Swedish entry EF Language overhauled Swedish Match to snatch a thrilling victory by just five minutes in the third leg of the Whitbread Round the World Race yesterday.

The two boats battled long and hard up the coast of New South Wales all day, with EF Language, skippered by American Paul Cayard, overtaking Gunnar Krantz and his Swedish Match crew just outside Sydney Harbour.

EF Language charged up Sydney Harbour at over 14 knots to be first across the line close to the Sydney Opera House. Not only was Swedish Match close behind, but five other boats all finished within 35 minutes.

Cayard and his crew had taken nine days, nine hours and nine minutes 20 seconds to complete the 2,250-mile leg from Fremantle to Sydney, and had occupied every position in the fleet at some stage of the journey.

On stepping ashore, Cayard commented: "That was some boat race, we really fought inch by inch to get past Swedish Match, and then when we got ahead our spinnaker blew out and I thought we'd lose it again."

The closest finish was between Swedish Match and third-placed Chessie Racing, an American boat skippered by George Collins. They were separated by just 53 seconds after nine days at sea.

Cayard said he had been forced to change the watch system in the last two days in order to make sure the boat was sailed to its full potential, with each crew member having only four hours sleep in every 24.

EF Language also won the first leg and takes the overall lead in the race from Norway's Innovation Kvaerner, which finished the third leg in fifth place.

British entry Silk Cut, skippered by Lawrie Smith, will begin the fourth leg from Sydney to Auckland on January 4th in sixth place overall with 208 points.Smith's boat crossed the line in seventh place yesterday to earn 40 points.