Irish Olympic silver medalist Annalise Murphy is back in competition but not in sailing; now, the Irish Laser sailing superstar is winning in the velodrome. 

Murphy, seven years on from her silver medal in Rio 2016, is making headlines again after some great racing on day one of the Dublin Track Cycling International 2023.

As Cycling Ireland reports, over the first of two days in the UCI Class 2 event, Ireland’s best domestic track cyclists rubbed shoulders with a number of international stars at Sundrive Velodrome. 

There were perfect conditions as sunshine and light winds made for great racing, with a mix of Irish and international riders picking up medals.

The first final of the day saw Murphy take victory in the women’s scratch race, breaking away from the main bunch with two laps to go.

Murhpy has regularly competed in road cycling events in recent years but impressed many after her clever attack left the chasers with too much to do before Murphy crossed the line.

The National Yacht Club sailor said: “I’m absolutely delighted. I only started on the track only two months ago, so this is my first-ever race. I was trying not to disturb anyone or anything. I know I’ve good power, but I don’t know exactly when to use it, but each lap, I was learning what was happening.”

“With two laps to go, I just thought I’d go for it and see what happens. I guess I was lucky, I got a gap on the girls, and the last lap was so hard – I didn’t know how I was going to hold on.”

More from Cycling Ireland here

The Olympic Federation of Ireland (OFI) Athletes’ Commission, which includes Olympic sailing star Annalise Murphy and rower Sanita Puspure, has officially launched its strategy, which is focused around four key pillars: Athlete Welfare, Athlete Voice, Athlete Impact and Athlete Spirit. The launch also marked the announcement of a €65,000 Make a Difference fund for athletes and coaches. Today’s launch took place at a social event for athletes centred around the theme ‘Enjoying the Journey.’

Several key actions were outlined at today’s strategy launch, including a Mentorship Programme which will see seasoned Olympians sharing their experiences with younger athletes. The Athletes’ Commission also outlined areas of advocacy that they will be focusing on, including the establishment of a task force to explore ways of ensuring that Olympic athletes can be better recognised in the tax system.

At the event, details of the €65,000 Make a Difference fund were released, with invitations to be extended to athletes and coaches to apply, based on the acknowledgement that in some cases vital elements of athlete performance hinges on the support that they get from coaches, sparring partners, or other individuals who are based outside their high-performance system. This fund incorporates proceeds that were raised at the recent Make a Difference golf fund raiser at the K Club.

Today’s event saw young athletes and experienced Olympians and Olympic medallists come together from over fifteen sports to hear from some of Ireland’s top athletes and to share their own stories and experiences. Tokyo 2020 Olympic Bronze Medallist in Boxing, Aidan Walsh, provided a powerful account of his journey to Olympic success, before two separate panel discussions involving Athletes’ Commission members Annalise Murphy, Paddy Barnes, Sanita Puspure and Brendan Boyce offered tips and advice on the back of their own Olympic experiences. Team Ireland Chef de Mission for Paris, Gavin Noble, also provided an update, at the event facilitated by former Athletes’ Commission member David Gillick.

Speaking at the event, Chair of the Athletes’ Commission, Shane O’Connor, who competed for Team Ireland in Alpine Skiing at the Vancouver 2010 Games, said,

“It’s really encouraging to see so many people here today, representing a wide range of sports, especially so many younger athletes, both in person and online. The Athletes’ Commission has a real opportunity to drive a positive agenda and one that is relevant to athletes. Today’s event is focusing on the importance of enjoying the journey in sport, and this is a message that we, as the Team Ireland Athletes’ Commission, want to make sure is at the heart of each athlete’s own personal journey. We want to support our athletes by ensuring that their voice is represented at decision-making tables in items relating to the athlete journey.”

Vice-Chair Natalya Coyle, who competed at three Olympic Games in Modern Pentathlon said,

“We are really pleased to launch today’s strategy, especially at this event which has brought together athletes with a range of experience, including a huge number of promising athletes who are just starting their journey. A lot of time was spent developing this strategy that we feel represents athletes in the current Irish high-performance system. We are also pleased to launch it, knowing that work has already begun in many key areas within the strategy. The plan builds on the strong foundations that were put in place by the last Athletes’ Commission. We are looking forward to progressing and to making a difference for the athletes in the coming cycle.”

