Aussie Slingsby beats Kiwi rival Burling in $1M SailGP final
In this photo provided by SailGP, Australia SailGP Team celebrate winning the Mubadala SailGP Season 3 Grand Final with Barons de Rothschild champagne on Race Day 2 of the Mubadala SailGP Season 3 Grand Final in San Francisco, Sunday, May, 7 2023. (Bob Martin/SailGP via AP)[ASSOCIATED PRESS/Bob Martin]
Tom Slingsby of Team Australia held on through a few tense moments after his catamaran fell off its foils and then prevailed over rival Peter Burling of New Zealand in a short dash to the finish to claim his third straight $1 million, winner-take-all SailGP season championship on San Francisco Bay. Slingsby has dominated tech tycoon Larry Ellison’s global league since it debuted in 2019. He dodged what could have been a huge embarrassment when he recovered and kept his 50-foot Flying Roo ahead of Burling for the thrilling victory. British star Sir Ben Ainslie finished a distant third.
Copyright 2023 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.
In this photo provided by SailGP, Tom Slingsby, CEO and driver of Australia SailGP Team, smiles after winning the Grand Final on Race Day 2 of the Mubadala SailGP Season 3 Grand Final in San Francisco, Sunday, May 7, 2023. (Ricardo Pinto/SailGP via AP)
Photo: ASSOCIATED PRESS/Ricardo Pinto
In this photo provided by SailGP, Australia SailGP Team celebrate with their national flag on board the F50 catamaran after winning the Mubadala SailGP Season 3 Grand Final and the Season 3 Championship on Race Day 2 of the Mubadala SailGP Season 3 Grand Final in San Francisco, Sunday, May, 7 2023. (Bob Martin/SailGP via AP)
Photo: ASSOCIATED PRESS/Bob Martin
In this photo provided by SailGP, Australia SailGP Team competes in in front of the skyline on Race Day 2 of the Mubadala SailGP Season 3 Grand Final in San Francisco, Sunday, May 7, 2023. (Ricardo Pinto/SailGP via AP)
Photo: ASSOCIATED PRESS/Ricardo Pinto