One of Annalise Murphy's main rivals for a medal on Monday has fallen ill. Evi Van Acker, who won a bronze medal in the Laser Radial class of the 2012 London Olympics Sailing Competition, reported 'feeling unwell' after racing on Wednesday, according to a report in the Irish Independent.

The 30–year–old contracted a severe '' while training in Rio in July, which has hampered her energy levels, according to her coach.

Wil Van Bladel told Belgian VRT network: "Evi caught a bacteria in early July that causes dysentery. “Doctors say this can seriously disrupt energy levels for three months. It became clear yesterday that she lacked energy during tough conditions. 

The Belgian ace appeared back in form yesterday, however, overtaking the Irish medal hopeful in both races with a 12 and a 2 to be back up to seventh overall. 

The Irish Indepdent has more on the story here

In the February Sailing Show, Ireland's own Annalise Murphy might be interested in checking out an interview with arch rival Evi Van Acker, the Laser Radial Bronze medallist from London 2012. Entitled 'Getting to know Evi van Acker', the Belgian star lets us into her world and reveals her superstitious nature. Watch the programme below:

Also in the show: 

How to catch a runaway race boat in the Atlantic
Evacuating a solo sailor with a broken pelvis and five broken ribs from his yacht in the Atlantic was a delicate operation. But recovering Paul Meihat’s IMOCA 60 SMA was even harder and involved an 1,100 mile chase lasting two and a half weeks through mid winter gales and some extraordinary feats of seamanship.

A double Paralympic and triple world champion with even bigger ambitions
Damien Seguin is already a three time world champion in the 2.4m class and has two Paralympic medals to his name. But he also has eight transatlantics under his belt. His goal is to be the first disabled sailor to race in the Vendee Globe. If this wasn’t impressive enough, find out how he compares the task of inspiring young sailors with medals.

Is Robert Scheidt getting greedy?
Robert Scheidt has won a medal at all five Olympic Games that he has attended. This year sees him embark on a sixth attempt on home soil in Brazil. If successful he will have more Olympic medals than any other sailor. Scheidt tells us how he plans to cope with the pressure as he nails another victory at the Sailing World Cup in Miami.

Spindrift 2 up for another challenge
After the giant trimaran’s scorching trip around the world, the team is on for some more record attempts. We find out what owner and co-skipper Donna Bertarelli’s crew have on their minds and find out some more about this extraordinary machine.