Tokyo veterans Robert Dickson and Sean Waddilove booked their place for the Paris Olympics following the conclusion of the Irish selection trials at La Grande Motte on Sunday.
After the morning saw the final fleet race cancelled due to light winds, the Dublin crew placed eighth overall and qualified for the medal race final.
However, the result saw them beat Cork’s Séafra Guilfoyle and Johnny Durcan who ended the European championship for their 49er class in 12th place, their best result to date.
While the result lines Dickson and Waddilove up nicely for their second Olympic appearance, capitalising on their result from last November’s European Championship when they won a nation place in the men’s skiff event for Paris, that the selection trials went down to potentially the final race of the third and final event is indicative of the form of both crews.
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Dickson and Waddilove had a faltering start to the season without pulling ahead as might have been expected from the more experienced pairing.
Nor did Guilfoyle and Durcan overcome some of their consistency issues that had held back their potential until both crews went into this final event in France for the European title.
As the week progressed, the Dublin veterans showed more of their usual form including top ten results and a race win. But so too did the Crosshaven boat and by the weekend there was a growing sense that they too had the potential to take the sole berth for the games.
After a poor start to the opening event of the trials series, the 49er world championships in Lanzarote a the start of March, neither crew delivered inspirational results.
Then, after last month’s world cup of Sailing event in Hyerés and another event with a clear outcome, Dickson and Waddilove had a mere five-point lead in the series, a result easily overcome by a single race.
The past week saw a qualification and final round that comprised 14 races in which Guilfoyle and Durcan steadily closed the gap as both crews rose through the overall standings of the 68-boat event.
In the end however, experience and seniority made the difference and the Dublin crew were clearly returning to the form they displayed at times during the Tokyo regatta when they won both opening and closing races of their event.
For the Crosshaven crew, not winning the trials was offset by the best result to date and a performance that sets down a marker of intent for Los Angeles in four years time.
Dickson and Waddilove now join Rio 2016 veteran Finn Lynch along with newcomer and rising international star Eve McMahon in their respective one-person dinghy classes expected to be announced by the Olympic Ferderation of Ireland in the national squad next month.
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