Over 150 sailors will take part and they will be joined by several Olympians, including Olympic silver medallist Annalise Murphy, and Tokyo Olympic 49er team Robert Dickson and Sean Waddilove who will give inspiring talks to the young sailors after hard days racing on the water.

Dickson and Waddilove will be joined by local Crosshaven 49er team Seafra Guilfoyle and Johnny Durcan who have started their bid to represent Ireland in the Paris 2024 Olympics.

The Youth National Championships are set to take place from Thursday, October 28 – Sunday, October 31.

The Youth Nationals are unique – not only is it the biggest youth event held in Ireland, but it’s also the only time that different youth classes come together to compete, gain valuable experience on the water, hear from Irish Sailing coaches, and, along with their families, learn more about the Irish Sailing Performance Pathway.

Young sailors from across Ireland will compete across four different classes of boat at the Youth Nationals: 420, Topper, ILCA 4 (Laser 4.7) and ILCA 6 (Laser Radial).

These are the classes that have been identified as the best to facilitate progression through the Irish Sailing Performance Pathway.

Although normally part of the event, this year due to COVID safety measures, Irish Sailing and the IODAI (Irish Optimist class) decided to organise a separate training week.

The IODAI National Training Week is part of an overall plan to kick-start the junior pathway and as such is being supported by Irish Sailing.

This year’s training week is in Malahide; future editions will rotate nationally. The remaining four classes will be joined for the first time by the 29er class who are in discussions with Irish Sailing about becoming a full Performance Pathway class.

Organiser Sean Evans, Irish Sailing’s Laser Radial Academy Coach said: “We’re delighted that the Youth Nationals are back on this year.

“The Youth Nationals are a very important part of the talent pipeline and gives coaches a chance to see what’s coming through.

“It’s a special event where families and friends can gather together in one location to share their experiences, learning and generally have some fun”.

David Quinn, MD, Investwise Financial Planning, commented: “We are delighted to support this wonderful event for young sailors.

“Sailing teaches important life skills such as awareness, responsibility, patience and respect, as well as building friendships that last a lifetime.

“We’re delighted that our youth sailors have the opportunity to get back out on the water to compete again at their National Championships after a break of two years.

“It promises to be a superb event in Cork over the mid-term break and I look forward to meeting everyone there.”

The evening talks include a racecourse debrief with Olympians Robert Dickson and Sean Waddilove along with 49er teammates Johnny Durcan and Seáfra Guilfoyle.

James O’Callaghan (Irish Sailing Performance Director) and Olympic Silver Medallist Annalise Murphy will discuss her journey on the Performance Pathway.

For more information, visit: https://www.sailing.ie/Racing/Irish-Sailing-Youth-National-Championships

The post Olympians to attend Investwise Irish Sailing Youth National Championships appeared first on SportsNewsIreland.

Despite her recovery of form on Thursday when she scored a race win and a second-place, Friday saw her finish the ten race series in 18th place overall, outside the top ten for Sunday’s medal race final.

Murphy noted after the race to RTÉ that she “can’t see [herself] going to another Olympics”, possibly ending a fruitful period for Irish Sailing.

“Over two decades, Annalise has made a massive impact on our sport and is certainly Ireland’s greatest Olympic sailor ever,” said James O’Callaghan, Performance Director with Irish Sailing.

“She has been a European champion and competed in three Olympic Games, won races in each and won a Silver medal.  Her legacy lives on in the dozens of female and male athletes inspired by her performances.”

The Irish squad gathered at the dinghy park in  Enoshima Harbor where there was an informal tribute gathering held to honour the National Yacht Club sailor.

Ireland still has one boat competing with the final three races of the Men’s 49er skiff event scheduled for Saturday afternoon.

Robert Dickson (Howth YC) and Sean Waddilove had two top ten results and an 18th on Friday and lie 14th overall.

Saturday’s three races are crucial to their prospects of achieving a place in Monday’s medal race final.

“We have moved on and are completely focussed on the remainder of the regatta,” said O’Callaghan, after the sailors’ times were disqualified yesterday after they used illegal equipment.

“When we fully debrief what has occurred with the equipment issue plus every aspect of our preparations, we will strengthen our processes to ensure this sort of thing cannot happen again.”

Team management will also be engaging with World Sailing and the International 49er Class Association to provide feedback about equipment rules and their application of them by measurers and International Juries in future.

