Resuming the momentum from Saturday’s Paris Olympics, the Irish sailing teams kicked off the second day of the Olympic regatta in a strong manner. In the women’s pair heat, Aifric Keogh and Fiona Murtagh spectacularly surged to the finish, managing to seize second place, a mere .01 seconds ahead of Czechia.
In an exhilarating, tightly-contested finish of the men’s pair heat, Ross Corrigan and Nathan Timoney claimed the third qualifying position by a nail-biting .02 second margin over their Swiss competitors.
Despite having a challenging race and a long-standing dispute with Team GB, Keogh and Murtagh — previously scoring spots on all three World Cup regattas this season — managed to outperform them for the third position in the remaining 200 metres, subsequently chasing down Czechia to grab them on the final beat of the race.
Both Keogh and Murtagh’s semi-final and Corrigan and Timoney’s race will occur on Wednesday, following an epic heat in which the American crew dropped behind mid-race and the remaining four boats vied for the three qualifying positions.
Despite being behind by half a length in fourth place post-1,500m, the Irish crew marshalled their strength and in the last stretch of the race, with all four boats racing, Spain and New Zealand seized the initial two positions while Timoney and Corrigan narrowly beat the Swiss for the third position.
Ireland experienced its first regatta setback in the women’s lightweight double scull when Mags Cremen and Aoife Casey secured third place in their heat, leaving only two positions for the semi-finals.
The undefeated Team GB, who clinched the heat, had the second spot essentially set as a contest between Ireland and Greece. Showcasing a quick start, the Greeks maintained a lead against the Irish crew for the most of the race.
With a 15 metre deficit and merely 200 metres left, Cremen and Casey were unable to bridge this gap, culminating the race at a little over four seconds behind the Greeks. Cremen and Casey will aim for a more promising outcome in tomorrow’s repechage. Further updates are forthcoming.