Ireland's Finn Lynch will take a coveted place in the medal race final of the ILCA 7 Mens World Championships on Wednesday after finishing eighth overall after four gold fleet races in Adelaide, Australia.
Racing in strong wind conditions, the National Yacht Club sailor recovered from a black flag disqualification score on Monday in the single discard regatta to post a 9 and 21 to move up from ninth to eighth overall on 79 points in the 153-boat fleet.
Big breeze and steep swells have been on the menu most of the week as Adelaide provided testing championship essentials for the world's hottest dinghy fleet. Conditions on the final day were the most spectacular of the week with winds gusting to 30 knots.
In the first race of the day, Lynch made a promising start but unfortunately capsized midway through the race. Despite the setback, he managed to recover quickly but found himself trailing by over 30 places behind the race leaders. In a commendable effort, Lynch managed to regain some ground and finished the race in 21st position, minimizing the damage to his overall standing.
In the second race, with the wind at its strongest, the Rio 2016 veteran returned to his more usual form, serving up a ninth place, his seventh top ten result of the ten races sailed since last Friday.
Lynch is on course to secure his third top ten result at world championship level in four years (including a silver medal in 2021). The best outcome he can aim for in the event is sixth overall, as the top three boats are already certain of podium places after the single-medal race final.
The regatta concludes with a top 10 medal race on Wednesday, with that race score worth double points and cannot be discarded.
Ireland's second sailor in Adelaide, Ewan McMahon, scored 36.0 and (41.0) to lie 41st overall in the first of three Irish Olympic Trials for the Paris 2024 Regatta in the men's singlehanded class.
Reigning champion Matt Wearn of Australia leads into the medal race with 22 points from Normway's Hermann Tomasgaard on 30 with Britain's Michael Beckett on 31.
Results below