Canfield leads U.S. SailGP Team to Historic Win at KPMG Sydney Sail Grand Prix
by SailGP 1 Mar 02:33 PST
28 February - 1 March 2026
The United States SailGP Team celebrate on the podium by spraying Barons De Rothschild Champagne on Race Day 2 of the KPMG Australia Sail Grand Prix in Sydney, Australia © Brett Phibbs for SailGP
The U.S. SailGP Team has won the KPMG Sydney Sail Grand Prix, sailing to victory ahead of Emirates GBR in second and Los Gallos in third. It marks the team's first event win since Cádiz in Season 4, and Canfield's first ever in SailGP - a moment he called, "an incredible feeling".
The Americans were the form team on a light, tricky Championship Sunday, with consistent performances (3, 1, 6) in the final qualifying fleet races of the weekend. As crews struggled in the disturbed air - with foiling conditions limited at the very bottom of the wind range - the Americans managed, for the most part, to stay out of the pack.
"It was a tricky racetrack but we came into today with a really good plan," said Canfield. "We knew we had to keep the pedal down, stay in clean air, stay out of the pack. Our starting has always been pretty good in the lighter conditions, and we got off the line well, kept our heads out of the boat and did a nice job."
The victory signals a major step forward for the Americans, who have made notable improvements in recent events. "We've been putting in the effort," said Canfield. Continuing, "We said we were going to stick to our processes and that showed. We're getting better all the time and to get a win is huge."
Emirates GBR won the start of the Final race, initially controlling the early stages before Canfield's crew seized the lead mid-race with a decisive move into the gate and never looked back - gaining a commanding lead on the final legs and keeping clear air to the finish. Emirates GBR crossed the line in second, while Spain's Los Gallos, the most consistent team across the event, completed the podium in third.
Emirates Great Britain SailGP Team strategist Hannah Mills said, "It was just so hard today, in particular just with that really down range - not foiling at all in the first couple of races and then a little bit of foiling in the final - it feels like surviving a day like that and we somehow did and got into the Final and we landed second."
The defending Rolex SailGP Champions have now moved into the top spot on the overall standings (28 points), while Australia sit second with 25 points. The U.S. SailGP Team have entered the podium group, now third overall with 20 points.
The final qualifying fleet races of the weekend were a game of shoots and ladders for the championship's international teams - with many glad to leave Sydney behind them. That includes Northstar SailGP Team, who finished last among the teams competing on Sydney Harbor.
Driver Giles Scott said, "I'm definitely looking forward to getting home and putting Sydney behind us, that's for sure. A few sayings probably come to mind - when it rains, it pours - and that's how it felt this weekend. We didn't really get anything right. We were fighting potential contact today and getting locked up at marks. No breaks, just a tough weekend so we're looking forward to resetting."
For the BONDS Flying Roos, Sydney was a remarkable event for all the wrong reasons - the first time the three-time Rolex SailGP Champions have missed out on an event final at home.
BONDS Flying Roos driver Tom Slingsby said, "It's frustrating. We were in a good position even going into the last race. We were still inside the top three but we had a shocking final race. We also had some pretty poor results earlier in the day so we just didn't sail well enough to make the Final and got the result we deserved. We need to go back and review - I need to look closely at what I did wrong because I made a lot of mistakes today."
Other teams however, showed signs of improvement, including Mubadala Brazil who finished the weekend seventh overall, with consistent, mid-fleet results across the weekend - a hopeful sign before the team's home debut next month.
Martine Grael, Mubadala Brazil SailGP Team driver said, "Coming into this event, there were a lot of things going on in our team with a few changes in the crew. I think it created a lot of union in the team to make this happen, and that union is exactly what we need to race well together. I'm quite happy with the results, actually."
The KPMG Sydney Sail Grand Prix completes the first stage of 2026 Season, with a triple header Down Under. Now, the Rolex SailGP Championship looks ahead to its South American debut next month: the Enel Rio Sail Grand Prix, April 11-12, 2026, just meters from the shoreline on Guanabara Bay. Limited tickets remain - find out more at SailGP.com/Rio.
KPMG Sydney Sail Grand Prix Overall Results:
(1) U.S. SailGP Team
(2) Emirates Great Britain
(3) Los Gallos
(4) Red Bull Italy
(5) BONDS Flying Roos
(6) ROCKWOOL Racing
(7) Mubadala Brazil
(8) Germany by Deutsche Bank
(9) Artemis
(10) Switzerland
(11) Northstar
(12) Black Foils
(13) DS Automobiles SailGP Team France
Rolex SailGP Championship 2026 Season Leaderboard:
(1) Emirates Great Britain // 28 pts
(2) BONDS Flying Roos // 25 pts
(3) U.S. SailGP Team // 20 pts
(4) DS Automobiles SailGP Team France // 20 pts
(5) Los Gallos // 16 pts
(6) Artemis // 15 pts
(7) Red Bull Italy // 11 pts
(8) ROCKWOOL Racing // 11 pts
(9) Germany Deutsche Bank // 10 pts
(10) Northstar // 6 pts
(11) Mubadala Brazil // 5 pts
(12) Black Foils // 2 pts
(13) Switzerland 1 pt