Displaying items by tag: Finn Lynch
Finn Lynch showed the depth of his Olympic ambitions when he continued up the scoresheet in Poland today to finish with a personal best of 13th from a fleet of 126 at the Laser European Championships.
It's a remarkable comeback from the National Yacht Club sailor who sailed a strong final series to close out the six-day championships in his highest position of the week.
The result easily trumps his 27th scored at the May 2019 Euros in Porto and also the 55th overall scored at the 2018 La Rochelle Euros.
As Afloat reported this week, Lynch went from 37th on day one before moving up to 25th after two races sailed in the opening qualifiers. He then dropped to 42nd overall after four races sailed but by Saturday, the Rio 2016 rep was back up into the thirties and yesterday he had recovered to 18th. It was clear he was on a comeback, sealing his best ever Euro result today just three tantalizing places outside the coveted top ten.
The result, of course, shows the real potential of the County Carlow native if he can iron out some troubling inconsistencies. However, the overall scoresheet also provides a snapshot of the size of the challenge Lynch faces if he is to secure one of the final berths for Tokyo 2021. Rivals for the last Euro Olympic berth, Spain and Italy, finished just ahead of him and Belgium and Greece just behind, so the battle ahead is clear.
Confidence boost
While there is no doubt just how tight the margins are for the last Olympic qualification event next year, this Polish result at least will give Lynch the confidence to continue pushing forward for what amounts to his last chance at becoming a double Olympian in this quadrennial.
Belfast Lough's Liam Glynn’s result (43rd place) and qualification for the gold fleet sets him up well for the coming season. Ewan McMahon (43rd in the silver fleet) will be disappointed given the fact that he qualified for the gold fleet at the 2019 World Championships but at only 20 years of age, McMahon is gaining valuable experience at this level.
British podium lock-out
The British squad confirmed they wanted the whole podium for them on the Laser Men’s championship, but with a little surprise in the end, with their next Olympic representative Elliot Hanson GBR (11-5) overcoming Michael Beckett GBR (17-14) in this last two races and conquering the Gold medal. Silver for Mickey and Bronze for the 2019 European champion Lorenzo Chiavarini GBR (10-19).
"I wouldn’t have cared which one of us won today. To lockout, the podium with 2 of your best mates since I was 11 years old is something special in the laser fleet and something I’ll hold on to for a long time" – Elliot Hanson GBR
“Very very happy! With only 6 days sailing pre-event, I definitely wasn’t expecting this result! A big thanks to Nick Thompson who kept me on the right track! I enjoyed every moment of this event. Over the moon to come away with a medal alongside the Brit Lads”, emphasized Lorenzo.
Almost there on the podium was Croatian Filip Jurisic CRO (16-3), finally fourth with same points than third.
A good championship for Russian Sergey Komissarov RUS (2-8), wrapping the event with nice results and climbing to the fifth place overall.
A second discard today allowed the 2020 World champion Philipp Buhl GER (1-7) to drop his two Black flags from the score and jump to the Top 10 for the first time in the event, conquering the 6th European place.
Joel Rodriguez ESP, Tonci Stipanovic CRO, Jonatan Vadnai HUN and Jean Baptiste Bernaz FRA completed the European Top 10.
Charlie Buckingham USA (7-54) finished 6th overall in the Open European Trophy.
Tom Higgins sixth in Radial
Royal St. George's Tom Higgins finished in sixth position in the Men’s Laser Radial, just missed out on a U21 podium finish.
Results here
Finn Lynch in Top 20 of Laser Europeans
Finn Lynch continued his climb back up the scoresheet in the penultimate (and coldest) day of the 2020 Laser Senior European Championships & Open European Trophy in Poland.
The second discard hasn’t kicked in on the final series yet, which means it’s all still to play for tomorrow in the final two races of the Men’s Laser Standard division. It could see Ireland’s 2016 Rio rep climb higher than his18th place (up ten places overnight) a big comeback for the National Yacht Club sailor after being as low as 42nd after four races sailed.
Liam Glynn in 40th. Ewan McMahon is 18th in the silver fleet.
Organisers are expecting the final day tomorrow to be the windiest yet.
The British squad conquered the Laser Men’s podium in full today, with Michael Beckett GBR (24-22) retaining the leadership with 59 points but now closely followed by Elliot Hanson GBR (6-19) just 2.3 points behind. Third place is now for Lorenzo Chiavarini GBR (18-3) with 73.