The post Irish Sailing React To ‘Emotional Day’ In Tokyo appeared first on SportsNewsIreland.

Laser Radial Women Race 9/10 – Annalise Murphy

Murphy came into this morning’s races seemingly back on he usual form after finishing first and second in her last two races. Due to her bad luck and form and the beginning of the competition she sat in 14th place overall in the rankings.

If she managed to pull off two more great performances today she would be in with a shout of the ten-team medal race.

The wind had slowed to eight knots but it remained hot in Enoshima with 27 degree temperatures and 80 percent humidity.

Race nine seemed like a bridge too far for Murphy as she dropped back to 30th place effectively leaving her knocked out.

Race ten took place an hour later and Murphy started poorly again, she finished her final race of Tokyo 2020 down in 40th place.

This ends a disappointing run at the Olympics for the 31-year-old who only briefly showed her true quality in yesterday’s races finishing first and second.

#Sailing

Both @Annalise_Murphy about to start racing in Race 9 of the #LaserRadials this morning and 49ers Robert Dickson and Sean Waddilove in Race 7. #TeamIreland #Tokyo2020 @irishsailing pic.twitter.com/rGOdaWBa4R

— Team Ireland (@TeamIreland) July 30, 2021

49er Men Race 7/8/9 – Robert Dickson, Sean Waddilove

This Irish pair were looking to be having a great Olympics so far until yesterday’s second and sixth place finishes were disqualified for using a harness that was too heavy.

This dropped them in the rankings from seventh to 13th with an uphill battle to reach the medal race in a few days time.

The Irish pair lined up in slightly hotter conditions of 29 degrees in Kamakura.

In race seven they showed some of the form that saw them so highly ranked before as they fought for an eight place finish.

This was following by race eight that saw them drop all the way back to eighteenth while the Australian’s received a ‘U’ Flag disqualification.

This left a lot of pressure on their final go of the day in race nine. The pair bounced back to come home in ninth place. This now leave them with an overall ranking of 14th leaving it all to do in the last three races.

Ireland’s last day of sailing will take place tomorrow morning at 04:05 with the 49er team competing in race 10, 11 and 12. They will need to but everything into it to make the medal race.

#Sailing

A 9th place for Robert Dickson and Sean Waddilove in Race 9 of the #49erclass this morning. Race 8 starts shortly@Annalise_Murphy still racing#TeamIreland #tokyo2020 @irishsailing

pic by @SailingEnergy pic.twitter.com/WVo6ThGkHH

— Team Ireland (@TeamIreland) July 30, 2021

The post Olympic Sailing: Murphy narrowly misses out, 49ers pair in tough position appeared first on SportsNewsIreland.

Laser Radial Women Race 7/8

The 31-year-old has continuously improved as the Tokyo Games have progressed. She came into today’s races ranked 20th after finishing tenth and ninth in her last two races on Tuesday morning.

She showed her real class in Fujisawa in the early hours of today in tough conditions. The 44 sailors had to compete with 13 knots of wind in 28 degree heat but Murphy was unaffected.

In Race seven she earned a well-needed victory over Denmark’s Anne-Marie Rindom and Italy’s Silvia Zennaro. This boosted the Dublin women into rank 18 overall in the competition.

This result boosted her going into race eight less than an hour later. In this race she finished second behind the Danish sailor but it is still a very impressive result.

Now she is ranked at 14th overall in this competition with two races left before the medal race. This will be a nail-biting finish for Murphy as only the top 10 will qualify for the final race so another world-class performance will be needed on the final race day.

Murphy’s final two races will go ahead tomorrow morning at 04:05, 30th July.

#Sailing

2nd place in Race 8 for @Annalise_Murphy brings her up to 14th place overall in the #LaserRadial.

Last 2 races tomorrow and top 10 boats go into Medal Race.

pic @davidbranigan #TeamIreland #Tokyo2020 @Irish_Sailing pic.twitter.com/z3CKfH9kVT

— Team Ireland (@TeamIreland) July 29, 2021

49er Men Race 5/6

This was an amazing day of sailing for Ireland as Robert Dickinson and Sean Waddilove tried to out due Murphy in the men’s 49er event.

Yesterday morning, the pair completed race two, three, four and finished 12th, 11th and 12th. Today they stepped up their game massively.

In race five, Dickinson and Waddilove finished second behind the dominant Danish team. Slightly later on in race six, the lads finished sixth in an event won by the Brazilian team.