The main aim of the Athletes’ Commission is to ensure that the voice of athletes is embedded in decision making structures on key matters pertaining to Olympians and aspiring Olympic athletes. The current Athletes’ Commission was elected by the athlete body earlier this year, and includes high profile Olympians and experienced athletes to represent the values and beliefs of the wider athlete body.

Annalise Murphy, Sanita Puspure, Claire Lambe and the rest of the Team Ireland Athletes’ Commission are calling on all Olympians, past and present, and high performance athletes on their sports national team (both junior and senior) to join them for a social event to discuss the importance of 'Enjoying the Journey'.

The event at the Sport Ireland Campus in northwest Dublin on Wednesday 14 December will also serve as an official launch of the Athletes’ Commission Strategy for 2022-2024, with details of the related activities, supports and actions to be announced.

The event will be an interactive event, aimed at creating engaging discussion around the various challenges and opportunities for high performing athletes, and the importance of remaining focused at all times on finding enjoyment and happiness in the steps along the way.

MC David Gillick (Olympian and former Athletes' Commission member) will guide two panel discussions around the topic, touching on key points such as how to celebrate success, and tips and advice from the experienced Olympians in the room.

The event will be brought by the Athletes' Commission who are: Shane O’Connor (chair), Natalya Coyle (vice chair), Olympic sailing hero Annalise Murphy, Olympic rowers Sanita Puspure and Claire Lambe, Brendan Boyce, David Harte and Paddy Barnes, most of who will be present on the day.

Keynote speaker will be Olympic bronze medallist in boxing from Tokyo, Aidan Walsh. In addition, Team Ireland chef de mission for Paris 2024, Gavin Noble — a former Olympian and former Athletes' Commission member — will present on the Paris plans.

Places will be limited so early registration is advisable. Qualifying athletes should email [email protected] for for the registration link.

After calling time on her Olympic career this past summer, Rio 2016 silver medallist Annalise Murphy has been adjusting to life away from sport — and as she shares with the Irish Examiner, it hasn’t always been plain sailing.

Among the 32-year-old’s concerns are her body image, something in which she admits she does not have “great confidence”.

“In my sport, weight and shape were so important for performing well... I associate being a certain size and a certain weight with success. That’s not good, I wish I didn’t [think like that]. I am working on that.”

Keeping fit in general has also been a challenge, following a bout of COVID four months ago. “It floored me,” she says. “I’ve had to completely readjust my idea of what fitness is.”

On a more positive note, getting a good night’s sleep is no obstacle for Annalise as she moves on from her sailing career and tries “to figure out what to do next”.

The Irish Examiner has more on the story HERE.

Ireland's Olympic sailing medalist Annalise Murphy is plotting a course for a career in sustainability and in one of her first assignments, the Rio star has been unveiled as the keynote speaker at Chorus, Ireland’s first-ever Women in Green Hydrogen network event.

Chorus is bringing together people from every walk of life who want to help achieve affordable, sustainable and equitable energy for Ireland in Dublin on November 21.

Women in Green Hydrogen is a global network that works to improve the visibility of and amplify the voices of women working in the sector, and has over 3000 members worldwide. Annalise, who represented Ireland at three Olympic Games, is looking forward to the event:

“In my sailing career, I developed a huge respect for the power of renewable energy, so I am really excited about Chorus and being part of such a vital conversation right now. No one can ignore the pressures on the energy sources Ireland has relied upon for generations, and a diverse range of voices must speak up and be heard out in the rooms where decisions are made.

I’m committed to a sustainable future - I was proud to be part of the Turn the Tide against Plastic team that came sixth in the gruelling Volvo Ocean Race a few years ago and issues around sustainability and a greener future are top of my list of priorities as I plan the next steps in my career”.

