Ireland Has Earned Three Tickets To Rio For The 2016 Olympic Games

Ryan Seaton & Matt McGovern have finished 8th in the 49er class at the 2014 ISAF Sailing World Championships, rounding off what has been an incredibly successful 10 days for Providence Team IRL and Irish sailing.

The Irish Sailing Association (ISA) had athletes competing in four different classes and up for grabs were 50% of the 2016 Olympic nation places. All three members of Providence Team IRL successfully earned a coveted nation spot and can now focus on preparations for the Games in two years' time.

ISA Performance Director James O'Callaghan commented "We came here to get three tickets to Rio and we leave with three tickets and two personal bests. It has been another excellent week for Irish sailing and completes a great 2014."

First to qualify was James Espey in the Laser Standard. A total of 72 nations were in contention for the top 23 spots but Espey secured Ireland's first ticket to Rio with ease as 16th nation. He also finished a solid 37th overall from a fleet of 147 boats.

Annalise Murphy, who had a poor start to the regatta, made an exceptional comeback to win the country its second place - this time in the Laser Radial class. Murphy finished 20th overall from 120 boats and 16th nation. Only the top 19 nations from a total of 58 earned their right to compete in Brazil.

It was 49er duo Ryan Seaton & Matt McGovern who brought home the Providence Team IRL hat-trick, along with a personal best. With two days to spare they had created enough of a point's gap to claim a top 10 nation place from a competing 33 nations. The pair then went on to qualify for the Medal Race Final - a double points race for the top 10 boats. They had a 9th and ultimately finished in 8th place overall at the World Championship beating their previous personal best of 10th at the 2011 49er World Championships.

Narrowly missing out on qualification were ISA Development sailors Andrea Brewster & Saskia Tidey. Competing in the female 49erFX skiff, they wrapped up an intense event as 13th nation and just shy of the necessary top 10. Having only paired up last year, the girls thrashed their previous personal best. In 12 months they excelled from 36th at the 2013 Worlds to 24th overall in Santander. To have qualified for the top 25 Gold fleet earlier in the week was a massive achievement. If their progression continues at this rate they'll be strong contenders to take one of the three places available at the World Championships 2015.

Another ISA Development sailor; Finn Lynch was also competing in Spain at his first Laser Standard World Championship. A 101st place finish from 147 was no mean feat for the 18 year old who only graduated to this highly competitive senior class earlier this year.

Ross Hamilton was competing independently in the Finn class and finished 64th from 78.