SAILING:DESPITE HANGING up his sea-boots for 18 months, double Olympic veteran Ger Owens is to launch a fresh attempt in the 470 double-handed class for the London 2012 Games.
With barely 15 months remaining, the Dun Laoghaire sailor has teamed up with Malahide’s Scott Flanigan, who recently graduated to the adult class following the youth development pathway.
Owens reckons Flanigan is an “outstanding athlete”, and coached him for the ISAF Youth Worlds last year where he placed 21st with Cian O’Regan.
But this latest move is not an extension of the coaching, more a continuation of the last two Owens campaigns as his previous crew, Phil Lawton, is now married and living in Cambodia.
Lawton, and Ross Killian from 2006, are older now and less physically suited to the 470, according to Owens.
Nevertheless, the timing is tight. So why the change of heart?
“We left no stone unturned for the last games (in Beijing), and afterwards I suppose I just felt burnt-out and the thought of getting into a boat freaked me out a bit,” he told The Irish Times yesterday.
But with six years experience in the 470, Owens feels its okay to jump back in, even late in the day.
“It’s on our doorstep and probably about one-third of the cost, so there’s far less stress,” he said. “Before, I was trying to find reasons to do another campaign, now it’s trying to find reasons not to.”
Irish Sailing Association high-performance manager James O’Callaghan welcomed the development, although funding will not be forthcoming until results are delivered.
“It’s an exciting prospect when you have an Olympic veteran coming back, especially to a boat that he knows inside out,” said O’Callaghan, who drew a parallel with David Burrows’ debut in the 1996 Games when he teamed up with veteran Mark Mansfield.
“Combining youth with experience will undoubtedly benefit Scott,” said O’Callaghan.
“That said, even with that experience it’s going to be a tough call coming this late into the cycle in one of the most competitive classes.”
Flanigan came through the 420 class, and holds the national title with O’Regan, who has not continued into the senior class.
Rob Lehane and Iarlaith Kennedy are the other development crew who could qualify for 2012, which would be a bonus, according to O’Callaghan, but he is realistic about this.
“Scott has jumped a couple of stages by joining up with Owens, no doubt about that, but their (the other crews’) goal was always 2016.”
Jane Butler and Jenny Andreason, campaigning for the women’s 470 class, placed 19th in the Youth Worlds and are targeting 2016, though the Leaving Cert in June is certain to be a higher priority.
In the meantime, the coming months may yet see Owens and Flanigan enjoy a fast learning-curve to join Peter O’Leary and Burrows in the Star, along with Annalise Murphy in the Laser Radial, as Irish prospects for the regatta in Weymouth in 2012.
