#topper– Liam Glynn from Ballyholme Yacht Club on Belfast Lough has won the Topper world championships in Loctundy, Brittany, France today.
Racing was cancelled today so Liam remained top of the 102 boat fleet with a healthy 13–point lead. Prize giving is at 5p this evening.
Ireland also had three other top 20s with Niamh Doran 12th, Tom Purdon14th and Conor Sherriff 17th.
Liam packed in a tough training season winning silver at the Irish Youth Nationals on Lough Derg.
Liam got off to a solid start with four top 3 finishes in his first four races including two fleet wins. He won yet another race on Day 2 but even with the steady breeze of 12 knots, Liam had to overcome some difficult sea conditions. Commenting after racing on Wednesday Liam remarked "The wind was quite steady, but it was tricky to deal with waves and current at the starting line. Moreover beating to get the windward mark was one-sided, and tide wasn't helping".
The sailors then faced very light conditions yesterday with winds of only 8 to 9 knots in the morning then dropping to even less in the afternoon. Liam continued his dominance at the top of the fleet while trying to avoid useless risks, ultimately leaving him in pole position at the end of the penultimate day with a 13–point cushion. Commenting after racing Liam said "At the beginning I wasn't confident enough to take risks but now given the results I feel like trying some strategies out. But in any case I really stay concentrated on my sailing and I know that at the end of the day getting constant results is more effective than trying to win each leg.
Draped in the tricolour, Liam Glynn from Belfast lough makes his acceptance speech at the Topper World Championship prizegiving
As for today the difficulty was to stay under the line with the current pushing you over but I managed and got good starts."
Topper is one of the most competitive youth classes with many Olympians having progressed through the ranks. Olympic sailor Ryan Seaton was once a star within the Topper ranks as well as Rio 2016 hopeful Philip Doran and ISAF youth silver medallist Finn Lynch the three only came close to claiming the world title which Liam now celebrates.
