IRISH SAILORS GER Owens and Scott Flanigan sealed their qualification for the London 2012 Olympics earlier today.
Owens and Flanigan are taking part in the 470 World Championships in Barcelona, where an extra seven Olympics places are available, in addition to the 20 places that had already been allocated in 2011.
They are currently in 24th position overall at the event, after finishing 10th and 13th in their races today.
The 95 competing boats have been split into gold, silver and bronze fleets, and the pair are in the gold fleet.
Consequently, Owens and Flanigan can no longer fall under the seventh required nation, and have therefore secured their place on the plane to London.
Speaking following the sailors’ achievement, James O’Callaghan, ISA Performance Director, said: “Ger and Scott fully deserve this. They sailed a great qualifying series to secure qualification early. It means we now have a five-boat Irish team going to London, which is a great achievement.”
Meanwhile, Ross Hamilton is currently in 49th position from a fleet of 94 boats following Day 3 in Cornwall at the Finn World Championships, finishing 41st and a 47th in his two races today.
