The rollercoaster journey of the British Sailing Team and its Tokyo 2020 athletes is revealed in new behind-the-scenes film Chasing Tokyo, released today.

The 90-minute feature documentary lifts the lid on the highs and lows Team GB's athletes faced from the moment Covid derailed their plans to the aftermath of the most uncertain Olympics in history.

Chasing Tokyo is free to watch here and a trailer is below

Shot over two years, the Olympic Channel documentary charts the team’s physical and mental preparations as they get ready to compete, set against the extraordinary backdrop of uncertainty caused by the global pandemic which led to the postponement of the Games.

From the moment Covid derailed the original Games to desperately trying to get abroad to keep up with their rivals, from travelling to Tokyo to behind the scenes at the Team GB sailing base, athletes bear their hearts and souls to tell the true story of what it takes to go to an Olympics.

It tells the compelling story of Eilidh McIntyre, an Olympic debutant chasing her first gold medal – and aiming to continue her father Mike’s family legacy with the Games.

McIntyre’s journey is one of unfettered determination, drive and belief as she attempts to live up to the pressure of racing with Hannah Mills, herself attempting to become the most successful female Olympic sailor of all time.

Chasing Tokyo also follows London 2012 silver medallists Luke Patience and Stu Bithell as they seek success again almost ten years on with their new sailing partners Chris Grube and Dylan Fletcher.

Olympic first-timers Tom Squires and Emma Wilson lay bare their experiences in the RS:X windsurfing class, battling to stay at the top of their game when all but the Tokyo 2020 athletes have moved onto new foiling equipment.

The ultimate goal of Chasing Tokyo is to lift the lid on being an Olympic athlete, and inspire a whole new generation of talented sailors to continue Britain’s legacy as the most successful Olympic sailing nation of all time.

Chasing Tokyo Chasing Tokyo has been produced exclusively for the Olympic Channel by Orillo Films, a highly regarded production company known in sailing for producing content for Volvo Ocean Race, SailGP and America’s Cup teams.

A teenage sailor who competed for Tunisia at Tokyo 2020 has tragically died after an accident while training at sea.

According to BBC Sport, 17-year-old Eya Guezguez drowned after the boat she was sailing with her twin sister Sarra, who survived the incident, capsized in strong winds in the Mediterranean off the North African country's capital Tunis on Sunday (10 April).

The Guezguez twins were 16 when they raced in the 49erFX class at the Tokyo Olympic Games last summer — in a field that included Dublin sailor Saskia Tidey — and placed 21st overall.

They had been tipped to be future stars in the two-handed class.

BBC Sport has more on the story HERE.

Irish Sailing has announced changes to its Olympic coaching team in the wake of last month’s Tokyo 2020 performance review.

Sean Evans, who has worked with Irish Sailing since 2018 as Academy coach, now becomes the Olympic development coach, a role that oversees the development of athletes aspiring to undertake Olympic campaigns.

Meanwhile, Valencia-based Milan Vujasinovic has been appointed Laser Radial Academy coach, a position he previously held from 2011-2014.

Former ISA president Roger Bannon reacts to the publication of the external review of the Tokyo Olympics performance, while current Irish Sailing president David O’Brien defends the report’s delivery and optimism for Paris

Confidence in Irish Sailing “at all-time low”

Roger Bannon served as President of the association from 1994 to 1996

It is pleasing to see the change of heart to publish the carefully-edited report on the Tokyo Games though disappointing that much of the substantial background to it has been redacted or ignored. It is clear that widespread criticisms from a variety of sources have been independently vindicated.

It is interesting that the mainstream media are viewing the report as a catalogue of failures. In these circumstances, it seems very strange that the Performance Director “endorses” the report which, in reality, represents a very negative assessment on the performance of our Olympic Steering Group. It would be interesting to hear a reaction from the Chairman, Patrick Coveney.

The management failures are self-evident and are not only damaging the elite athletes involved but unfortunately also perpetuating a consequential negative impact on grassroots sailing by adopting harmful strategic policies.

The inexplicable and inconsistent changes of the Radial selection process for Tokyo; the failure of modest technical support for the only discipline, 49er, in which we had to supply equipment; the unexpected failure of our Laser representative to qualify for the Games despite showing his class shortly afterwards by finishing 2nd in the World Championships; and the abject disaster of accommodation planning in Tokyo, contribute to a long list of critical failures.

