Killian wins Governor's Cup for host Balboa Yacht Club

By AP
Published

NEWPORT BEACH, Calif. (AP) Christophe Killian of the host Balboa Yacht Club beat New Zealand's Leonard Takahashi 3-1 on Saturday to win the 51st Governor's Cup International Youth Match Racing Championship.

The 20-yeat-old Killian became the first Balboa Yacht Club skipper to win the regatta since Jack Franco in 1980.

Killian and his crew of Harrison Vandervort and Jack Martin advanced to the final with a 3-0 win over Christopher Weis of Del Rey Yacht Club in an all-Southern California semifinal.

Takahashi, 18, upset favorite Harry Price of Australia 3-1 in the other semifinal. Price was the 2015 Governor's Cup champion and is the world's sixth-ranked match racer.

Price, 21, won the double round robin and then chose to face Takahashi, the youngest of the other semifinalists. But he made some uncharacteristic mistakes against the young Kiwi.

Weis beat Price 3-1 for third place.