Owens & Flanigan Qualify for the Olympics

Irish sailors Ger Owens and Scott Flanigan have qualified for London 2012. The pair are currently sailing at the 470 World Championships in Barcelona where an additional 7 nation places are up for grabs in addition to the 20 that were allocated in 2011. They currently lie 24th overall on Day 3 following a 10th and a 13th in their two races today. The 95 boats have now split into gold, silver and bronze fleets. Owens and Flanigan are in the gold fleet and with the guarantee that they cannot fall lower than the 7th required nation thus securing their place in the Games.

James O'Callaghan, ISA Performance Director remarks "Ger and Scott fully deserve this. They sailed a great qualifying series to secure qualification early. It means we now have a 5 boat Irish team going to London which is a great achievement".

Day 3 in Cornwall at the Finn World Championships and Ross Hamilton moves up 4 places to 49th overall in the fleet of 94 boats. Hamilton had a steady day with a 41st and a 47th, improving on his results from yesterday. Racing continues tomorrow as he continues his battle for Olympic qualification.

Meanwhile Annalise Murphy began racing today at the Laser Radial Worlds Championships in Travemunde, Germany. She has had a difficult start to her regatta with a collision at the start of the first race and a mid fleet result in the second race. Results not available at the time of issue.