdown.
In his first-ever Congressional Cup final, Tapper remained calm under pressure against defending champion Monnin. In race one, Tapper forced an early penalty during a tense pre-start dial-up, then capitalized on a second Monnin penalty downwind to seize the opening point.
Tapper followed with another composed performance in race two to move ahead 2-0, leaving Monnin once again needing three straight wins to keep his title hopes alive.
“Well it’s a challenge to win three races, but we’ve been here before, so that’s what we now need to do again,” said Monnin.
Race three brought one final dramatic battle. Monnin led at the first windward mark, but Tapper struck decisively at the leeward gate with a perfectly timed luff that forced another penalty. A difficult spinnaker takedown from Monnin’s crew opened the door, and Tapper surged ahead, never looking back as he crossed the finish line to claim the 2026 Congressional Cup crown.
“This means so much to me and to the team,” said Tapper moments after victory. “Waking up this morning, we definitely felt like we were facing an uphill battle. But we’re so glad to have rallied and come back, and the only reason we were able to do that is because of these guys on my crew. Also from us, a very special thank you has to go to Jordan Reece, our coach, as he’s done a huge amount of work helping us get where we are today.”
Tapper’s dramatic victory will be remembered as one of the great final-day comebacks in the Long Beach Yacht Club Congressional Cup history.
2026 Congressional Cup Race Results
1. 🇦🇺 COLE TAPPER, KAIROS RACING (World ranking #3) Crew: Max Brennan, Jack Frewin, Nathan Guliksen, George Richardson, Hamish Vass, Jordon Reece (coach)
2. 🇨🇭ERIC MONNIN, SWISS MATCH RACING TEAM (World ranking #11) Crew: Julien Falxa, Maxime Mesnil, Jean Claude Monnin, Marc Monnin, Ute Monnin Wagner, Cyril Schüpbach
3.🇺🇸 CHRIS POOLE, RIPTIDE RACING (World ranking #1) Crew:Joachim Aschenbrenner, Bernardo Freitas, Mal Parker, Lars-Peter Rosendahl, Harry West
4. 🇸🇪 JOHNIE BERNTSSON, BERNTSSON SAILING TEAM (World ranking #2) Crew: Martin Krite, Johan Bäckman, Bjorn Lundgren, Henrik Walderyd, Daniel Wallberg
5. 🇩🇰 JEPPE BORCH, BORCH MATCH RACING (World ranking #6) Crew: Bastian Beach, August de la Cour, Thomas Jorgensen, Matias Rossing, Gustav Wantzin
6. 🇺🇸 Scotty Dickson, Dickson Racing, United States (World ranking #214) Crew: Danny Bailey, GArret Brown, Jackson Mccoy, Cameron Feves, Matt Whitfield
7. 🇺🇸 CHRISTIAN PRENDERGAST, A TEAM (World ranking #10) Crew:Sam Gilmour, Connor Mashlan, Peter Nicholas, James Prendergast, Mark Spearman, Justin Wong
8. 🇫🇷 AURÉLIEN PIERROZ, MATCH AGAIN BY NET (World ranking #5) Crew: Paul Dagault, Jules Ducelier, Hugo Feydit, Camille Pfaff, Sebastien Riot
9. 🇸🇪 Oscar Engstrőm, Team LIROS, Sweden (World ranking #8) Crew:Filip Karlsson, Emil Wolfgang, Zak Merton, Rasmus Alnebeck, Severin Gramm
10. 🇫🇷 IAN GARRETA, MED RACING (World ranking #4) Crew: Calixte Benoit, Simon Bertheau, Thibaut Demal, Pierre Garreta, Gaulthier Germain, Vicenç Girodeau
For more on the Congressional Cup, go to www.thecongressionalcup.com and for the World Match Race tour, www.wmrt.com.
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