Prospects for a third Irish boat at the Tokyo Olympics this Summer will be decided this week in Vilamoura, Portugal where racing got underway yesterday in the European Laser qualification regatta.
We can only hope for the same level of drama and success as was achieved last month when Team Ireland qualified a 49’er boat through the efforts of Robert Dixon and Sean Waddilove.
After the first two qualification races in the six-day series, Rio Olympic veteran Finn Lynch from Carlow leads the Irish effort scoring a 28th and a 5th in breezy conditions off the Algarve coast. Seventeen nations are chasing just two places remaining for the Tokyo games.
The programme for the 139-strong fleet was delayed by several hours as the sea breeze built during the afternoon. The fifth place for Lynch was in the windiest range of the day but wind patterns were difficult to read.
Ewan McMahon had a consistent day with a 28th and a 25th and lies 50th overall. A strong opening race for Liam Glynn delivered an eleventh place but a weighty 49th in race two dropped him down the fleet to 57th.
Tom Higgins and Hugo Kennedy are also competing.
“It’s great to finally start the last qualifier for Tokyo after 12 months of waiting,” commented James O’Callaghan, Irish Sailing’s Performance Director. “It’s early days in the series so we’ll continue to stick to our established process of taking it one race at a time.”
Meanwhile, the same event is also a qualifier for the women’s Radial class.
Ireland has qualified already and will be represented by Rio 2016 Silver medallist Annalise Murphy. The Dun Laoghaire sailor was in action today along with Howth’s Aoife Hopkins and Eve McMahon, sister to Ewan. Annalise Murphy was best of the trio for the day with a 29th and an eighth to lie 34th overall.
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