SailGP: Slingsby's one million dollar moment - first shock, then victory
Tatjana Pokorny
· 08.05.2023
Triumph for Tom Slingsby and the Australian SailGP team in San Francisco Bay! Against the backdrop of the Golden Gate Bridge, the crew from Down Under once again demonstrated great sailing skills in the final of the third SailGP season. They were rewarded with the highest prize money in sailing. For the third time in a row, the World Sailor of the Year with wing trimmer Kyle Langford, flight controller Jason Waterhouse, grinders Kinley Fowler and Sam Newton and strategist Natasha Bryant scooped one million US dollars.
Anyone who is first at the first turning mark with three such good teams will be hard to beat." (Tom Slingsby before the final)
The high-flyers from Down Under gave their powerful opponents no chance in the three-way battle of the giants. Tom Slingsby parried the Brits' late dive into the starting box before the race even began with an aggressive manoeuvre and even better positioning. Ben Ainslie and his Emirates Great Britain SailGP Team then got away from the start far too late and never recovered. The Kiwis around America's Cup defender Peter Burling fared differently.
Team New Zealand also had to concede defeat to the confident Australians at the first turning point in the battle for the all-important lead. And then watch as Slingsby & Co. increasingly extended their lead with brisk tactics over long stretches of the race.
However, the race suddenly experienced its one-million-dollar moment shortly before the end. Shortly before the last mark and the subsequent sprint to the finish, the Australians fell off the foils. The approaching Kiwis were just a few metres short of a last-minute coup. Slingsby and his crew recovered in a flash and were the first to pass the mark for the final sprint. The subsequent sprint to the finish turned into a gala performance by the SailGP dominators from Australia, which the Kiwis behind could only watch.
Tom Slingsby bows to his team
"I thought we'd lost it at that moment. We had it in our hands the whole time ... I was really shocked," admitted Tom Slingsby shortly after the win. The likeable 2012 Laser Olympic champion even struggled to find the words for a moment. "I thought it could be the biggest stall ever. But luckily we were able to get it over the line."
Tom Slingsby attributed his historic third consecutive SailGP triumph to his team. "The fact that we got the job done today is a huge testament to the skill of these guys. I'm so grateful to have such a great team. I would be nothing without them. Our run will definitely come to an end at some point, but we want to make it last as long as possible."
Ben Ainslie will always be the greatest for me." (Tom Slingsby)
The winner said of the four-time Olympic champion Sir Ben Ainslie, who was clearly beaten on the day: "Ben Ainslie will always be the greatest for me. I grew up watching him. When I was 15 years old and sat in Sydney Harbour to watch the Sydney Olympics, he was battling for gold with Robert Scheidt in the match race. It was the exact moment and place when I said I wanted to be a professional sailor. I tried to do what he did. He is such an inspiration to me! He will always be my idol and my drive."
For winning the San Francisco regatta before the season finale, the Australians received an additional 300,000 US dollars on top of the million.
