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Tom Dolan, Solo Sailor
Irish Figaro star Tom Dolan is back in Ireland for a second-speed sailing record attempt
Irish solo sailor Tom Dolan is back in Ireland with his Figaro Beneteau 3 Smurfit Kappa Kingspan, aiming to set a Round Ireland speed sailing record, a bid sparking debate about the status of solo sailing in Irish waters and the…
Tom Dolan dropped to 17th overall and, despite a great final stage today – finishing eighth into Piriac-sur-Mer – ended his sixth La Solitaire du Figaro in 18th
The annual French solo, multi-stage one-design offshore race, La Solitaire du Figaro is an incredible sporting challenge, and this year’s edition, the 54th La Solitaire du Figaro Paprec, which finished into Piriac-sur-Mer on Thursday morning was no exception. Although there…
Will Corentin Horeau (Banque Populaire) deny 22-year-old Basile Bourgnon (Ednred) the 2023 Solitaire du Figaro Paprec title?
Tom Dolan of Smurfit Kappa-Kingspan has made a commendable climb up the leaderboard in the latest update from the 2023 La Solitaire du Figaro, positioning himself in sixth place. He was 4.5 miles behind the leader, Benoît Tuduri of CAPSO…
Race leader overall Basile Bourgnon rising to the challenge on Stage 3 of the 2023 La Solitaire du Figaro
Benoît Tuduri of CAPSO en Cavale has made a formidable comeback on the third and final stage of the 54th La Solitaire du Figaro Paprec. Tuduri was denied the Stage 1 win due to a rookie rules transgression but has…
Corentin Horeau (Banque Populaire) leads out of the Bay of Morlaix under spinnaker in the third and final leg of the 54th La Solitaire Figaro race
Ireland's Tom Dolan was eighth at the first turning mark in the third and final leg of the  La Solitaire Figaro this Sunday afternoon and well in the match in the race. Last Thursday and Friday, Roscoff may have yielded one…
Tom Dolan at the prize-giving ceremony for the second leg of the Solitaire du Figaro Paprec 2023 in Morlaix Bay - Roscoff on 08/09/2023 - VIVI Trophy rewards the foreign skipper (of all nationalities) with the best ranking on this second leg
Irish sailor Tom Dolan is preparing for the final stage of La Solitaire du Figaro Paprec, bracing himself for another bout of light winds that could present a significant challenge. Dolan, who sails for Smurfit Kappa-Kingspan, had a disappointing second…
Tom Dolan is down but not out after a 'brutal', light winds stage from Kinsale to Roscoff in the La Solitaire du Figaro Paprec race
Irish skipper Tom Dolan's performance was a mixed bag in the first two legs of the 54th La Solitaire du Figaro Paprec race. He emerged victorious in the first leg, but encountered a challenging time in the second leg due…
Gaston Morvan early this morning in the second leg of the La Solitaire du Figaro
Irish sailor Tom Dolan, who won the first leg of La Solitaire du Figaro Paprec, has dropped to 16th place on the second leg. Gaston Morvan from Region Bretagne-CMB Performance, who made a bold move to the east to work…
Rounding Chicken Rock off the Isle of Man early on Tuesday morning in the Second Stage of the La Solitaire du Figaro Race
Irish sailor Tom Dolan is holding steady in eighth place as the 54th La Solitaire du Figaro Paprec enters its second stage. Dolan remains just under seven miles behind the leader, race veteran Alexis Loison of Groupe REEL, who took…
Leader Hugo Dahllene sailing Upwind at South Arklow on Stage two of the La Solitaire du Figaro
Irish sailor Tom Dolan battles strong tides and light winds to climb up the leaderboard on the second stage of the 54th La Solitaire du Figaro, the famous French offshore sailing race. Dolan, the winner of stage 1, is currently…
Tom Dolan (centre) Nils Palmieri (left) and Robin Marais (right) at Saturday’s prizegiving in Kinsale
Tom Dolan, the winner of Stage 1 of La Solitaire du Figaro Paprec, has been making waves in the sailing world as the first Irish skipper to win a leg of the French solo offshore race in 25 years. The…
Two becomes one - An International Jury decision has promoted Tom Dolan (IRL) to Stage 1 winner of the La Solitaire du Figaro
Jury decisions have changed rankings on the first stage of La Solitaire du Figaro Paprec, which means Ireland's Tom Dolan has won the leg to Kinsale. The rankings for the first stage of the 54 La Solitaire du Figaro Paprec…
The rise in the international solo offshore sailing reputation of Tom Dolan was marked by his second-place finish into Kinsale on the first leg of the 2023 La Solitaire du Figaro
The rise in the international solo offshore sailing reputation of Tom Dolan, who has been known to describe himself as “an escaped farmboy from north Meath”, has been one of the great Irish sailing sagas of our time. For more…
A delighted Tom Dolan in Kinsale after achieving second place in the first leg of the Figaro Race
Solo sailor Tom Dolan was fairly tired when I talked to him at Kinsale Yacht Club after he had finished second in the first leg of this year’s Figaro Race, sailing Smurfit Kappa into Kinsale with a 14-minute advantage over…
Meath solo sailor Tom Dolan celebrates his second-place finish in Kinsale tis morning after completing the first 610-mile leg of the La Solitaire du Figaro Race
Ireland's Tom Dolan took a career-high second place this morning, sailing into Kinsale to complete the first 610-mile leg of the La Solitaire du Figaro Race. After rounding the Fastnet Rock, Dolan finished at 08.18 hours into a drizzly Kinsale…
Tom Dolan - The 2023 La Solitaire du Figaro is off to a flying start as he takes a top result into his native Ireland at Kinsale
Irish sailor Tom Dolan is on track for his career-best stage finish as he secures second place in Stage 1 of La Solitaire du Figaro on Thursday morning. Race rookies and top international solo skippers are giving the top favourites…

Tom Dolan, Solo Offshore Sailor

Even when County Meath solo sailor Tom Dolan had been down the numbers in the early stages of the four-stage 2,000 mile 2020 Figaro Race, Dolan and his boat were soon eating their way up through the fleet in any situation which demanded difficult tactical decisions.

His fifth overall at the finish – the highest-placed non-French sailor and winner of the Vivi Cup – had him right among the international elite in one of 2020's few major events.

The 33-year-old who has lived in Concarneau, Brittany since 2009 but grew up on a farm in rural County Meath came into the gruelling four-stage race aiming to get into the top half of the fleet and to underline his potential to Irish sailing administrators considering the selection process for the 2024 Olympic Mixed Double Offshore category which comes in for the Paris games.