Irish Olympic sailing fans have their eyes fixed on the 49er European Championships that kicked off in La Grande Motte in the South of France this morning. This event is the final trial for Paris 2024 selection, and the international fleet looks to make the most of the final major test before this summer’s Olympic Games.

The selection trials are finely balanced between two boats, with Robert Dickson and Sean Waddilove from Dublin's Howth Yacht Club and Skerries holding a tiny five-point advantage over Crosshaven's Séafra Guilfoyle and Johnny Durcan from Royal Cork Yacht Club. To win a place with Team Ireland for the Paris 2024 Olympics, Guilfoyle and Durcan must beat them by five places and finish within the top 20 at the Europeans.

The event features a fleet of 71 two-person 49er class skiffs, including all the major nations expected for Paris 2024. With the final composition of the sailing squad to be nominated for Team Ireland known this week, both boats will concentrate on delivering their best regatta performance rather than competing solely for the selection trials.

According to James O'Callaghan, Performance Director with Irish Sailing, "The outcome of our selection trials is finely balanced between the two boats. This series will likely be determined by whichever crew can open up the championship with some strong early results."

After a lacklustre performance in Hyeres, where no Irish boat qualified for the medal race at French Olympic week, Dickson and Waddilove retain their favourite tag due to their past performances, including at Tokyo 2020; Guilfoyle and Durcan have demonstrated considerable resilience and steadily improving form since losing their place in the squad last year.

The competition begins on Tuesday (May 7th) with the 71 boats split into two qualifying groups, each competing in three races daily to decide a Gold fleet that sails a final round on Friday, Saturday and Sunday comprising a total of seven further races. Both Irish boats must at least qualify for the Gold fleet for the selection trials to continue to the end of the event.

In the overall European championship, the top ten boats on Sunday morning will compete in a single-medal race final to determine the podium.