Just as Ireland named Finn Lynch as its last sailor for Rio yesterday, the final four sailors who will take to the water for Team GB at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games have were announced by the British Olympic Association (BOA).

Luke Patience and Chris Grube will compete in the men's 470, while Dylan Fletcher and Alain Sign complete the squad in the 49er after a close British selection battle.

For Fletcher, Sign and Grube, Rio 2016 will be their first Olympic outing, with Grube having teamed up with Patience following Elliot Willis's cancer diagnosis at the end of 2015. Patience already has an Olympic medal to his name - a 470 silver he picked up with Stuart Bithell at London 2012.

The first group of sailors was announced back in September with further names being added in March and today's announcement completes the 15-strong sailing line-up that will head to Rio 2016.

Team GB lead the way in sailing at the Olympic Games and sit atop the overall standings with 55 medals accrued since 1986 - including 26 golds.

The four sailors selected today are:

Luke Patience, 29 (Men's 470)
Chris Grube, 31 (Men's 470)
Dylan Fletcher, 28 (49er)
Alain Sign, 30 (49er)

Those previously selected are:

Giles Scott (Finn)
Nick Thompson (Laser)
Alison Young (Laser Radial)
Bryony Shaw (Women's RS:X)
Nick Dempsey (Men's RS:X)
Hannah Mills (Women's 470)
Saskia Clark (Women's 470)
Charlotte Dobson (49erFX)
Sophie Ainsworth (49erFX)
Ben Saxton (Nacra 17)
Nicola Groves (Nacra 17)

There is no medal race final for either the Irish mens 49er or women's 49er FX in today's French Sailing World Cup event at Hyeres. Multiple top ten finishes yesterday gave Ryan Seaton and Matt McGovern 19th overall in a 40–boat fleet while Andrea Brewster and Saskia Tidey were 21st from 24.

The question of the week at Sailing World Cup Hyères was, 'can anyone stop New Zealanders Peter Burling and Blair Tuke on their quest for Olympic glory?' Evidence suggests the answer to that question is a resounding no as they made it 26 consecutive wins. A simply outstanding performance.  

Not even a couple of capsizes could halt them and they take a 48-point lead into the Medal Race tomorrow. The 49er completed three races and the Kiwis notched up a 10-1-(28). The pair were black flagged in the final race of the day but the breeze completely died resulting in an abandonment. Even if the race concluded, they would have still taken a winning margin into the Medal Race.

Getting carried away isn't in Burling and Tuke's nature. They remain grounded, modest and most importantly, focused on what's ahead, no matter how much the world's press builds them up to be Olympic champions in waiting, "Obviously we are really happy with how we have been going,” explained Burling, "but we have a lot of hard work to do over the next three or four months just to finish it off and finish off the final detailing.”

A 28th and a black flag is rare for Burling and Tuke and whilst they laughed it off back ashore, they won't want a repeat at Rio 2016, "If Rio was tomorrow, I don't feel like I think we are ready yet. We still have plenty in the tank and we're looking forward to the challenge,” concluded Burling.

The story for the Medal Races will be the fight for the remaining podium spots and internally between the British 49er sailors. The silver and bronze occupants are Will and Sam Phillips (AUS) on 92 points and Jonas Warrer and Christian Peter Lubeck (DEN) on 94 points.

Great Britain's James Peters and Fynn Sterritt are the leading British crew on 100 points with Dylan Fletcher and Alain Sign and John Pink and Stuart Bithell nine points behind. The British Rio 2016 spot is still up for grabs and selectors are in town, keeping a close watch over the racing.

From the French Mistral to a breeze that resembled Rio de Janeiro, Hyères turned things around for the second day of racing at the Sailing World Cup. Ireland's Ryan Seaton and Matt McGovern in the 49er class, are fighting hard for a top ten placing but after six qualification races so far the pair stay 17th overall in a fleet of 40. The Balyholme Yacht Club pair counted 11, 13 and 29 today.

