Press Release
Melbourne, Australia - 29 November 2015
Irish Paralympic Sailors at the end of day two remain
middle of the fleet in the 2015 Para Worlds Sailing
Championships in their bid for a place on the start line in
Rio next year.
Perfect sailing conditions continued in Port Phillip bay for races three and four of the
2015 Para World Sailing Championships out of Williamstown’s Royal Yacht Club of
Victoria.
The breeze was generally southerly, starting at around eight knots and steadily
building to approximately 12 knots in the later afternoon.
After four races, Ireland's paralympic sailors lie in 9th place, in the middle of the fleet,
at the end of day two at the 2015 Para World Sailing Championships in
Williamstown, Melbourne, Australia. More importantly, of the nations seeking to
qualify for a place on the start line in Rio next year at the paralympics, Ireland are
still in fourth position out of a possible six places.
With seven more races to go, Ian Costelloe, one of the crew of the Irish Paralympic
team said: "It was a great day for sailing, the competition is really though here but we
are sailing really well. Our first race today went okay for us; we played it well, but
unfortunately the second race today was a bit tricker and we came out the wrong
side of a windshift. But other than that we are happy with our progress and there's
still a lot of sailing to be done."
Scores are quite close in this fleet and give the promise of some further great
competition over the next four days.
Among the 18 boats in the Sonar fleet, Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Britain,
Greece and Norway have already booked their place at Rio 2016.
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However Ireland, Israel, Italy, Japan, South Korea, New Zealand, Spain, the United
States and the US Virgin Islands will be chasing the remaining six spots on offer,
with three teams set to miss out on berths for the Games.
The Irish Paralympic Sailing Team comprising John Twomey, Ian Costello and
Austin O'Carroll is campaigning to qualify for the 2016 Rio Paralympic Games. This
final qualifying event is being hosted by one of the oldest sailing clubs in Australia,
the Royal Yacht Club Victoria, Williamstown, Melbourne from November 28th to the
3rd of December 2015. The event comprises of eleven races, two for each of the first
five days with the final race on Dec 3rd.
The team compete in the 23 foot Sonar Class, which for Paralympic events is a two
sails keelboat. The Irish team are currently ranked 5th in the world. Racing out of
the Royal Yacht Club of Victoria in Williamstown, a small suburb of Melbourne,
competitors are seeking to qualify for a place on the start line in the Paralymic
Games in Rio, Brazil 2016. The Irish team need to secure a place in the top six
overall in this championship to secure their place on the start line in Rio de Janeiro
next year.
Entries from 31 countries and 81 boats comprising 142 sailors are competing for just
35 places to participate in the 2016 Paralympic Games in Rio, Brazil next year. The
fleet of sailors across three different types of boats include 45 sailing the 2.4mR
(single person boat), 18 sailing the SKUD 18 (two person boat) and 18 sailing the
Sonar (three person boat).
In total, 35 athletes, across three fleets of boats will book their spot at Rio 2016 in
Melbourne. Seven spots in the 2.4mR, five in the SKUD18 and six in the Sonar will
be up for grabs.
Irish Sonar Team Crew Profiles
John Twomey, from Ballinhassig Co. Cork, has been sailing since 1979, having
competed in 10 Paralympic Games. Winning a Gold medal in Seoul 1988 and
Bronze medal in Great Britain 1984 while throwing the discus and he has competed
in the Sydney 2000, Athens 2004, Beijing 2008 and London 2012 Paralympics in
sailing. If he successfully qualifies for Rio 2016 this will be his 11th Paralympic
Games.
Ian Costello, from Killorglin Co. Kerry, has been sailing since 2009 having competed
in the London 2012 Paralympic Games finishing in 7th place with several top 10
finishes including a 2nd place finish in the penultimate race. Ian is an avid sportsman
partaking in several long distance cycling events as well as Gaelic football and
soccer.
Austin O'Carroll from Dublin is a GP in Inner City Dublin. He has a deep interest in
Health Inequalities. Austin has been sailing since 1983 and is pursuing his first
Paralympic Games. Austin is the most recent member to join the team but has
brought a wealth of experience and knowledge to the team. Austin is also a keen
cyclist.
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ENDS /
For further information please contact:
Jacqui Browne - email: abrihouse@gmail.com
Jpeg photo of the Irish team on the water is attached
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