Ireland’s Robert Dickson (Howth Yacht Club) and Sean Waddilove (Skerries Sailing Club) finished ninth overall at the conclusion to the 49er European Championship yesterday having qualified for the Medal Race.
The result marks the end of a rollercoaster event for the Irish double-Olympians who showed their world-class potential by leading the event at one stage.
A challenging day of deep results ultimately kept them outside the podium spots, but their overall performance and in particular the tenacity of their comeback in Saturday’s Gold Fleet racing confirms their position among Europe’s top contenders.
The event was won by New Zealanders Seb Menzies with George Lee Rush who took the Open Championship while Spain’s Martin Weizner with Jaime Wizner won the European title from their fourth place overall.
Dickson and Waddilove finished fifth of the European boats, matching their result from last year’s competition.
With light winds dominating this regatta, the crew focused on improving their starts and tactical decision-making – key goals they successfully achieved.
Matt McGovern, Irish Sailing’s 49er coach explained, “A massive goal and a massive win from being here is getting back to our best in light winds – this is definitely as light a wind regatta as we’ve done in a very long time.
“The guys have still performed (and) I’m very happy and very proud of them for getting their consistency back.”
Despite a difficult Friday that included a disqualification for early starting along with 12 other crews in the tricky conditions, the Irish pair managed to maintain their resilience.
“You can’t always expect miracles in the medal race going in in ninth when its mathematically possible to medal but it’s a big ask,” said McGovern.
“It’s always a combination of results throughout the week and we just left ourselves with too much to do; coming out (of the medal race) in the same position as we went in is probably a pretty fair outcome.”
Next on the calendar is Germany’s Kieler Woche regatta in two weeks’ time, also potentially a light wind venue.
This will offer another opportunity for Dickson and Waddilove to continue to build momentum toward their goal of delivering consistently strong performances for this season and throughout the LA 2028 Olympic cycle.