In the women's 49erfx Andrea Brewster and Saskia Tidey are 23 from 24 after four races counting 21 15 (25) OCS, 21

"Sailing in Hyères today was like sailing in Rio,” commented Swedish 49erFX leader Lisa Ericson, sailing with Hanna Klinga, "It's shifty, it's puffy and about having your head out of the boat.”

Rio aside, the famous Mistral that pushed sailors to their limits on Wednesday had completely died down for race day two, resulting in a wait for wind.

A building 8-10 knot breeze came through and racing kicked off just after 13:00 local time resulting in a full complement of completed races.

49er fleet leaders Peter Burling and Blair Tuke (NZL) picked up where they left off from the day prior, sailing consistently at the top of the 49er fleet.

A first, sixth and third helps them to retain their lead over Will and Sam Phillips (AUS) by three points. Jonas Warrer and Christian Peter Lubeck (DEN) are tied for third with John Pink and Stuart Bithell (GBR) on 38 points.

In the Paralympic class, Ireland's Sonar team skippered by John Twomey is eighth from 12.

Meanwhile, team manager James O'Callaghan broke his nose in an accident on board the team RIB. 

In a heavy wind start to the second last Sailing World Cup event before the Olympic Games, Northern Ireland 49er duo Ryan Seaton and Matt McGovern lie 17th in a fleet of 40–boats in Hyeres, France this evening. 

After a gold medal in Palma at the start of this month but silver fleet racing at the European Championships a fortnight later, the Belfast Lough pairing are aiming for some more consistency this week and a performance that might bring them back to the silver medals they won on the French south coast this time two years ago. 

So far it eludes them. In the first three races today, they scored 33, 22 and 7 but conditions have been described as 'survival' with plenty of capsizes. There are a possible nine races left to sai before the all important medal race this Sunday.

On Tuesday, 49er kings Peter Burling and Blair Tuke (NZL) could be seen meticulously practicing their tacking and gybing in huge breeze. The fluid, continuous motions that they rehearsed on Tuesday paid dividends as they took to the top of the table after three 49er races.

A bullet and a third was the ideal start but it could have been much better as Tuke explained, "We sailed the first two races well and 99% of the third race but we capsized right at the finish which is a bit of a pain. All in all, not a bad start.”

Burling and Tuke are on a run of 25 consecutive regatta victories, remaining unbeaten in the Rio 2016 quad. As a result, they are rightly labelled as favourites for Rio 2016 gold and with 100 days to go until the Olympic Games Opening Ceremony, their run will count for nothing if they don't take gold.

"It is exciting, 100 days to go. I saw that [World Sailing's 100 Days to Go video] this morning on social media. It's a good little landmark but for us, it's business as usual and what we've been preparing for, for the last four years. We're here at the World Cup event to win but Rio in 100 days' time is fully on our mind and we're just looking to get better.”

Their unbeaten run indicates pure perfection so how can they get better? "Well we could have been better today by not capsizing,” Tuke said through a smile.

"There's still a lot of things that we can do better and we're just going to look at those things, at the big picture in Rio and concentrate on getting better. Since we've been focusing on improving, the results have spoken for themselves.”

It is early days in the 49er and the Kiwis lead only stands at one point over Will and Sam Phillips of Australia but if they keep looking to improve then it's going to take a special performance to overhaul them.

Racing this morning is scheduled to start at 11:00 local time and the 49erFX and Nacra 17 fleets will catch up on their missed races. -- Daniel Smith, World Sailing

Top three by class:

2.4 m
1. Matthew Bugg, AUS
2. Antonio Squizzato, ITA
3. Bjornar Erikstad, NOR

470 Men
1. Mathew Belcher / William Ryan, AUS
2. Luke Patience / Chris Grube, GBR
3. Sime Fantela / Igor Marenic, CRO

470 Women
1. Jo Aleh / Polly Powrie, NZL
2. Agnieszka Skrzypulec / Irmina Mrozek Gliszczynska, POL
3. Fernanda Oliveira / Ana Luiza Barbachan, BRA

49er
1. Peter Burling / Blair Tuke, NZL
2. William Phillips / Sam Phillips, AUS
3. John Pink / Stuart Bithell, GBR

