SAILING: AS IRISH interest for next summer's London Olympics takes several steps forward this Christmas, the potential line-up is starting to grow.
Last week saw Annalise Murphy win nomination for the Laser Radial class, while on Wednesday, Ryan Seaton and Matt McGovern delivered the 49er skiff at the ISAF Sailing World Championships in Perth.
Today marks the decider for Peter O’Leary and David Burrows in the Star class. Both are Olympic veterans, and 2012 will be the last games for this venerated 100-year old class.
The pair lie 15th overall in a three-way tie on points and just on the qualification boundary. A strong performance day will make the difference of securing a place for Weymouth this week or a wait for the remaining four places at next year’s world championship.
But a surprise fourth candidate for inclusion in the squad could yet emerge. Seaton and McGovern’s Ballyholme clubmate James Espey has been quietly campaigning outside the official Irish Sports Council carding scheme campaign until now as he prepares for the final day of his fleet racing tomorrow in 33rd place, inside the 35 nation places available at this championship.
Although 66th overall, the Laser turnout is the largest fleet at Perth 2011 where it is the only class to split into Gold, Silver and Bronze fleets for the final rounds of fleet racing.
Tomorrow also sees the medal race for the Star class, though O’Leary and Burrows must make up 20 points of a gap to break into the top ten.
Seaton and McGovern lie 10th in their class and have six more races to sail before the 49er medal race on Sunday.
The Olympic Games start at the end of July and run into August, and sailing events take place at Weymouth and Portland on the south coast of England. The dates have apparently obliged the new managers of La Solitaire du Figaro to re-schedule their famous single-handed race from its usual August fixture to mid-June.
However, no Irish port has been included in the route this year.
Although occasional breaks have occurred in the past, it is understood the new format for the event is unlikely to include future stop-overs in Ireland, ending a tradition that made the event a high-profile feature in Kinsale, Dingle and Crosshaven on many occasions. There were also two visits each to Howth and Dún Laoghaire.
Despite little or no national attention, Ireland received considerable free media coverage and promotion in France, but in light of recessionary pressures, this is certain to end.
Recession has taken its toll elsewhere in the professional end of the sport. The MedCup series in Spain had plans to extend its format to include a number of northern European venues next year, but this has been curtailed after Audi and the series owners could not agree terms for next season.
Meanwhile, expected redundancies have started to come about on the America’s Cup tour, as a six-month wait to the next event takes its toll on the massive staff contingent that supports the build-up to the next, 34th defence of “the auld mug” in San Francisco in 2013.
