Ireland Guaranteed Medal At Youth World Sailing Championships

Séafra Guilfoyle from Cork has secured a medal at the ISAF Youth World Sailing Championships in Portugal. One more race will be sailed this afternoon to determine whether he brings home Gold, Silver or Bronze as he is in contention for all three. The 18 year old is currently lying in third place after four days of racing but with enough of a points lead guarantee a spot on the podium.

The ISAF Youth Worlds is the most prestigious international event and the equivalent of the youth sailing Olympics. Only one sailor is allowed to compete per nation in each class with Séafra having qualified to represent Ireland earlier this year. The majority of the world's top Olympic medallists would have finished off their youth careers with a medal at this event.

Séafra will be the second Irish sailor to medal in as many years. In 2012 Séafra's former ISA (Irish Sailing Association) Academy teammate Finn Lynch won Silver prior to which only a Bronze had been claimed by Peelo/Dillon in 1996. Finn is now sailing full-time and will compete at the Olympic qualifiers in September with the 2016 Rio Olympics firmly in his sights.

To follow the live blog see http://www.isafyouthworlds.com/multimedia/live_blog.php