49erFX Women - No results

Finn
1. Josh Junior, NZL
2. Caleb Paine, USA
3. Oliver Tweddell, AUS

Laser
1. Phlipp Buhl, GER
2. Matthew Wearn, AUS
3. Jean Baptiste Bernaz, FRA

Laser Radial Women
1. Evi Van Acker, BEL
2. Veronika Kozelska Fenclova, CZE
3. Alison Young, GBR

Nacra 17
1. Moana Vaireaux / Manon Audinet, FRA
2. Fernando Echavarri / Tara Pacheco van Rijnsoever, ESP
3. Gemma Jones / Jason Saunders, NZL

RS:X Men
1. Pawel Tarnowski, POL
2. Joao Rodrigues, POR
3. Thomas Goyard, FRA

RS:X Women
1. Helene Noesmoen, FRA
2. Maja Dziarnowska, POL
3. Zofia Nocceti-Klepacka, POL

Sonar
1. Hannah Stodel / John Robertson / Steve Thomas, GBR
2. Bruno Jourdren / Eric Flageul / Nicolas Vimont-Vicary, FRA
3. Aleksander Wang-Hansen / Marie Solberg / Per Eugen Kristiansen, NOR

Two years ago they won silver in Hyeres in what was an important boost to their 2016 Olympic campaign and tomorrow Ryan Seaton and Matt McGovern hope to go one better at the French Sailing World Cup event. It's certainly a possibility if the Northern Ireland 49er duo can find the form that took them to the top of the fleet and a gold medal in Trofeo Princesca Sofia in Palma last month.  

The Ballyholme Yacht Club duo mark seven years sailing together this week and are keen to put the disappointment of dropping out of this month's gold fleet at the European championships in Barcelona behind them. In the words of French Olympic medallist Jonathan Lobert, "you never know what will happen in Hyères.”

Never has a saying been more relevant to the 2016 edition of Sailing World Cup Hyères with a mixed forecast and an aroma of unpredictability in the air for the Olympic and Paralympic classes as the clock ticks down to Rio 2016.

A glance at the forecast indicates the sailors are in for a week battling with the elements. Gusts up to 50 knots were reported overnight and it was strong for practice throughout Monday. A breeze in the region of 18-25 knots is predicted for the start of racing on Wednesday 27 April and will be an ultimate test for all and as Lobert said, you never know what will happen.

A moment of calm in between Thursday evening and Friday morning will be a welcome respite for some of the lighter sailors, but it's full on from Friday afternoon until Sunday 1 May's televised Medal Races which will be available on World Sailing's YouTube Channel

"The weather forecast at the moment is showing a lot of wind,” smiled the 6 foot 3-inch Lobert, bronze medallist at the London 2012 Olympic Games. "The winds pick up in the afternoon and then it's strong into the evening. I think it will be mostly windy this week but you never know what will happen in Hyères.”

A 25 knot breeze is on the limit for the high powered fleets, such as the 49er, 49erFX and Nacra 17 but for the Finn class giants, it brings smiles to their faces.

"For us it's always nice to be sailing in the big breeze. The Finn is a very nice boat and when it is windy you can still manage it very well and on the downwind it can still be very powerful and fast.

"It is very exciting for us,” concluded Lobert.

Lobert has booked his spot at Rio 2016 and the pressure to perform in Hyères is off. For his rivals it is a different story. Jake Lilley and Oliver Tweddell continue to fight it out for the Australian spot whilst Canadian, Croatian, German and Kiwi sailors are all in Hyères aiming to get one up on their compatriots to reach Rio.

Many of those vying for national selection will have their eye on their national team mates which could open to the door for a mixed week of results.

For those who have already qualified, trial and error and the drive for perfection before the summer showcase will be the aim of the game. Make a mistake now and it can be worked on, make a mistake in 102 days and it is game over. But still, you never know what can happen in Hyères and as for what will happen in Rio, time will tell.

Racing at 2016 Sailing World Cup Hyères is scheduled to commence on Wednesday 27 April. Four days of fleet racing will culminate in the Medal Races on Sunday 1 May which will be broadcast live on the World Sailing TV YouTube channel from 11:00 local time.