The Irish pair are now ranked seventh overall in a very tight event where a favourite for gold in still very uncertain.

Their next races will be tomorrow morning at 04:05 as they have a triple header of Race seven, eight and nine. The team still have to compete in six more races over the next two days before a winner will be announced.

#Sailing

A 6th place for Robert Dickson and Sean in Race 6 brings them up to 7th place overall in the #49erclass. More racing to come tomorrow @Annalise_Murphy has just started Race 7 in the #LaserRadials

pic by @davidbranigan #TeamIreland #Tokyo2020 @Irish_Sailing pic.twitter.com/nmvq3RlOMQ

— Team Ireland (@TeamIreland) July 29, 2021

The post Olympic Sailing: Murphy wins Race 7 on the comeback trail appeared first on SportsNewsIreland.

Ireland’s Murphy came into this race with her chances of grabbing another Olympic medal very low after the Rathfarnham sailor scored a 24th and discarded a 37th the last morning.

The weather had calmed drastically since the typhoon that hit Japan’s coast earlier in the day but was still very challenging.

The competitors faced 13 knot of of wind in 25 degree heat with 72 percent humidity but Murphy looked unfazed.

Brief explainer feat Annalise’s favourite Labrador – sailing is a hard mental sport & Annalise is on the wrong side of confident at the moment – she’s not out of it yet but she’ll need to bring a really strong performance to the next 6 races to shoot for a medal – we believe pic.twitter.com/46RlJF666v

— Annalise Murphy (@Annalise_Murphy) July 26, 2021

As the race five began, she went hard knowing she needed to pick up some positions in these two races if she wanted any chance of silverware in Tokyo.

The Irish sailor turned on her class finishing the fifth race scored all the way at ninth. This was a vast improvement of her previous days sailing.

The 31-year-old tried to maintain that position in the sixth race following shortly after. She dropped slightly into 10th but have still left herself in an alright place for the fourth day of racing.

Wooo! A 10th in race 6 – these conditions are super tricky and we’re going to see a LOT of movement on the leaderboard – Annalise sailed 2 great races today and if she keeps improving like this she’ll be well set for the last 4 races of the series! Now bedtime + full update later pic.twitter.com/YJ9XOYhLVd

— Annalise Murphy (@Annalise_Murphy) July 27, 2021

She is currently ranked 20th overall but with four races to go, this could still change a bit. This morning was already a major improvement of her rank of 31st before today.

She will need to break into the top ten in rankings if she wants to be a part of the medal race.

Switzerland’s Maud Jayet won the sixth race with a quick, stellar performance. The 25-year-old is turning heads at her first Olympic Games and has made herself one of the favourites for the competition.

The Laser Radial women’s race seven in Fujisawa will take place at 04:15 on Thursday 29th July shortly followed by race eight.

The final day of sailing will take place on the morning of Friday 30th July.

The post Olympic Sailing: Big boost for Murphy’s chances appeared first on SportsNewsIreland.

Challenging light winds marked the start of the Tokyo Olympic Sailing regatta at Enoshima on Sunday where Annalise Murphy was the first Irish competitor into action.

In the women’s single-handed event, what was looking like a good starting position became a missed opportunity. Another competitor snagged a control line on the Irish sailor’s boat, delaying her start into ‘clear air’.

Conditions remained at close to near calm levels for the opening race. Murphy had to accept 35th place in the 44-strong fleet.

Race 2 went better for the National Yacht Club sailor who rounded the first mark in 24th place. She spent the next three legs steadily picking off other boats to place 12th. Her combined score for day one leaves her 23rd place overall.

Reaction

Murphy was frustrated with the race one incident but resolved to improve for the second race.  “I’m glad the first day is done and I’m looking forward to moving up from here – no more mistakes,” she stated.

With eight more races to decide next Sunday’s medal race finale, normal weather patterns over Sagami Bay are being influenced by the development of a neighbouring typhoon.  Depending on how the weather system develops in the coming days, windier or lighter conditions equally could result.

Ireland’s second boat features the Olympic debut for Rob Dickson and Seán Waddilove from Howth Yacht Club and Skerries Sailing Club respectively in the Men’s 49er skiff event.  Their series is scheduled to begin on Tuesday 27th July with a medal race on Monday 2nd August.

The post Difficult start for Annalise Murphy at Olympic Sailing regatta appeared first on SportsNewsIreland.