Only a week after a spectacular gold medal in Palma, Belfast Lough's Ryan Seaton and Matt McGovern are back in action this morning at the 49er European Championships in Barcelona.
Qualifying rounds start today until Wednesday with the finals from April 14-17. It would be an impressive performance for Team Ireland if the skiff pair could keep the momentum going in their Rio campaign.
After some earlier disappointing performances by their own accuont, last week's medal now raises the prospect of a strong Olympic Skiff result in four months time. Rio will be the second Olympics for the Northern Ireland duo and the dream of a top ten place in the mens 49er comes with it.
Last week's Mediterranean gold is an endorsement of the progress the Ballyholme Yacht Club pair have made, especially beating 2012 Olympic Champions Nathan Outteridge and Iain Jensen of Australia.
The joint-funded Irish Sailing Association (ISA) and Royal Yachting Association Northern Ireland team were 14th at the last Olympics and have had brief spots near the top of the fleet, including silver at the Sailing World Cup Hyeres Regatta in 2014, but last week they showed the depth of their ambition when they stepped to the top of the podium. Helmsman Seaton concluded: 'To be so solid has been important. This was really a training regatta along the way, it's important but it is a great platform for us and the confidence it brings, winning a big regatta at this stage, is immense.'
It is a major boost and Seaton is wise to put the result in context. It was not a Sailing World Cup regatta, and, as such, these events are often used by top sailors to test gear and try new tactics. With big fleets in attendance, the Trofeo Princesa Sofia was a test bed opportunity and the Belfast crew took full advantage of it but Seaton knows the real test is the European Championships in Barcelona this morning, in what will be a deep fleet, they come face to face with Blair Tuke and Peter Burling, the Kiwi world champions who have won every regatta they have entered this quadrennial.
Also racing in Barcelona this week is the Rio qualified skiff of Andrea Brewster and Saskia Tidey.