“I forgot my jacket today so first of all, I have to thank Chris (my coach) for letting me use his between races on what must have been the coldest days sailing for a while. It was another tricky offshore day where it was hard to remain consistent. It’s tight at the top but great to be up there with both Enzo & Micky. Tomorrow should bring something different with a windy onshore breeze, it’s been a while since we’ve been hiking so I can’t wait!”– Elliot Hanson GBR
"Hard day as always in a Laser Gold fleet. Some nip and tuck racing out there. Tomorrow last day. Enjoying the moment" – Lorenzo Chiavarini GBR
Places fourth to tenth are pretty tight now with all 6 competitors separated by 13 points. Russian sailor Sergey Komissarov RUS (13-27) heads this pack with 90, followed by William De Smet BEL (9-29) and Filip Jurisic CRO (20-4) with 92 and 95 points respectively.
“Today was about controlling the damage. I made a big comeback in the last race. Tomorrow will be the big show down. A second discard comes in play which will mix up the results massively. The only thing I can do tomorrow is sail at my very best and bring my A-game” – William De Smet BEL
"Definitely 20&4 today recover me a bit after very bad day yesterday. I manage to find my way in this light, tricky and shifty conditions. I am keeping focus for the last two races tomorrow, because still everything is open!" – Filip Jurisic CRO
Dimitris Papadimitriou GRE –99–, Nicolo Villa ITA –100–, Joaquin Blanco ESP –102– and Giovanni Coccoluto ITA –103 pt and winner of the last race today– are wrapping the provisional European Top 10.
It was a bad day for multi-champion Pavlos Kontides CYP (40-32) dropping to the 15th place with 114 points.
Charlie Buckingham USA (3-16) continued to show a great consistent sailing today and climbed to the 4th place overall with 83 units.
Higgins Up to Fifth in Radial
In the men’s Radial division, Tom Higgins of the Royal St. George Yacht Club scored a bullet in his last race and moves to fifth place overall in the 30-boat fleet.
Results here
Tricky light breezes prevailed in the first Final series day at the 2020 Laser Senior European Championships & Open European Trophy in Gdansk, Poland today that saw Finn Lynch move up three places overall in the 107-boat fleet to 25th place.
Belfast lough's Liam Glynn is 45th. Ewan McMahon from Howth is in fourth position in the silver fleet.
Two new races were added to scores in the Laser Men’s Gold competition, with a nice day for the British sailor Michael Beckett GBR (4-15-4-1-2-7-4) reinforcing now leadership with 22 points, getting a nice gap to second Elliot Hanson GBR (3-8-1-7.3RDGq-17-17-2) with 38.3. Third place is still on hands of Pavlos Kontides CYP (2-21-2-9-4-37-7), although with a worst discard and counting 45 units.
Bad day for the overnight co-leader Filip Jurisic CRO (1-4-3-3-40-32-28), adding 60 points to his score and dropping to the 12th place.
Sergey Komissarov RUS and Lorenzo Chiavarini GBR are close to the podium positions in fourth and fifth, with 50 and 52 points respectively.
Ascendant William De Smet BEL is now sixth on ranking with 57 points, based on a great consistency work. Alessio Spadoni ITA is also climbing positions and ranked now seventh with 64.
Eighth place for Joaquin Blanco ESP with 66. It's the same score for Dimitris Papadimitriou GRE, entering the top 10 list for the first time in the event. Giovanni Coccoluto ITA holds the last of awarded positions on tenth with 69 points.
Charlie Buckingham USA is best of non-European sailors participating of this competition, holding the 8th place overall with 64 units.
Tom Higgins stays eighth in Radial men's fleet
In the men’s Radial division, Royal St. George’s Tom Higgins lies sixth in his 30-boat fleet.
The second day of finals racing continues tomorrow and the championships conclude on Tuesday.
Results here
Finn Lynch Makes Top 30 at Laser Euros in Poland
The National Yacht Club's Finn Lynch made an impressive leap of 14 places from 42nd after four races to 28th overall this evening to complete the qualification stages of the Laser Radial Europeans on Gdansk Bay, Poland.
Light winds meant that the fleet only finished one race today in the final qualification day 2020 Laser Senior European Championships & Open European Trophy in Gdansk, Poland.
Both Lynch and Belfast Lough's Liam Glynn make the gold fleet in 28th and 38th position but a black flag disqualification in race four cost Ireland’s 2016 Rio rep dearly with scores of 20,19,12,(64.0 BFD) and 8.0.
Howth’s Ewan McMahon will continue racing in the silver fleet and currently places in 73rd.
