Best ever result for Irish sailor in ILCA 7 World Championships, silver for Finn Lynch
by Rachel Fallon-Langdon 11 Nov 2021 20:43 NZDT
3-10 November 2021
Finn Lynch at the 2021 ILCA 7 World Championships © David Branigan / Oceansport
Finn Lynch has secured Ireland's best ever result at the Laser World Championships by filling the runner-up berth in Barcelona.
The Carlow sailor, who represents the National Yacht Club, finished the regatta with the best scores across all eight races, but New Zealand's Thomas Saunders grabbed gold after his worst result was discarded.
Two-time Olympic silver medallist Tonci Stipanovic of Croatia bagged bronze in a star-studded field.
This year's event was blighted by light winds that delayed or postponed racing since last Friday. However, Tuesday's competition saw Lynch deliver his best day yet, culminating in a race win.
Fresh winds were forecast for Wednesday to complete the regatta, when a duel between Saunders and Lynch was on the cards, but they never materialised and the results remain unchanged.
The result is redemption for Rio 2016 veteran Lynch, who missed out on qualification for Tokyo 2020 just six months ago despite earlier promising form.