Five-time Olympic medalist Torben Grael clinches victory for Ericsson 4 in Volvo Ocean Race

Ericsson 4 wins ’round-the-world Volvo Ocean Race

STOCKHOLM — Five-time Olympic medalist Torben Grael has sailed Ericsson 4 to victory in the around-the-world Volvo Ocean Race.

Ericsson 4 finished the ninth leg of the 10-leg race in third place on Monday night, good enough to clinch the victory in the overall standings. Puma’s il mostro, skippered by American Ken Read, won the ninth leg from Marstrand, Sweden, to Stockholm but sits 13 points behind with 12 points left to be awarded.

“We made a few errors on the leg, but we got what we wanted so we’re pretty happy,” Grael said. “We were very close in Marstrand, but now it’s done. It’s finished. We can really enjoy it.”

The nine-month, 42,500-mile race started in Alicante, Spain, in October and finishes in St. Petersburg, Russia, this month after visiting South Africa, India, Singapore, China, Brazil, Boston, Ireland and Sweden. Points are awarded for arriving in a port first, for being the first to reach markers along the way and for in-port racing.

Puma’s first leg victory in the race gave it a nine-point lead over third-place Telefonica Blue, which ran aground on a rock outside Marstrand shortly after the start and expects to arrive in Stockholm in time for the in-port race on Sunday. Fourth-place Ericsson 3, with a largely Nordic crew skippered by Magnus Olsson, finished Leg 9 just 90 seconds behind Puma.

“It was very close. That was enough tacks for a lifetime,” Olsson said. “We wanted so badly to win and now Ken Read has destroyed my party.

“How mad do you think I am? From now on, I’m really going to pick on him,” he joked.