With official practice racing set to begin on Thursday 21 May 2026 and competitive scoring getting underway from 15.13 on 22 May, the commentary team for the Sardinia Preliminary Regatta is now confirmed.
Leading the broadcast is commentator Niall Myant-Best, supported by a three-person analyst panel comprising Shirley Robertson OBE, Odile Lambriex van Aanholt and Cole Tapper. Between them, the four bring an exceptional depth of sailing knowledge and on-water experience to the coverage.
Audiences around the world can tune in through YouTube, accessible via the America's Cup website.
Niall Myant-Best has become one of the most respected voices in sailing broadcasting. A trained naval architect with a serious sailing background of his own, his commentary is informed by experience across three Olympic Games, The Ocean Race and the America's Cup. Beyond the microphone, he contributes to the sport as a coach within the British Skiff Pathway Programme, working to develop the next generation of top-level racing talent. He holds the lead commentator role for the Louis Vuitton 38th America's Cup and its Preliminary Regattas, and also fronts the 'Inside America's Cup' video series on YouTube alongside 'America's Cup Talks.'
Shirley Robertson OBE needs little introduction among those who follow Olympic sailing. She competed across four Games, in 1992, 1996, 2000 and 2004, claiming gold in the Europe Class at London 2012 and a second gold in the Yngling Class at Athens 2004. Her post-competition broadcasting career has proved just as distinguished. For more than a decade she presented and produced Mainsail, CNN International's flagship monthly sailing programme, and she has since become a fixture at major international events as both an official Olympic commentator and a play-by-play voice for the America's Cup, a role she took on during the Louis Vuitton 37th America's Cup in Barcelona.
Odile Lambriex van Aanholt was raised in Curaçao, one of four siblings who all sailed. She announced herself early, winning the South American Optimist dinghy title in 2013 at just 14 years of age. Moving into Olympic classes, she teamed up with Elise de Ruijter to claim both the World and European Championship titles in the 49erFX in 2021, then defended her world title the following year in Canada. At the 2024 Paris Olympic Games, she raced alongside Annette Duetz and the pair took gold. Shortly after the Games she was in Barcelona competing for Jajo Team Dutch Sail in the inaugural Women's America's Cup, where the team finished sixth overall. Her analytical work, particularly across Olympic class racing and the 49er fleet, has drawn considerable praise, and she joins the Sardinia coverage as a race analyst for the Louis Vuitton 38th Preliminary Regatta.
Cole Tapper comes into the broadcast team on the back of a 2026 World Match-Racing Tour victory that brought him the Congressional Cup title. He developed through the Optimist, 420 and Nacra dinghy classes before match racing became his focus, with his early foundation built through the Cruising Yacht Club Youth Academy in New South Wales. His rise on the international youth circuit was rapid. A runner-up finish at the 2023 Youth Match Racing World Championship on Sydney Harbour was followed by a commanding performance at the 2024 edition in Jeddah, where Australia claimed the finals 3-0. In the United States he won the Governor's Cup in 2024, recovering from 0-2 down to take the final 3-2, then defended that title in 2025. Back-to-back runner-up finishes at the New Zealand Match Racing Championship further underlined his consistency. In 2024 he skippered the Team Australia Challenge at the Youth America's Cup in Barcelona, steering the team through to the semi-finals and a fifth-place finish overall. He joins the Sardinia broadcast as on-water analyst.
