SAILING:AFTER THE high-winds of Wednesday, Ireland's Annalise Murphy remains in contention for the Laser Radial class after two more races yesterday that included her fourth win at the Skandia Sail for Gold Regatta at the London 2012 Olympic sailing venue at Weymouth.
Yesterday began with around 12 knots of wind but gradually built to a blustery day.
The Dun Laoghaire single-hander delivered a 12th place in race one after an over-cautious start.
Her second race was another win, and although down from the overall lead to third place, she is within three points of first place, where Belgian Evi Van Ecker leads followed by Dutch sailor Marit Bouwmeester.
All three share a clear lead over the remainder of the 46-strong Gold fleet that split from the 91-strong overall class entry on Wednesday. Just two races remain today that will decide the top-10 for tomorrow’s medal final.
Meanwhile, Ireland’s second boat in contention for the medal race final of the Star class slipped yesterday after two mid-fleet results. Peter O’Leary and David Burrows did deliver a strong seventh place in yesterday’s second race, having led the fleet for part of one leg, but a 26th and 22nd place has dropped them to ninth from fourth overall.
O’Leary and Burrows are also competing for the Irish selection trials that has seen rivals Max Treacy and Anthony Shanks suffer from boat-speed issues this week and have been unable to break into the top half of the fleet.
The Dun Laoghaire pair placed 12th at the last event in Holland, just four places behind O’Leary and Burrows, but last night retired from the third race after a collision.
