Team IRL pairing of Ryan Seaton and Matt McGovern secured 10th place
in the 49er World Championship on Sunday in Clearwater, Florida.
Following a mixed week of results, which included a bullet (1st place), a
2nd and several top 10 finishes, the Ballyholme Yacht Club skiff duo
qualified for the medal racing on the final day and secured two 6th
place finishes to cap off a better than expected week.
Having already qualified for the Olympic games, Seaton &
McGovern were using the regatta as preparation for the ultimate test
this summer. Former World Cup silver medallists and Olympians at the
London 2012 games, the Irish 49er skiff pairing were up against the
world’s best sailors, including Australian Olympic champions Nathan
Outteridge & Iain Jensen and the unbeaten New Zealand pairing of
Peter Burling & Blair Tuke, who have not lost a competitive race in
over 3 years on the global circuit, and took home this championship with
some ease.
In the female discipline, 49erFX pairing of Andrea Brewster &
Saskia Tidey had to withdraw from the World Championships due to an
ankle injury Brewster sustained in the lead up to the recent World Cup
event in Miami. Ireland’s only senior 49erFX team will instead focus on
getting ready for an Olympic qualification battle.
The Royal Irish Yacht Club pairing narrowly missed out on qualification
in November last at the World Championships in Argentina. Now one
European place remains available, which they can still compete for at
the Princess Sofia regatta in late March in Palma, Mallorca.
Ryan Seaton commented on this year’s championships: “We feel the last
few months of training and competition have been productive and the
worlds gave us another chance to prepare for the Olympics against the
best sailors in the world. We are now looking forward to the World Cup
series and will continue the good work we have done this week.”