As the 49er European Sailing Championship enters its halfway stage in La Grande Motte, France, two Irish sailing teams have qualified for the Gold fleet final round that begins on Friday. Robert Dickson and Sean Waddilove, veterans of the Tokyo 2020 Olympics, hold a slim lead over Cork rivals Séafra Guilfoyle and Johnny Durcan, who are proving themselves able contenders.
Up to seven races remain in the championship that will decide which of the two Irish boats will be nominated for inclusion in Team Ireland for Paris 2024. Guilfoyle and Durcan must finish five clear places ahead of Dickson and Waddilove in the final standings on Sunday next.
Currently, the Dublin crew is 16th overall, just nine points ahead of the Crosshaven crew. The 68-boat fleet is facing difficult conditions, with double-world champions Bart Lambriex with Floris van de Werken of The Netherlands dropping to 13th place, and a narrow spread of points separating most of the top 20 crews.
"We had crazy racing for the first two days with lots of crashes," said Matt McGovern, Irish Sailing's 49er coach. "We are now into light winds, so it's going to be very, very shifty and tough to predict for the rest of the event.”
"As it stands, both our boats are going alright, and full credit to Séafra and Johnny who need the best results they've ever had; they've done job one of getting into Gold fleet.”
"Rob and Sean are just keeping the head and not worrying about selection. There's way too much racing left to worry about that."
The 49er European Championship is the third and final selection trials regatta to decide Ireland's representative for the men's skiff event at the Paris 2024 Sailing regatta. Irish Sailing's other two events will be represented by Eve McMahon in the women's one-person dinghy (ILCA6 class) and Finn Lynch in the men's one-person dinghy (ILCA7), who are both already confirmed.
With a big three days remaining and the points finely spread, anything can happen. The Irish sailors aim to qualify for the Olympics and represent their country in Paris 2024.