Irish Olympic Sailors such as silver medalist Annalise Murphy can look forward to an Italian regatta in their campiagns to Tokyo 2020 following yesterday's announcement that Sailing's World Cup Series, the annual circuit for Olympic sailing and Para World Sailing, will touch down in Genoa, Italy in 2019 and 2020 for the European stopover.
Listen into the prospects of Irish sailors on the Afloat.ie podcast with Irish Olympic Sailing Team Manager James O'Callaghan here. This week it was also announced that star team member Murphy has opted out of August's World Sailing Championships in August leaving the Irish berth open to Tokyo rival Aoife Hopkins.
Organised by World Sailing in collaboration with the Federazione Italiana Vela and Yacht Club Italiano, the Fiera di Genova will host sailors in Spring 2019 and 2020. Set against a dramatic coastline, with racing areas perfectly positioned in front of Genoa's seafront.
The 2019 Series will start at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic venue in Enoshima, Japan this September, before heading to Miami, USA in January. Genoa will be the final opportunity for sailors' to qualify outright for the World Cup Finals, which will be held in Marseille, France, the venue for the Paris 2024 Olympic Sailing Competition.
Enoshima will also host the first event of the 2020 series in the autumn of 2019, with Miami following early in the New Year. Genoa will be one of the last big European Olympic class events before sailors' head back to Enoshima for the 2020 World Cup Final; which will swiftly be followed by the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Sailing Competition.
The World Cup Series is a key touchpoint for fans and media to connect to the sport of sailing and develop support for athletes on their road to Tokyo 2020 and beyond. Over 2,000 of the world's leading sailors, representing 75 nations, have competed in the World Cup Series since its inception in 2008.