In an outstanding month for Irish youth sailing achievement, two Cork-Dublin pairings have won more gold medals in the International 29er class to follow the World title win of a fortnight ago.
Ireland won two gold medals at the 29er European Championships held in Stockholm this afternoon.
Ben O’Shaughnessy, 17, from Royal Cork and Ethan Spain, 18, from the National Yacht Club, won the European 29er Championships title, while Lucia Cullen, 17, from Dublin and Alana Twomey, 17, from Cork, won the European Female 29er Championships title.
Ireland's Lucia Cullen and Alana Twomey celebrate their win in the Female European Championship win in the 29er class in Stockholm
The five-day sailing event, held at The Royal Swedish Yacht Club, saw 173 teams from 24 countries compete in challenging conditions with large wind shifts and big pressure differences.
The two Irish teams were in the silver position overnight going into the final day of racing, but they came out strong in the first race of the day, with the girl's team of Lucia and Alana getting a fourth just ahead of the boy's team of Ben and Ethan getting a fifth. They fought hard in the following three races to bring home the double gold for Ireland.
The achievement is even more impressive given that Ireland had only five teams competing at the event, making it one of the countries with the smallest number of teams. It was an extraordinary result for the Irish sailors who demonstrated dynamic decision-making, boat handling, and teamwork to excel in the fast tempo of 29er racing.
As regular Afloat readers know, today's Euro titles follow the World title won by the Van Steenberg siblings in Weymouth earlier this month.
O'Shaughnessy and Spain claimed the Overall and Men's European Championship title by a margin of 11 points after four races on the final day. The championship titles came down to the wire, with just one point separating the top three boats going into the last start, but Ben and Ethan held their nerve to secure the win.
The new Overall and Men's European 29er Championship winners Ben O'Shaughnessy and Ethan Spain Photo: Sailing Pics
In the Women's category, Ireland's Cullen and Twomey took home the Women's title and tenth position overall, while Assi Lindell and Ines Karlemo of Finland secured the Silver medal in the Women's category, and Alja Petric and Caterina Sedmak of Slovenia took the Bronze.
A thumbs up from 29er Female Euro champions Lucia Cullen (right) and Alana Twomey Photo: Sailing Pics
Local sailors Hedvig and Hugo Liljegren of Sweden claimed the Silver medal in the Open category, with Caroline Pennetier and Benjamin Benhayoun of France in Bronze medal position.
The Nations Cup for the top three teams out of two categories was won by France, with three boats in the top ten.
The National Yacht Club's Cecile van Steenberge from Dublin Bay, the new Vice President of the International 29er Class, thanked the sailors for their hard work and dedication throughout the Championships and acknowledged the significant role played by volunteers in supporting youth sailing. The International 29er Class also thanked The Royal Swedish Yacht Club for their exceptional efforts in making the European Championships a unique and memorable event from start to finish.
