Cole Tapper began the final day of the 61st Congressional Cup staring down the barrel of elimination. Two races behind Chris Poole in the semifinals, the Sydney skipper and his Kairos Racing team looked set to exit the regatta at Long Beach Yacht Club without reaching the championship match. Tapper won three consecutive races to overturn the deficit against Poole, reached the final, then swept it 3-0 to claim the title, the Crimson Blazer, and his place in the record books as the first Australian to win the Congressional Cup since Peter Gilmour in 2004.
Sailing with Max Brennan, Jack Frewin, Nathan Guliksen, George Richardson, and Hamish Vass, Tapper sealed the win on 3 May 2026. Defending champion Eric Monnin of Switzerland took the runner-up spot, with American Chris Poole finishing third.
When the morning's racing began, both semifinals appeared to be heading for tidy conclusions. In Semi-Final 1, Johnie Berntsson led Monnin 2-0. In Semi-Final 2, Poole held the same advantage over Tapper. Poole had compiled a 17-1 record across the round robins, and few would have backed either trailing skipper to mount a comeback. Both did exactly that.
From race three onwards, neither Monnin nor Tapper conceded another point in their respective matches. Monnin reeled off three wins on the trot to eliminate Berntsson, and Tapper produced an identical three-race winning streak to account for Poole. Two skippers had come back from 0-2 down to reach a final that had looked entirely beyond them just hours earlier.
Semi-Final 1
| Sailor | R1 | R2 | R3 | R4 | R5 | W |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Eric Monnin SUI | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 |
| Johnie Berntsson SWE | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
Semi-Final 2
| Sailor | R1 | R2 | R3 | R4 | R5 | W |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cole Tapper AUS | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 |
| Chris Poole USA | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
Tapper carried his momentum straight into the championship match against Monnin. The opening race of the final hinged on a combative pre-start, during which Monnin collected an early penalty. A second Monnin infringement downwind sealed the race for Tapper. Race two followed a similar pattern, with Tapper sailing a controlled match to move 2-0 ahead, leaving the defending champion needing three consecutive wins to retain his title.
"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," Monnin said.
Race three offered the briefest flicker of a fightback. Monnin led around the first windward mark and, for a moment, a genuine contest seemed possible. That hope evaporated at the leeward gate, where Tapper executed a precisely timed luff that drew yet another penalty from the champion. When Monnin's crew then struggled through a spinnaker takedown, Tapper drove clear, held the lead to the finish, and completed a 3-0 sweep to take the title.
"This means so much to me and to the team," Tapper said after crossing the line. "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."
Final
| Sailor | R1 | R2 | R3 | W |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cole Tapper AUS | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 |
| Eric Monnin SUI | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
The third-place match was a more straightforward affair. Poole defeated Berntsson 2-0 in the petit final, a result in keeping with his commanding form throughout the round robins.
Petit Final — 3rd Place
| Sailor | R1 | R2 | W |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chris Poole USA | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| Johnie Berntsson SWE | 0 | 0 | 0 |
The full finishing order for the 61st Congressional Cup:
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 (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 (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.
