With the finish of the women’s Radial World Championship in Japan another hurdle on the road to Olympic selection has been passed.
For Alison Young – Britain’s representative at London and Rio – it justified the RYA’s Olympic Selection Committee (OSC*) choice of Young for the final Tokyo 2020 Test Event in August.
After finishing fourth in the Europeans in May, she has now added a bronze at the Worlds to give her confidence at the test event, when the fleets will be competing along Olympic lines, with one entry per country.
It was a tougher task for Nick Thompson, the British Laser representative in Rio, in the men’s Laser World Championship held in Japan before the Radial event.
Thompson finished 5th at the worlds with Elliot Hanson 7th and Lorenzo Chiavarini 8th. This followed the European Championships where Chiavarini took the title with Thompson 2nd.
The OSC awarded the test event place to Hanson, who will need a good result there to turn that selection into a Tokyo 2020 place.
Next up on the Olympic classes championship circuit are the 470 Worlds, again taking place in Japan and just two weeks before the final test event.
Here Britain’s Hannah Mills and Eilidh McIntyre (Mills took Silver in London and Gold in Rio) have stayed on course for Tokyo 2020, with a silver at the Europeans and are named for the final test event.
Barring accidents they are well on track for Tokyo 2020 selection.
Not so straight forward in the men’s 470 where Luke Patience and Chris Grube finished 14th in the Europeans and had a poor World Cup Series, best finish 10th.
They have been named for the final test event, but need to get a decent result at the upcoming Worlds to justify the RYA’s Tokyo 2020 selection.
The Tokyo 2020 Test Event is a dress rehearsal for the Games proper taking place at the Olympic venue of Enoshima from August 17 to 22, and will include the likely selections from each qualifying country for Tokyo 2020.
All ten events are featured and to highlight the importance of selection for the final test event . . . of the ten GBR crews who were selected for the Rio final test event, eight went on to the actual Games where they won 2 gold and a silver.
Straight after the final Tokyo test event there is Round 1 of the Olympic Classes 2020 World Cup also at Enoshima, and most of the British Sailing Team are expected to compete at what could be a crucial event in the British Tokyo 2020 selection process.
For the Rio Olympics the RYA OSC named their first selections in the September and completed the team in the May before the Games.
* Note: The OSC is charged with the Selection of Athletes to represent the British Sailing Team at the Olympic Games.
The OSC comprises of: Jarrod Simpson (Chair) Rob Andrews, Sarah Gosling, Saskia Clark, Lucy Macgregor, Leigh McMillan, Ian Walker (RYA Staff Member) Mark Robinson (RYA Staff Member) and Carla Stanley.
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