SAILING Irish 49er 31st at Worlds

The 2010 49er Worlds Championships were completed over the weekend in the Grand Bahamas. The new World Champions are Spain's Iker Martinez and Xabier Fernandez following on from wins in 2002 and 2004. This is in addition to their Olympic Gold medal from Athens in 2004 and Silver medal from Beijing in 2008.

Ryan Seaton and Matt McGovern have begun their first full year of campaigning together on a very solid footing. They needed to finish top 40 to secure ongoing Irish Sports Council funding and finished 31st position. It is clear that the time they spent training over the winter in Australia paid off as they were 18 positions higher than their 2009 result. The funding will ensure they have the resources to move further up this competitive fleet.

Marcus Spillane and Rory Fitzpatrick finished 53rd in the 62 boat fleet.

The next World Championships on the Olympic calendar are the Star Worlds in Brazil where racing begins on January 16th. Max Treacy and Anthony Shanks will be Ireland's sole representatives at this event.