Leading organiser from WiGH for Chorus Catherine Sheridan is thrilled to have Annalise on board: “Having someone join us who has used the power of wind and water to reach the international peak of her sport is a major boost for our event. Annalise is a perfect fit for what we’re trying to do. She has been an incredible role model for many years and her support means so much. As Chorus host, I’m looking forward to introducing her to our guests and hearing what she has to say”.

Catherine, a leading member of the WiGH network since its formation, has represented Ireland internationally and was recognised in the ‘Women in Hydrogen 50’ list by Hydrogen Economist. She has been working in the utility sector for over 20 years and is currently the Head of Strategy at Green Rebel.

Chorus will be hosted at the Dublin offices of law firm Pinsent Masons. Registration is free, and the event is sponsored by EIH2, Worley and Pinsent Masons. Anyone interested in registering is invited to email [email protected] for more information, or to click here. Chorus is being held the day before the inaugural Hydrogen Ireland Annual Conference, where academics and professionals, policymakers and government officials are invited to hear expert discussion on Hydrogen: Securing Ireland’s Green Energy Future. Full details of this event are available on h2irl.com

Cork Harbour's Nicholas O’Leary captains a squad made up largely of Irish Olympic campaigners – including Rio silver medalist Annalise Murphy – in a bid to be crowned the world's best sailing nation in a new competition called the SSL Gold Cup starting in Switzerland this week.

The Irish team comprises Harry Durcan, Cian Guilfoyle, Annalise Murphy, Robert Dickson, Simon Johnson, Finn Lynch, Sean Waddilove, Peter O'Leary, Oisin McClelland and Stephen Milne.

The SSL Gold Cup 2022 will start on May 19th with the Qualifying Series in Grandson, Lake Neuchatel (Switzerland). All teams ranked from the Top 25 to 56 in the January 2022 SSL Nations ranking will meet in eight groups of four teams each. There will be five stages of the Qualifying Series running from May 19th to July 17th.

Annalise Murphy, Robert Dickson (centre) and Sean Waddilove are part of the Irish Green Armada team that compete in Switzerland this week

The SSL Gold Cup Irish team jersey

After three to four days of racing, only the top two teams of each group will go through to the Final Series that will take place from October 28th to November 20th, 2022, to defend their national colours.

The event director is noted Polish Star helmsman Mateusz Kusznierewicz. 

The SSL Gold Cup will be raced in the SSL47. 11 sailors on each national team, including women and men, will be selected through their national SSL ranking but also their Captain’s choice, with no financial nor technological barriers. 

All the sailors come from Olympic classes, Match-Racing, America's Cup or other noted keelboat circuits.

All nations, from Sailing leading countries like Australia, France, Great Britain, New Zealand or USA will race at the same level as the small ones such as Guatemala, Slovenia, Tahiti or Estonia. 

In its advance billing, the pre-event promotional team are in overdrive: Sailing has finally its own World Cup! Like football in 1930 and rugby in 1987, the SSL Gold Cup is designed to crown the best sailing nation of all! The World's Top 56 countries, selected on their SSL Nation ranking, will battle their way through to raise the coveted and only Sailing World Cup trophy. 

In relation to the Irish team, the event programme says " With a rich maritime history, Ireland consistently punches above its weight on the world stage, and their sailing is no different. With Olympic medalists, Volvo Ocean Race winners, America's Cup sailors, and offshore sailing coming from the Emerald Isle, there is a long history of sailing success. Through this varied pool of sailing, inspiration and talent is rife, and above all the respect for what it takes to succeed in the sport is widely appreciated.

Green Armada captain Nicholas O’Leary

The Irish team motto we learn is: "From all walks of the Sport of Sailing (The Green Armada) brought together to battle it out with the best in the world of Sailing"

The Irish crew travel on Tuesday for two days of training and straight into four-boat fleet racing for a round of qualifiers. The top two teams go through to the next round.

The SSL (STAR SAILORS LEAGUE) is the global inshore sailing circuit launched by Olympic athletes in 2012, by sailors for sailors. Its main philosophy considers the athletes (not the boats) as the “Stars” and it aims to showcase the annual global sailing championship with its over 15’000 regattas; it determines and celebrates the world leaders in sailing promoting the inshore regattas to the global audience.

