NZ finishes third in SailGP — misses out on $3 million payday

Despite "flawless" racing earlier in season four, the Black Foils never appeared to have a serious chance of chasing Australia or Spain down in the Grand Final, finishing third.

The dominant force in season four, Peter Burling's team struggled with their starts all weekend in San Francisco and it was a similar story in the final.

Australia's SailGP supremacy is also over after Spain staged a stunning upset in the grand final on San Francisco Bay to net a $3 million payday.

The victory Sunday (local time) breaks a run of three consecutive victories for Tom Slingsy's boat that had stretched back to the inception of the high-speed sailing league in 2019.

The Aussies had endured an inconsistent season but came into the winner-take-all decider against Spain and ladder-leading New Zealand on the back of a dominant regatta.

But, led by driver Diego Botin, underdogs Spain shook off a largely disappointing event and flew out of the gate to lead at the first mark in windy conditions during the grand final.

Australia kept in the hunt, splitting the course on the third leg and beginning to close a gap that had opened up to 100 metres.

Tom Slingsy's boat took the lead shortly thereafter but were thwarted by a technical issue on the path to the final mark.

A board on Slingsby's F50 catamaran appeared to malfunction, an issue that also affected them on Saturday, as Spain headed for home to finish just ahead of Australia.

The win caps a remarkable day in sport for the country, with countryman Carlos Alcaraz winning the men's singles title at Wimbledon, Sergio Garcia triumphing in the LIV Golf Andalucia and Spain winning the Euro 2024 final in Germany over England all in the space of a few hours.

It also writes the final chapter in a rags-to-riches story for Spain, who placed last in the third season of SailGP.

After struggling in heavy conditions across the five fleet races, Spain only qualified for the grand final after France dropped from contention earlier in the day.

France watched their hopes of a big pay day evaporate after receiving eight penalty points for colliding with Denmark in the penultimate fleet race.

They dropped into ninth spot, having sat as high as third, and withdrew from the final fleet race on Sunday after being unable to repair their damaged rudder in time.

France's first penalty of the season and their subsequent withdrawal paved the way for Spain to make it to the final, where they hoisted the trophy in thrilling circumstances.

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