Following the unjustified raising of expectations, it is also clear that Sailing’s relationship with Sport Ireland has to be understandably under some stress with the disappointments of Tokyo.

In any other national sporting body, the consequences of these failures and anxieties would be clear-cut and decisive.

It is time for the management of this relationship with Sport Ireland to return to the direct control of the Board of Irish Sailing. It is intolerable that main Board members have had little or no involvement in managing this critical relationship.

In the meantime, the Board must take urgent and significant action. A good start would be to review the composition of the membership of the Olympic Steering Group (OSG) and appoint individuals with specific responsibility for operational, financial and HR matters to report directly to the Board.

To continue justifying the significant level of ongoing Government funding (as the 3rd best-funded Olympic sport in Ireland), it is time for a comprehensive review of the management structure in the Irish Sailing Association and an honest assessment of its effectiveness in fulfilling the strategic objectives of Irish Sailing.

Confidence in the Irish Sailing Association is at an all-time low and restoring credibility with sailors and Government funders alike has to be a major priority for the Board.

- Roger Bannon

Report gives clear guidance for Paris success

Irish Sailing President David O’Brien

I wish to make the following comments in respect of the Uppercut report as the Roger Bannon piece would suggest he may have been misinformed.

The report as published has not been redacted. To suggest so is incorrect. As you will appreciate in many instances, the full report quotes the actual feedback given by the, at times identifiable, stakeholders (athletes, Sport Ireland officials, our High-Performance team, and Irish Sailing Board members and CEO), who participated openly on the understanding of full confidentiality.

As is normal with such reviews, Uppercut prepared both documents (full and summary), and they are confident that all their findings, and conclusions are in the summary report. The Board of Irish Sailing are satisfied that all the salient points raised in the full report have been published in the summary. It is our duty as Irish Sailing Board Members to ensure transparency and good governance and to suggest otherwise is incorrect and indeed disappointing.

The Irish Sailing Board are pleased with the reaction within Irish Sailing to the report, especially from the OSG Chair and High-Performance Director. While the report acknowledges issues to be addressed, it also provides learnings for future campaigns and as such Irish Sailing see the report as a work-in-progress in our desire to develop the most successful organisation possible and win future Olympic medals. Everyone within Irish Sailing strives to improve, and as such the report provides clear guidance on what needs to be worked upon.

The HPP has been in existence since the Athens Olympics and is a well-established, stable, and structured programme, which has seen its resources and structures evolve and expand over that time. As is usual at the end of an Olympic cycle, and in the light of this report, the Irish Sailing Board will review the Terms of Reference of the OSG. One of the report’s recommendations was to review internal communications, which has already been activated by our CEO.

Whilst the report does comment on Irish Sailing’s relationship with Sport Ireland, we don’t believe this relationship is in any way under the stress Roger Bannon suggests, but rather it is a relationship jointly disappointed by the Tokyo outcome. But we can advise that a very positive follow up meeting has been held with Sport Ireland to present the Summary report to them and they, in turn, have expressed their satisfaction with the integrity of the report and its recommendations. Both parties are confident the report will help to strengthen our relationship into the future, specifically with the Paris and the Los Angeles Olympic games in mind.

The Irish Sailing Board and OSG will continue to work closely to ensure the issues highlighted in the report will be addressed, and the best possible results achieved in Paris.

- David O'Brien

Tokyo was a disappointing Olympic Games that did not deliver on the high expectations post-Rio is a conclusion of an independent external review published yesterday by the Irish Sailing Association (ISA).

"Fewer boats qualified than the expected targets, and the performance of the boats which did qualify was disappointing", the report states.

The review, commissioned by the ISA, was prepared by sports coaching guru Gary Keegan of consultants Uppercut and was initially scheduled to be published by November 2021 but was released yesterday (February 8th) on the association website.

The review follows criticism from a number of key observers including Olympians and former coaches as well as plain-speaking former ISA President Roger Bannon, who called for some 'dispassionate reflection on Ireland's sailing performance' post-Tokyo.