The three main components of the SSL Circuit are the SSL Ranking published every Tuesday, updating the position of over 100,000 leading athletes, thus highlighting the world’s top inshore sailors. The SSL Finals taking place every year around November-December, it’s the annual final of the SSL Circuit among the 20/25 best athletes of the ranking, to crown the champion of the season. And the SSL Gold Cup, the ‘ultimate’ championship of the circuit with 56 nations among World Sailing members, to crown the best sailing nation.

In a mechanical sport where the race for technology sometimes gets in the way of the race for glory, the SSL aims for equal competition where the talent of the sailors is at the forefront and the champions become heroes that inspire new generations of sailors.

The SSL is a World Sailing Special Event since 2017.

More here

Afloat was quick to point out to An Post there were some notable absences from last month's tribute to Irish female sporting heroes in its set of six National Stamps (Irish Women in Sport).

The Irish Post Office paid tribute to achievements in athletics, boxing, horse racing, swimming and hockey in its March issue.

But there was no place for sailing's 2016 Olympic silver medalist Annalise Murphy or rowing's quartet of Aifric Keogh, Eimear Lambe, Fiona Murtagh and Emily Hegarty who produced a stirring finish to take the bronze medal in the women's four final at Tokyo.

The stamps acknowledge Irish sportswomen’s great achievements at home and on the international stage but an An Post spokesperson acknowledged the omission and told Afloat "We had a finite number of stamps so not all our wonderful athletes could feature – this time". 

The spokesperson added, "We have had similar enquiries about top Irish athletes in a number of other sports". 

The booklet features Irish female sporting icons Sonia O’Sullivan, Katie Taylor, Kellie Harrington, Rachael Blackmore, Ellen Keane and the Irish Women’s hockey team.

Happily, Irish Women in Sport is a topic that An Post will be returning to again in a future programme so, it appears, we may yet see some achievements afloat and get a stamp of approval?

Olympic sailing silver medalist Annalise Murphy is joined by fellow Olympians, rowers Sanita Puspure and Claire Lambe in the latest Olympic Federation of Ireland (OFI) Athletes’ Commission.

The three are among eight athletes elected from a list of 13 for the commission’s 2022-24 term, as the OFI announced today.

All Irish Olympians were eligible to vote in an online platform for seven of the commission’s spots, with Ireland’s sole winter sport candidate Shane O’Connor automatically elected, as previously reported on Afloat.ie.

The regulations made allowance for a minimum gender balance of 40%. However, the election produced a 50/50 gender balance without need to invoke such mechanisms.

Murphy finished 18th overall in the Laser Radial at Tokyo 2020 last summer, and has since called time on her Olympic sailing career.

Also in Tokyo, Puspure reached the B final of the women’s single scull before withdrawing due to illness.

And before her retirement from international competition ins 2018, Lambe was a finalist in the women’s lightweight double sculls at Rio 2016.

The three women and O’Connor will sit alongside race walker Brendan Boyce, boxer Paddy Barnes, hockey international David Harte and modern pentathlete Natalya Coyle in the latest formation of the commission.

OFI president Sarah Keane congratulated the successful candidates and thanked all those who applied.

“We are confident that the athlete voice will be represented well and that you will continue to drive sport forward, each of you bringing with you a wealth of experience,” she said.

“I also want to thank the outgoing Athletes’ Commission who have worked really hard in important areas in sport, from athlete welfare and representation on decision making groups, to driving initiatives that Irish athletes wanted to back, such as anti-doping and tackling racism and discrimination.

“You have given this new commission a very solid point from which they can start.”

The outgoing OFI Athletes’ Commission was appointed in 2017, and consisted of Shane O’Connor (chair), Gavin Noble (vice chair), David Harte (also a member of the EOC Athletes’ Commission), David Gillick (also an athlete representative in Sport Ireland anti-doping initiatives), Kenneth Egan, James Nolan, Melanie Nocher and Judy Reynolds.

Over the coming weeks the new OFI Athletes’ Commission will meet informally, in a virtual setting, and will hold its first official meeting soon after.

