New Zealander Russell Coutts, the record-setting America’s Cup skipper, yesterday won the third annual Toscana Elba Cup – Trofeo Locman, an event of the Swedish Match Tour.

Coutts, the skipper of America’s Cup champion Alinghi Team, defeated Australian Peter Gilmour and the Pizza-La Sailing Team, 2-1, to claim the championship of the Euro 100,000 event (approximately $118,000), the fifth event on the 2003/04 Swedish Match Tour.

At the end of racing on Thursday, 6 May, Coutts was last in the field of 12 crews with a 1-5 record. After sailing 22 races, the maximum number possible, he has become the champion and won Euro 35,000 (approximately $41,600).

Coutts’s crew consisted of Rodney Arden, Josh Belsky, Warwick Fleury, Lorenzo Mazza, Dean Phipps and Peter Van Nieuwenhuyzen.

Coutts said: “I felt a little uncomfortable for a while there. We didn’t do any practice for this event and we almost paid for it.

Although Gilmour lost, he still won Euro 25,000 (approximately $29,700) for second place and has the Swedish Match Tour Championship Leaderboard in a stranglehold.

Gilmour added 20 points to his scoreline by finishing second. With a total of 97 points, he is 48 points ahead of second-placed Magnus Holmberg (SWE/SeaLife Rangers) with three events remaining.

Overall Results

1. Russell Coutts (NZL/Alinghi Team) 13-9, Euro 35,000

2. Peter Gilmour (AUS/Pizza-La Sailing Team) 15-5, Euro 25,000

3. Gavin Brady (NZL/Oracle BMW Racing) 16-4, Euro 15,000

4. Karol Jablonski (POL/Toscana Challenge) 10-9, Euro 8,000

5. Bertrand Pacé (FRA/Team France) 7-7, Euro 6,000

6. Jesper Radich (DEN/Team Denmark) 6-8, Euro5,000

7. Ed Baird (USA/Team Musto) 6-8, Euro 4,000

8. Magnus Holmberg (SWE/SeaLife Rangers) 5-9, Euro 2,000

9. Philippe Presti (FRA/le Défi) 4-7

10. John Cutler (NZL/Mascalzone Latino) 3-8

11. Michael Dunstan (AUS/OzBoyz Challenge) 3-8

12. Paolo Cian (ITA/Italian Challenge) 3-8

Day 7 Results

Final

Match 1: Russell Coutts d. Peter Gilmour

Match 2: Gilmour d. Coutts

Match 3: Coutts d. Gilmour

Petit Final Match 1: Gavin Brady d. Karol Jablonski

Match 2: Brady d. Jablonski

Semifinal Match 4: Russell Coutts d. Gavin Brady

Match 5: Coutts d. Gavin Brady

Swedish Match Tour Championship Leaderboard (After 5 of 8 events)

1. Peter Gilmour (AUS/Pizza-La Sailing Team) 97 points

2. Magnus Holmberg (SWE/SeaLife Rangers) 49 points

3. Gavin Brady (NZL/Oracle BMW Racing) 45 points

4. Jesper Radich (DEN/Team Denmark) 43 points

5. Russell Coutts (NZL/Alinghi Team) 35 points

6. Ed Baird (USA/Team Musto) 31 points

7. Dean Barker (NZL/Omega Match Race Team) 24 points

8. Jesper Bank (DEN) 20 points

= Chris Dickson (NZL/Oracle BMW Racing) 20 points

= Kelvin Harrap (NZL/Team New Zealand) 20 points

= Terry Hutchinson (USA/Team Annapolis Volvo) 20 points