Rathfarnham's Annalise Murphy from the National Yacht Club was back sailing in Dun Laoghaire Harbour today, the first time the Rio silver medalist was on the water in 55 days. Her return, in a bid for a place on the Tokyo 2021 startline, earned the sailing superstar a spot on RTE's Six One News this evening.
The Laser Radial contender went afloat as the Irish Olympic Sailing Team got back to training as part of Phase 1 of the Government’s Roadmap for Reopening.
Joining Murphy for today's training session was Howth Radial rival, Aoife Hopkins.
As Afloat reported previously, the sailors will use the Irish Sailing Performance HQ in Dun Laoghaire as their base. The PHQ containers, however, will be closed for all use except launching of boats from the pontoon.
The Irish team are now one of a handful of countries with sailing teams back on the water, including the UK, Italy and Denmark.
Harry Hermon, CEO of Irish Sailing said: “the Irish Sailing Team go back to training on the water today, and we’re working very closely together to make sure that their learnings and experiences are passed back to the sailing community, and that we all work together responsibly to ensure our safe return to the water”.