Sailing's Annalise Murphy as well as rowing's Claire Lambe and Sanita Puspure are among an impressive list of thirteen candidates across ten sports have been nominated to run for election for the Olympic Federation of Ireland Athletes’ Commission.

The recruitment process opened for the 2022-2024 term before Christmas and Olympians from any of the last four Olympic cycles, winter, or summer, were invited to apply for a position on the commission that acts as the athlete’s voice for Irish Olympic athletes. Voting opened on the 11 January and will close at 1pm on the 16 January 2022.

Applicants were initially requested to complete a form outlining their aims and objectives should they be elected to the OFI Athletes’ Commission and were required to be supported by either their National Federation or three Olympians. Outlining a range of aims the high calibre candidates who will run for election list among their goals athlete-focused objectives such as improving athlete welfare, mental health, education and support for the athletes.

The list of candidates are as follows:

Olympic Federation of Ireland Athletes’ Commission candidates

The current Athletes’ Commission was established in June 2017, with the aim of ensuring that the athlete’s voice is heard across all levels of Olympic sport in Ireland. Their strategy outlines a vision for Ireland to be the best country in the world to be an Olympian or aspiring Olympic athlete.

Rowing's Claire Lambe and Sanita Puspure (above) are candidates for the Athletes Commission

Seven people will be elected from the list of candidates, with Shane O’Connor deemed selected to the Athletes’ Commission, being an automatic selection as the sole nomination from the winter sports. Both genders will be represented in line with the OFI’s gender balance policy of 40%. The successful members will be elected to the OFI Athletes’ Commission and will remain in office until late 2024.

If any Irish Olympian has not received an email with a password, please contact Heather Boyle [email protected] with their name, email address, the Games in which they competed.

It was party time in Dun Laoghaire Harbour last Thursday night (September 23rd) to welcome home the Irish Olympic sailing team from last month's Tokyo Olympic Games.

Invited guests included Government Ministers, Olympians, local Dun Laoghaire Rathdown officials plus yacht club commodores and sponsors who were all back on the waterfront to hear Annalise Murphy's thoughts post-Tokyo as the team returned to its High-Performance HQ at the Irish Lights Depot.

Murphy's teammates, the 49er duo Robert Dickson and Sean Waddilove were in attendance too along with the Tokyo backroom team.

Minister of State for Sport and the Gaeltacht Jack Chambers along with Minister of State at the Department of the Environment, Ossian Smyth, the local Green Party TD, were invited to the outdoor function.

From Northern Ireland, 1984 and 1988, Olympian Bill O'Hara OBE was also at the get-together, as were members of the Olympic Federation of Ireland including CEO Peter Sherrard.

The Dun Laoghaire High Performance HQ was the venue for last Thursday night's homecoming celebrations of the Olympic Team

The Rio silver medalist signed off the evening by thanking Rory Fitzpatrick 'for being her coach' and updated the event on how she is adjusting to life as an MBA student at UCD.

Irish prospects for Paris 2024

Next on the agenda for the Irish Olympic sailing team is, of course, Paris 2024. With just three years to the first gun at Marseille, Thursday evening provided the chance to pitch Irish prospects.

The race for places has already begun with Polish duo Mikolaj Staniul / Kuba Sztorch crowned 49er European champions in Thessaloniki last week. Although no Irish crew participated at the Greek event, there are already triennial developments at home with Cork Harbour's Seafra Guilfoyle and Johnny Durcan announcing this month they will be making a bid for the single Irish men's skiff slot.

Finn Lynch, who was unsuccessful in his quest for a Tokyo Laser place, has already declared he will run again and it is expected Howth's Ewan McMahon will also be a contender. And in the Radial, McMahon's sister, Eve and Aoife Hopkins, both of Howth, will each seek the nomination.

Tokyo 2020 Review

A number of post-Tokyo reviews are being conducted. One is being undertaken by Irish Sailing, which, for the first time since Athens 2004, will be in the hands of "an external sports management expert", according to sailing president David O'Brien.

That's a process that will no doubt shine a light on the circumstances surrounding the controversially cut-short 2020 Radial selection procedure. 

The review is expected to be completed by year-end.