A lack of consistency has put this month's gold medal winners of the Trofeo Princesa Sofia regatta into the Silver fleet of the 49er European Championships in Barcelona this morning. Belfast's Ryan Seaton and Matt McGovern say they 'struggled to get off the start line' during qualifiers this week even though they opened the regatta on Monday in top form (6 and 2). Since then conditions have been 'difficult'. A start line penalty (UFD) on the first day did not help matters for the Ballyholme Yacht Club pair.

Yesterday was a stressful final day of qualifying for the 72–boat 49er fleet, only 25 of whom made gold fleet. With seven of ten scheduled races completed there were still more than 20 teams on the bubble hoping to sail well enough to keep their hopes alive. The conditions were a combination of side shore and off shore breeze, which gave fits to the race officers and sailors alike to find suitable racing conditions. After the 9th race of the qualifying bubble had shrunk from about 20 teams to 8, only separated by six points with half going to make the gold fleet and half stuck on the outside looking in. The Irish Rio hopes ended up 14 places outside the cut for gold in 39th place. The results are here.

The untouchable Kiwis Peter Burling and Blair Tuke extended their lead on the day with two more race wins in the 49er

Gold Fleets Next

Gold fleet will race for the final three days, 25 boats in 49er, 36 boats in the 49erFX.  The 49er Silver fleet will be split into two equal fleets who will continue to race on an equal footing for places 26 through 72.

Ireland's Andrea Brewster and Saskia Tidey from Dun Laoghaire are lying 21st in the FX division.

Both the Irish 49er and 49erfx are qualified for Rio.

A strong European 49er championships start for last week's gold medal winners Ryan Seaton and Matt McGovern was ruined yesterday by a start line disqualification in race three. The Ballyholme Yacht Club pair opened their Euro account with a solid sixth placing. They moved up to a second in the second race of the day before being scored 'UFD' in race three. The sole Irish pair in the 72–boat fleet lie 28th with more qualifying races today.  

The UFD rule (similar to the Black Flag) came into effect yesterday as a means of keeping the highly competitive fleet from starting prematurely. Under the rule, a boat within the triangle formed by the ends of the line and the first mark during the minute before the start is disqualified without a hearing.

In the women's 49erFX division, Ireland's Andrea Brewster and Saskia Tidey also fell foul of the UFD rule in their opening race and lie 19th from 37. 

The super competitive 49er fleets lined up and stretched their legs as racing got under way from the world class Barcelona International Sailing centre close to where the 1992 Olympics were held.

The 49erFX raced in the afternoon sessions of the day and Netherland's emerging stars Annemiek Bekkering and Annette Duetz started the championship in the same dominant manner that they took home the Princess Sofia Trophy from Palma de Majorca last week. 

The yellow fleet of the 49er got racing under way to start the championship, and all three active class medalists drew the same fleet and engaged with one another. Once again it was the London Silver medalists Peter Burling and Blair Tuke who got the best start of all.

In the Blue 49er fleet, Austrians Nico Delle Karth with Niko Resch, fresh off their Silver medal at the 2016 World Championship got off to a good start with a 1, 7, 2 to sit in second overall after the first night.

The forecast for the rest of the week in Barcelona is outstanding, with endless sun and wind on offer. It could get really windy for the final day of qualifying, so putting in solid performances on today's day 2's qualifying will be vital in case the third day gets blown out. The schedule for day 2 is for the 49erFX to start with three races followed by the 49er doing four races.

Results are here

Only a week after a spectacular gold medal in Palma, Belfast Lough's Ryan Seaton and Matt McGovern are back in action this morning at the 49er European Championships in Barcelona.

Qualifying rounds start today until Wednesday with the finals from April 14-17. It would be an impressive performance for Team Ireland if the skiff pair could keep the momentum going in their Rio campaign.

After some earlier disappointing performances by their own accuont, last week's medal now raises the prospect of a strong Olympic Skiff result in four months time. Rio will be the second Olympics for the Northern Ireland duo and the dream of a top ten place in the mens 49er comes with it.

