Sport

Meet Team Ireland: Sailing

Our best hopes for medals at the Olympics

Robert Dickson and Sean Waddilove: Their Tokyo woes have made them all the more determined to have another crack at the Games. Photograph: David Branigan/Oceansport
Robert Dickson and Sean Waddilove: Their Tokyo woes have made them all the more determined to have another crack at the Games. Photograph: David Branigan/Oceansport
Mary Hannigan
Mon Jul 22 2024 - 20:41
Eve McMahon
Eve McMahon has enjoyed immense success at junior and youth level. Here she is in the Princess Sofia Regatta, Bay of Palma, Mallorca, in April last year. Photograph: ©INPHO/Oceansport/David Branigan
Eve McMahon has enjoyed immense success at junior and youth level. Here she is in the Princess Sofia Regatta, Bay of Palma, Mallorca, in April last year. Photograph: ©INPHO/Oceansport/David Branigan

Age: 20

Event: Sailing (Dinghy)

Club: Howth Yacht Club

Previous Games: None

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The UCD business student comes from a family steeped in sailing, starting courses in the sport when she was just seven. She was intent on following in the footsteps of Annalise Murphy, the 2016 Olympic silver medallist who has been both a coach and mentor. McMahon has enjoyed immense success at junior and youth level, winning world and European titles along the way but, given her relative inexperience in the senior ranks, LA 2028 might be a more realistic target for a spot on the podium. But the Dubliner will, no doubt, believe she can achieve that feat this time around.

Finn Lynch
Finn Lynch competing in the ILCA7 (Men's single-handed) event at the Allianz Sailing World Championships at The Hague. Photograph: David Branigan/Oceansport
Finn Lynch competing in the ILCA7 (Men's single-handed) event at the Allianz Sailing World Championships at The Hague. Photograph: David Branigan/Oceansport

Age: 28

Event: Sailing (Dinghy)

Club: The National Yacht Club, Dún Laoghaire

Previous Games: Rio 2016

Until 16, the Carlow man divided his sporting time between Gaelic football, rugby and sailing, his father introducing him to the latter sport on the lakes of Blessington. So talented did he prove to be, he focused on it thereafter, and just four years later he qualified for his first Olympics, the youngest Irish sailor to do so. He missed out on Tokyo, though, but his form since has been impressive, the highlight coming in Athens in February when he won bronze at the European Championships. Ranked in the world’s top 10, he is a genuine medal hope this summer.

Robert Dickson
Robert Dickson and Sean Waddilove in the 49er European Championship, in Vilamoura, Portugal, last November. Photograph: ©INPHO/Oceansport/David Branigan
Robert Dickson and Sean Waddilove in the 49er European Championship, in Vilamoura, Portugal, last November. Photograph: ©INPHO/Oceansport/David Branigan

Age: 26

Event: Sailing (Skiff)

Club: Howth Yacht Club

Previous Games: Tokyo 2020

After Dickson and Sean Waddilove’s experience in Tokyo three years ago, they’ll most probably head for Paris believing their fortunes must surely improve. The pair were seventh overall in the standings for the skiff 49er class after four races and were eyeing a medal when they received a two-race disqualification because their harness was overweight by a mere 90 grams. That put paid to their medal hopes, the north Dubliners winning their final race but finishing 13th overall. But they’re back, and hoping the gods smile more kindly on them this time around – and that they get their weights right.

Sean Waddilove
Robert Dickson with Sean Waddilove: The two have been sailing together for more than a decade. Photograph: David Branigan/Oceansport
Robert Dickson with Sean Waddilove: The two have been sailing together for more than a decade. Photograph: David Branigan/Oceansport

Age: 27

Event: Sailing (Skiff)

Club: Skerries Sailing Club

Previous Games: Tokyo 2020

The Skerries man and Robert Dickson have been sailing together for over a decade, getting to know each other during a transition-year break in La Rochelle where they both pursued their passion for sailing. By 2018, they were under-23 49er world champions, their triumph achieved in, of all places, Marseilles – the venue for sailing at this summer’s Olympics. Their Tokyo woes made them all the more determined to earn another crack at the Games, and it was mission accomplished at the 49er European Championships back in November where they finished eighth overall – an admirable achievement considering both men had struggled with illness in the months before.

Mary Hannigan

Mary Hannigan

Mary Hannigan is a sports writer with The Irish Times