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Chris Ison/PA Wire/Press Association Images
London 2012

Sailing wrap: Owens and Flanigan finish 470 on high note

The Irish pair finish in 23rd place overall on their final day of competition in Weymouth.

IRISH PAIR GER OWENS and Scott Flanigan sailed the best day of their Olympic regatta on Tuesday to finish the 470 class on a high note.

Owens and Flanigan were in last place of the fleet’s 27 boats heading into the final races but pulled themselves up to 23rd overall with two strong performances.

After a slow start to race nine, the Irish boat rallied to finish mid-fleet in 16th and then followed that with an excellent fifth-place finish in race 10.

The final race was won by the Australian crew of Mathew Belcher and Malcolm Paige who lead Great Britain by four points heading into Thursday’s medal decider.

Sailing in Weymouth continues until Saturday but Owens and Flanigan are the final members of Team Ireland to finish their competition.

Dublin’s Annalise Murphy came closest to bringing a medal back across the Irish Sea. After starting her regatta with a brilliant four wins from four, the Rathfarnham woman was edged out of the podium positions in the final minutes of the laser radial medal race on Monday.

Peter O’Leary and David Burrows had Ireland’s best-ever result in the star class, where they qualified for the medal race and finished 10th.

Ryan Seaton and Matt McGovern finished 14th overall in the 49er class while James Espey’s Olympic debut in the laser class ended in 36th place.

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