Last week's Mediterranean gold is an endorsement of the progress the Ballyholme Yacht Club pair have made, especially beating 2012 Olympic Champions Nathan Outteridge and Iain Jensen of Australia.

The joint-funded Irish Sailing Association (ISA) and Royal Yachting Association Northern Ireland team were 14th at the last Olympics and have had brief spots near the top of the fleet, including silver at the Sailing World Cup Hyeres Regatta in 2014, but last week they showed the depth of their ambition when they stepped to the top of the podium. Helmsman Seaton concluded: 'To be so solid has been important. This was really a training regatta along the way, it's important but it is a great platform for us and the confidence it brings, winning a big regatta at this stage, is immense.'

It is a major boost and Seaton is wise to put the result in context. It was not a Sailing World Cup regatta, and, as such, these events are often used by top sailors to test gear and try new tactics. With big fleets in attendance, the Trofeo Princesa Sofia was a test bed opportunity and the Belfast crew took full advantage of it but Seaton knows the real test is the European Championships in Barcelona this morning, in what will be a deep fleet, they come face to face with Blair Tuke and Peter Burling, the Kiwi world champions who have won every regatta they have entered this quadrennial.

Also racing in Barcelona this week is the Rio qualified skiff of Andrea Brewster and Saskia Tidey.

None of the Irish contenders for the mens Laser berth slot have made the gold fleet cut today at the important Trofeo Princesa Sofia Regatta in Palma. The result, however disappointing in the build up to Rio, intensifies the three way Irish Olympic test underway in Palma Bay where there has been a change in the trials lead. 

If day one of the regatta yesterday proved a straighforward boatspeed day in moderately brisk breezes, Tuesday's races today were much more about being in the right place, in the best pressure as much as possible. 800 boats are competing and 13 Irish sailors are in Palma but the Irish mens Laser trial is the focus of attention. The three contenders, from Dublin, Cork and Belfast, remain neck and neck.

Finn Lynch, the young National Yacht Club sailor who has made no secret of his cash–strapped campaign has emerged as the leading Irish boat overall after a lighter winds this afternoon. Lynch had a fifth in the opening race followed by a 23rd to leave him 52nd overall in the 152-strong fleet. Just two points stood between him and the cut for the Gold fleet that starts racing tomorrow.

Now in the Silver fleet, Lynch will keep a keen eye on Northern Ireland's James Espey who had a 20th and a 22nd yesterday and he dropped to 62nd overall, crucially five points behind Lynch. A 13th yesterday for Fionn Lyden of Baltimore was enough to get him into the Silver fleet so it is still anyone's guess who will be Ireland's rep in Rio, a race that looks set to go right down to the wire. The third and final selection trial is in Mexico in May.

Finn Lynch campaign video

Northern Ireland 49er Loses Overall Lead

In the 49er Skiff, although Ryan Seaton and Matt McGovern have lost their overall lead from day one they are joint second. A second and a third keep the Belfast pair on course for Saturday’s medal race final.

It was a different story unfortunately, for Rio qualified Andrea Brewster and Saskia Tidey in the 49erFX skiff. After a consistent top ten opening day, the Dun Laoghaire pair had a more challenging day and results in the 20s leave them in 15th overal from 27.

Darragh O’Sullivan Photo: Bob Bateman

Other Irish boats competing amongst the 800–plus fleet on the Bay of Palma, Kinsale's Daragh O’Sullivan is racing in the Laser Standard class and lies 117th overall.

In the 49er class, Robert Dickson and Seán Waddilove completed all three races yesterday in their debut at Palma and are 63rd overall. Mark Hassett and Oisin O Driscoll are close behind in 65th place.

Finn sailor Oisin McClelland from Donaghdee in County Down is racing in the Finn single-handed dinghy and lies 39th overall in his 74-boat class.

The result table toppers in the Men's 470 and the Laser Radial classes both count all first places - though both Olympic medallists Mat Belcher, and crew Will Ryan of Australia and Evi Van Acker discard their one bigger score, albeit a third and sixth respectively.