All three sailors are still trying to qualify Ireland for the Tokyo Olympics and take one of two final European berths available so this regatta represents an important opportunity before the Olympic qualifier early next season.
The leadership changed hands today after the single race contested with light wind. British sailor Michael Beckett GBR (4-15-4-1-2) is heading now the fleet with 11 points, sharing score with overnight leader Filip Jurisic CRO (1-4-3-3-41). Third place belongs now to multi-champion Pavlos Kontides CYP (2-21-2-9-4) with 17 points.
"Tricky and variable conditions so far which is visible from the results of the fleet. Tomorrow the real war begins in the gold fleet with the top 50% of the competitors battling it out in the 6 remaining races" – Pavlos Kontides CYP
Brits Lorenzo Chiavarini GBR (1-1-20-11-5) and Elliot Hanson GBR (3-8-1-7.3RDGq-17) are also close with 18 and 19.3 points respectively.
Joaquin Blanco ESP –26 pt–, Sergey Komissarov RUS –26 pt–, Alessio Spadoni ITA –33 pt–, William De Smet BEL –33 pt– and Jean Baptiste Bernaz FRA –37 pt– also wrapped the Qualifying series among the European top 10.
Juan Maegli GUA and Ryan Lo SGP are best non-European sailors, holding the 8th and 10th places in the overall ranking.
Tom Higgins eighth in Radial
In the men's Radial division, Tom Higgins of the Royal St George Yacht Club stays in the top ten of his 30-boat fleet in eighth overall.
The Final series will start tomorrow, where the Standard fleet will be split in Gold and Silver.
The first warning signal for the Standard will be at 11:00.
Results here
Finn Lynch 42nd After Four Races of Laser Euros in Poland
The National Yacht Club's Finn Lynch has dropped five places to be 42nd overall after four races sailed at the 126-boat fleet of the Men's Laser Radial European Championships on Gdansk Bay in Poland.
Belfast Lough's Liam Glynn is six places behind the Irish Rio representative and Howth's Ewan McMahon is in 83rd place.
Saturday is another day of qualifying races before the fleets split for Sunday's final series.
Today was another day of great sailing conditions. A shifty NW breeze varying from 8-15 knots brought much longer waves than yesterday, although conditions were still choppy due to the 'unsteady' wind.
Consistency is paying off for Croatian Filip Jurisic CRO (1--3-3) leading now the Standard championship with 7 points, chased in full by the British quad: Michael Beckett GBR (4--4-1) and Elliot Hanson GBR (3-8-1-) complete the provisional podium with 9 and 12 points respectively.
The overnight leader Lorenzo Chiavarini GBR (1-1-20-11) is now fourth overall and sharing 13 points with Pavlos Kontides CYP and Joel Rodriguez ESP on 5th and 6th. Seventh place for another Spanish sailor, Joaquin Blanco ESP, only one point behind them.
Jean Baptiste Bernaz FRA, Alessio Spadoni ITA and Sergey Komissarov RUS complete the top 10 rank with 17, 19 and 20 points respectively.
Sailing will continue tomorrow with two new scheduled races. The day will start with Coaches/Team Leaders meeting at 09:00. First warning signal for the Radial will be at 11:00 / 11:45 for the Standard.
Royal St. George's Tom Higgins racing in the 30-boat men's Radial class is in fifth place, dropping three places on the second day.
Results here
Ireland's only sailor qualified so far for Tokyo 2021, Annalise Murphy races tomorrow in Poland as part of a six-boat Irish Laser team at the class European Championships.
Murphy is in top form for the Gdańsk Bay regatta having been crowned Italian Olympic Week champion late last month as Afloat reported here.
Poland is the first opportunity since the World Championships in Melbourne last February (where Murphy finished just outside the top ten) for the Laser class to compete in a large scale-format with a total fleet of 300 boats and - given the year that's in it - it's also the last chance this season to compete at European level.
Dun Laoghaire's Olympic Rio silver medalist leads a six-boat Irish team of three males and three females at Górki Zachodnie, nearby Gdańsk. Joining Murphy are Howth's Aoife Hopkins and Eve McMahon who compete against 109 other sailors from 36 countries in the women’s Laser Radial fleet. McMahon at 16 years of age, will be one of the youngest competitors in the fleet.
As Afloat readers know, Murphy was nominated for Tokyo after a cut-short trial in June but Hopkins and McMahon are on the start line again regardless with thoughts of campaigns for Paris 2024 already looming into sight. Not competing this week is Aisling Keller, the County Tipperary sailor who secured Ireland's berth for Tokyo in 2019 but was then left 'devastated' after the nomination decision.
