Annalise Murphy seems untouchable in the women’s Laser Radial class at Weymouth, the Irish sailor winning her latest two races of the regatta to maintain her 100 per cent record in her debut Olympic Games. Remarkably, Murphy has led all but one of her four races from start to finish, completely dominating her rivals.
Murphy again showed she relishes the tough conditions with the rest of the fleet simply unable to live with her amazing boat speed.
Her performances at Weymouth, where she has based herself in preparation for these Games, mark her out as the sailor to beat across all classes, with no other competitor dominating to the extent the Dubliner has.
In today’s third race, of the 41-strong fleet only Britain’s Alison Young was able to exert a slight hint of pressure but by that stage the result was already beyond doubt. Young did manage to trim Murphy’s lead but the Dubliner still won by eight seconds.
After a short break in the fourth race of the series, Murphy again taking advantage of the clear seas and clean air to stretch the field with Young consigned to second place, 30 seconds behind Murphy.
In terms of the overall standings, Murphy now holds a commanding lead of 12 points over Eve Van Ecker.
In the men’s 49er, meanwhile, Ryan Seaton and Matt McGovern could only manage 15th place in their third race but improved to second in the fourth, a result that leaves them in sixth place overall. Peter O’Leary and David Burrows are in sixth place overall after five races while James Espey remains down near the bottom of the field in the men’s Star.