New Zealand's singlehanders are showing well so far. Josh Junior and Andrew Maloney now lead the Finn and Laser classes respectively after today and Sarah Winter, counting 2,2,7 to date, is fourth in the Laser Radials.

In the Laser Men's fleet Andy Maloney leads Norway's Kristian Ruth and the USA's Charlie Buckingham. Ruth is part of a strong Norwegian squad who have trained this winter on the Bay of Cadiz with 1996 Olympian Anton Garrote.

Despite the short postponement this morning the regatta schedule is pretty much on course. Three races were sailed for the 49ers, RS:X and Nacra 17s while the other classes completed two.

470
1. Mathew Belcher/ Will Rya, AUS, 3 points
2. Stu Mcnay/Dave Hughes, USA, 5
3. Anton Dahlberg/ Fredik Bergstrom, SWE, 6

470 Women
1. Amy Seabright/Anna Carpenter, GBR, 4
2. Fernanda Oliveira/Ana Barbachan, BRA, 4
3. Annika Bochmann/Marlene Steinherr, GER, 8

49er
1. Nico Delle/Nikolaus Resch, AUT, 11
2. Diego Botín/Iago Lopez, ESP, 14
3. Ryan Seaton/Matt Mcgovern, IRL, 14

49 FX
1. Jena Mai Hansen/Katja Steen, DEN,10
2. Annemiek Bekkering/Annerre Duetz, NED, 16
3. Martine Grael/Kahena Kunze, BRA, 17

Finn
1. Josh Junior, NZL, 9
2. Giles Scott, GBR, 15
3. Pieterjan Postma, NED, 15

Laser
1. Andrew Maloney, NZL, 5
2. Kristian Ruth, NOR, 7
3. Charlie Buckingham, USA, 8

Laser Radial
1. Evi Van Acker, BEL, 3
2. Alison Young, GBR, 8
3. Tuula Tenkanen, FIN, 10

NACRA
1. Billy Besson/Marie Riou, FRA, 11
2. Paul Kohlhoff/Carolina Werner, GER, 25
3. Thomas Zajac/Tanja Frank, AUT, 26

RS: X Men
1. Tom Squires, GBR, 4
2. Vyron Kokkakanis, GER, 5
3. Andreas Cariolou, CYP, 8

RS:X Women
1. Olga Maslivets, RUS, 4
2. Lilian De Geus, ISR, 7
3. Charline Picon, FRA, 7

The Irish 49erFX pairing still searching for Olympic qualification for this Summer's Olympics have withdrawn from this week's World Championships due to an ankle injury. Helmswoman Andrea Brewster sustained the knock in the lead up to last month's Miam World Cup event. Now, Brewster & crew Saskia Tidey will instead focus on getting ready for a qualification battle in Palma in March.

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 but there is still cause for optimism in the Irish camp because on the basis of Brewster and Tidey's finishing position in Buenos aires they could well pick up the remaining African slot at the Palma World Cup in March as there does not appear to be an African nation with a 49erFx campaign.

Ryan Seaton & Matt McGovern are 15th from 56 after the first race of the 49er World Championships in Clearwater, Florida until Sunday. Having already qualified for the Olympic games, they will be using the regatta as preparation for the this summer's Olympics. Former World Cup silver medallists and Olympians at the London 2012 games, the Irish 49er skiff pairing are 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.

In an ISA press release issued yesterday, Seaton commented on this year’s championships: "We feel the last few months of training and competition have been productive and this gives us another chance to prepare for the Olympics against the best sailors in the world. This is the last major championships before the World Cup series and we are looking to continue the work we have done on process, particularly around the start time. With two black flag disqualifications last week, we still have tweaking to do."

Providence Team IRL Performance Director, James O'Callaghan commented on the 49er's chances at the 2016 Worlds: “Only every four years does the Worlds get overshadowed. Even at this stage of the season the focus is on the Olympics this summer, so while a result would be a good marker to put down, it’s more important to improve skill sets in readiness for August. A World championships offers that opportunity in a high calibre fleet.”