All three of the 2016 Rio Olympic medallists will be competing in the Radial: Murphy (Silver), Marit Bouwmeester of the Netherlands (Gold), and Anne Marie Rindom of Denmark (Bronze).
Of course, in her remarkable career, Murphy is no stranger to the European podium, winning on home waters in 2013, a feat she would dearly love to replicate this week.
Irish Laser men look for top Euro result to boost Olympic chances
In the men’s Laser Standard, Finn Lynch, Liam Glynn and Ewan McMahon are racing in a field of 133 sailors from 39 countries. Lynch is in good form having finished seventh in Italy in a high calibre fleet even though he missed the last race. Rival McMahon, in his first Olympic campaign, also fared well in Italy to end up in tenth. Gdańsk will be familiar territory for Ballyholme's Glynn, who won the bronze medal here at the U21 Laser World Championships in 2018.
This week's Euros is an important event for the Irish men as all three continue to look for the form to bring Ireland one of the two remaining Olympic berths early next season.
Despite being on the Baltic Sea, Gdańsk Bay usually has warm weather at this time of the year, but unusual offshore conditions. The forecast is for medium breezes.
Download the event Notice of Race below
Irish Laser Sailors Lynch & McMahon Make Top Ten of Italian Olympic Week Despite Early Exit
Two of Ireland's three Olympic men's Laser campaigners finished in the top ten of the Italian Olympic Week fleet today even though they didn't manage to sail the final race in Follonica.
Howth's Ewan McMahon closed the gap on the National Yacht Club's Finn Lynch when he moved up from 12th to finish tenth overall, just three places behind the 2016 Rio rep. Ballyholme's Liam Glynn finished 21st in the 88-boat fleet.
It all adds up to an exciting Irish contest where the prize will be a place at the Tokyo Olympics if a nation berth can be won by any of the three.
As Afloat reported last November, before any Irish Olympic nomination can be conferred at least one of the three must win one of two final European Olympic slots remaining but that Olympic qualifying regatta will not now be held until 2021.
Racing was cut short for the Irish trio in Italy today as they ditched the last race of the series this afternoon in order to catch a flight home before Italy closed to Ireland as a 'green listed' country in the latest round of COVID travel restrictions.
Both American Charlie Buckingham and Brazilian Robert Scheidt managed to overhaul overnight leader Guatemalan Juan Ignacio Maegli for the overall win, according to provisional results issued.
Download results below
The next event for the Irish Laser men is the Europeans in Poland, Gdynia, 6th to 12th of October.
Finn Lynch Lying Seventh at Italian Olympic Week, McMahon 12th & Glynn 15th in 88-Boat Laser Fleet
The Irish Laser men who are in a three-way battle for 2021's single Tokyo Olympic berth resumed their fight after the COVID hiatus at Italian Olympic week in Follonica this weekend.
With six races sailed, the National Yacht Club's Finn Lynch, the 2016 Irish Olympic representative, is seventh in the 88-boat fleet, five places ahead of Howth Yacht Club's Ewan McMahon. Ballyholme's Liam Glynn is lying 15th.
Unfortunately, the Irish trio spent a fruitless day afloat today with no wind to even get one race sailed. However, stronger scirocco winds are forecast to complete the series tomorrow with an early start.
Guatemalan Juan Ignacio Maegli (6 points) leads from American Charlie Buckingham (7) with Brazilian Robert Scheidt (8) only two points off the lead.
As Afloat reported last November, before any Irish Olympic nomination can be conferred at least one of the three must win one of two final European Olympic slots remaining but that Olympic qualifying regatta will not now be held until 2021.
The trio is joined in Italy this week by Radial teammate Annalise Murphy who leads her 41-boat division.
Viking Marine touched base over the weekend with brand ambassador Finn Lynch, who’s been keeping both mentally and physically active despite the current Covid-19 restrictions.
While the Irish Laser sailor has had to put his Tokyo 2020 ambitions on hold along with the rest of the Olympic sailing world, it hasn’t dampened his competitive streak — and indeed, he’s found a new outlet for his winning mindset.
“I have become quite addicted to Virtual Regatta,” he says. “I’m currently third in the Irish rankings. I like the tactics involved with the Star racing.”
Otherwise, the National Yacht Club sailor says he’s “keeping my fitness ticking over”.
“I have been doing a lot more weights than normal. Along with that I’m doing some sort of aerobic exercise every day — so that could be a 40-minute row or something like a two-hour bike on my indoor trainer.”
