This past Sunday, July 14th, 2024, has to go down as one of the most incredible single day achievements by a nation in modern sports history. Spanish sportsmen and sportswomen won four major titles that day across four different sports. In my previous article I wrote about the young Spanish tennis prodigy, Carol Alcaraz, winning Wimbledon for the second time. Little could he have known that after his victory in London, later that same day, his countrymen would go on to win the European Championship soccer tournament versus England, then the LIV Golf tournament in Spain later that afternoon. And then that evening, the Spanish sailing team won the San Francisco Grand Finale and thereby were crowned SailGP Champions for the season. A remarkable sequence of events.
A few hours after Wimbledon completed, Spain played England in the finals of the Euro in Berlin to decide the European Champions. That victory by Spain went beyond individual stars. It's a testament to their playing style and teamwork, much like former Spanish legends like Xabi Alonso and Jordi Alba who defied club rivalry to win three consecutive tournaments for Spain. This echoes Johan Cruyff's philosophy and current coach, Luis de la Fuente's, unwavering belief in his strategy. Spain won all seven games in the tournament, six before the 90th minute – a historic feat in the Euro competition, and something rarely seen in major soccer tournaments.
Spain dominated the match with their possession-based 4-3-3 formation, morphing into a 4-2-3-1 with the ball. Young wingers Lamine Yamal and Nico Williams were unleashed for attacking runs when opportunities arose. This victory cements Spain's dominance in European Championships. They've participated in twelve, boasting the most titles (four), the only team to win consecutively and the only one to win every game in a single tournament. And they've also set a new record with 15 goals scored in a single Euros.
Unlike the soccer, where Spain were favored to win, their golf and sailing victories later that day were a lot less probable.
In a dramatic turn of events at LIV Golf Andalucía, held at the prestigious Real Club Valderrama in Spain, Captain Sergio Garcia and his Fireballs Golf Club team delivered a dream performance for their home crowd. Garcia, starting seven (7!) strokes behind on the final day, displayed remarkable resilience, carding six birdies over 17 flawless holes to force a playoff against Anirban Lahiri. The Fireballs' dominance continued as teammates Ancer and Puig secured victory in the separate team playoff against DeChambeau and Casey. This double playoff sweep marked a historic first for LIV Golf. Garcia, a four-time winner at Valderrama, finally clinched his first individual LIV title on the second playoff hole, putting an end to a four-year winless streak and etching his name onto a trophy for the 37th time in his professional career.
Sergio Garcia said: "[It's] a dream come true, to do it (win a LIV tournament) on my favorite course in front of my family and friends and in front of my teammates. But to make it even better by winning the team championship, too, it was amazing. So proud of these guys, the way they played.”
And later that same evening in San Francisco Bay, a dramatic upset happened in the season finale of the SailGP racing series. After coming last in the prior year, Spain stole the Season 4 Championship title from sailing powerhouses Australia and New Zealand during an action-packed Grand Final. After a close qualifying race against France, Diego Botin's team secured a crucial inside position at the start. Spanish captain, Botín, is the son of Gonzalo Botín Naveda and grandson of Jaime Botín (the Botín family of Banco Santander is famous in Spain). Diego Botin has sailed for Spain twice at the Summer Olympics, just missing out on a medal placing previously. He hopes to win gold this time around when he sails in the Paris Olympics in two weeks time.
Despite trailing slightly throughout the race, Diego pushed the Spanish F50 sailboat to its limits, reaching speeds of 90 km/hour. Disaster struck Aus near the finish, causing them to lose valuable time. Though the young Spanish team briefly faltered, they regained momentum, capitalizing on the Aussie's misfortune, and crossed the finish line first, ending Australia's three-year SailGP championship dominance. Their victory came despite sailing a shorter course and performing fewer maneuvers than their competitors, showcasing their strategic prowess.
Remarkably, the team even triumphed despite a broken rudder during the final leg. This win marks a stunning turnaround for Botin's team, who finished last in Season 3 and underwent significant crew changes. After steadily improving throughout the season, they secured their first win in Los Angeles and repeated the feat against the sailing giants in Bermuda. Botin, overwhelmed with joy, could only express his disbelief at this incredible achievement. He said "I cannot describe the feeling now - it’s such a big pump of adrenaline." Oh yes it is. 90 km/hour is the equivalent of 56 mph(!), at just a few feet above the water. That is flying.
The Spanish should be very proud of their sporting heroes. Now let's see how they do in the Olympics starting next week in Paris. With their confidence flying high, the Spaniards could easily bring home more medals in each of tennis, golf, sailing and soccer.