As previously noted on Afloat.ie, Viking Marine remains open for online orders, deliveries and limited collections from its Dun Laoghaire base.
Finn Lynch Ends Laser Worlds in 31st & Aims for Final Olympic Qualifier
The National Yacht Club's Finn Lynch finished his Australian Laser World Championships in 31st place, bookending the final three races with a first and a U flag disqualification. Compatriot Ewan McMahon of Howth Yacht Club also had a first on the final day, albeit in the silver fleet. This helped to lift him one place above fellow countryman Liam Glynn of Belfast Lough as they finished 31st and 32nd in the silver fleet.
This week was not an Olympic Qualification for Ireland but it was an important testbed. Lynch, who has been campaigning for four years since Rio has yet to make that cut and has one final opportunity to qualify for the Tokyo Olympics, at Genoa in April, but with only two slots available for European contenders it will be a tough ask, particularly as three other unqualified nations (BEL, ITA, NED) finished ahead of Lynch.
German sailor Philipp Buhl put together an exemplary scorecard to win the 2020 ILCA Standard Men’s World Championship by 12 points.
Buhl recorded four straight wins during the qualifying series and finished the 12-race event with just one double-figure score, a 10th in the penultimate race, which he was able to discard.
After being showered with champagne by his supporters on the beach, Buhl said it was hard to describe the winning feeling. “The week just happened,” he said. “When I got the two firsts on the second day, that gave me good momentum, but I knew anything could happen up until the second race today (when he knew he was unable to be beaten). I had good first beats, good downwind speed. It all came together for me this week.
“I’ve come close to a world championship a few times before. It’s so incredibly hard to make it happen. I think the Laser is the hardest class to win a World Championship. I’m just so happy!”
Australia’s Matt Wearn also put together a single-figure card to take the silver. Wearn didn’t win a race, but had five second places and discarded an 11th place finish.
“Obviously I would have liked to have won,” he said. “But I’ve still got a fair bit to work on so I’m happy to take second in a World Championship. This level definitely tests the form and I’ve been working on a few things all week. I’m still making silly mistakes here and there so I’ve got to iron those out and move one step up the podium (in Tokyo).”
Rio silver medallist, Tonci Stipanovic of Croatia finished third overall after an up-and-down regatta that included two race wins, two second places and four scores that were in double figures.
Jean-Baptiste Bernaz had challenged Buhl during the qualifying stage of the regatta, but a Black Flag in race 7 and a 32nd place in race 10 ruined his chances. To the Frenchman’s credit, Bernaz bounced back to win the next race following both those high scores. With six race wins in total from the 12 race series, he finished fourth, just two points behind Stipanovic.
Defending champion Tom Burton of Australia has been racing in the Moth and other classes after learning he had not been selected for Tokyo 2020 and his lack of time in the Laser showed. Burton finished in 15th place after receiving a ‘U Flag’ disqualification for starting early in the final race.
The 2015 and 2016 World Champion, Nick Thompson of Great Britain also had a regatta he would prefer to forget, finishing in 19th place and probably missing his country’s nomination for Tokyo after compatriot Elliot Hanson finished 5th. However, Team GB does not have specific selection criteria, so both sailors will have to wait for the announcement.
It was a similar story for New Zealand, where Rio bronze medallist, Sam Meech, was that country’s leading sailor in 8th place, but must wait to hear if he has done enough to get on the plane to Tokyo later this year.
This championship did decide the fate of Hungarian brothers Benjamin and Jonatan Vadnai, however. By finishing in 23rd, Ben will attend his second Olympics and his younger brother must wait another four years for his chance.
This was probably the last World Championship for Laser legend, Robert Scheidt, who qualified for Gold Fleet and finished in 42nd place after becoming ill and failing to sail on the final day. The 47-year-old, who won gold in the Laser at Atlanta 1996 and Athens 2004 and silver behind Sir Ben Ainslie in 2000, showed he can still compete with men half his age.
The championship was raced in a wide variety of conditions, with winds from all points of the compass. However, the best sailors seemed unfazed, even when three races were held in cold and miserable weather yesterday.
There was considerable praise for the race management team and the host, Sandringham Yacht Club, who produced a well-organized regatta which included fast launching and retrieval of the 124 boats, a chef-cooked post-race snack each day for all competitors and various environmental initiatives such as a supply of chilled potable water to refill the sailors’ bottles.
The International Laser Class Association is expected to announce the venue for the 2021 World Championships later this year.
Results can be found here: http://sailingresults.net/sa/results/overall.aspx?ID=80326.1