In the five years from Rio, Irish Sailing received €3.87m in High-Performance state funding as follows: 2017: €735k, 2018: €735k, 2019: €800k, 2020: €800k and 2021: €800k. The association also benefited from a state funding allocation of €1.553m under the National Sports policy as follows: 2018: €323k, 2019: €385k, 2020: €410k and 2021: €435k

"Sailing is one of the top three funded sports in Ireland, and the expectation was to have four boats qualifying, two in medal contention and one Olympic medal, but that wasn't achieved", the Keegan report says.

49er highlight

However, "the performance of the 49er crew was a highlight given that they were first time Olympians and suffered a disqualification for two races", Keegan notes.  

Introducing the report, Irish Sailing President David O'Brien said, "I am very pleased to share the independent external review of the Tokyo Olympics with you, Irish Sailing members and the wider sailing community".

It appears, however, the association stopped short of publishing the full review and instead released a 17-page 'summary of headline findings'. (downloadable below)

The emerging themes arising out of Gary Keegan's analysis of the Irish Sailing Tokyo Review data

The summary document notes: "A comprehensive report was issued to the Review Steering Panel which outlined the detailed findings, supporting evidence and recommendations based on the data and information shared during the review and also shares some perspectives and comparatives based on our experience of HP environments".

Sport Ireland

The report states that Sport Ireland's confidence in the IS High-Performance Programme (HPP) has been demonstrated in the level of investment the HPP has managed to secure through the Rio and Tokyo cycles, but "there would seem to be a slight shift in confidence from Sport Ireland's perspective following the performances in Tokyo and, what Sport Ireland believes, to be a reduced level of proactive communication and engagement from the HPP into Sport Ireland on high-performance matters".

Irish Sailing community

"The Irish sailing community (the Club base) would benefit from having an increased awareness and understanding of the HPP", the review concludes. The HPP athletes have all developed through the club system onto the HPP. The report says that "their journey and their endeavours to be world-class should be shared more with club members to enhance the sense of pride and connection the club community has with their HPP".

Fukuroi base

"There was positive feedback about Fukuroi in Tokyo, but at their Olympic accommodation base, athletes reported challenges with "a sense of isolation due to the location, travel times to sailing venue from the hotel, lack of facilities, time on their own (leading to over-thinking) restricted movements, sharing rooms, poor quality of food etc.", the Uppercut report says.

Some of these problems were caused by losing the intended main accommodation base, which was a critical factor concerning the quality of the team's final taper and preparations. "Overall, there was a lack of support on-site compared to competitors, e.g. access to psychology and physio support, boat repairs etc. and management reported the challenge in securing that support for the duration of the Games", the report says.

Harness measurement infraction

The report deals with the measurement infraction experienced by the 49er crew that led to disqualification from two races and concludes it was "avoidable". Both the coaches and athletes highlighted that the cause was due to a harness that had deteriorated, i.e. a wearing down of the harness's hydrophobic layer, leading it to absorb more water and, therefore, increasing its weight.

"The harness was checked too far out from the regatta. There was no protocol in place to identify red flags in the system and appropriate action to be taken and also no checks and balances protocol", it says. 

Selection Policy & Process

In relation to Selection Policy & Process for future Olympic Games, the report says consideration could be given to building in a "force majeure" provision to the Selection Policy to deal with unforeseen and unanticipated situations.

The report also says more communication with athletes who do not qualify needs to be enhanced with the time taken to do this with sensitivity and respect and to explain the context and rationale. As regular Afloat readers will know, a cut-short Radial trial led to significant concerns over and hoc change in process in 2020.

James O'Callaghan, Irish Sailing Performance Director, said in response to the report. "The challenges are clear, but there is great optimism from all stakeholders about the potential of the programme given the athlete profile and experience of the coaching and leadership team".

Download the summary of findings below

All of Afloat's Tokyo coverage is in this dedicated link here. Rio 2016 coverage is here and Paris 2024 is here. 

The 49erFX partner of Dun Laoghaire’s Saskia Tidey at Tokyo 2020 has spoken of her fond memories of competing at the highest level as she called time on her Olympic career.

As previously reported on Afloat.ie, Charlotte Dobson was among a host of top names in British sailing who announced their retirement from Olympic campaigning this week.

Originally contesting in the Laser Radial (now ILCA 6), the Scottish sailor switched to the 49erFX skiff when it was introduced in 2014, teaming up with Sophie Ainsworth. The pair won their spot with Team GB for Rio 2016, finishing ninth.

Dobson then joined forces with Ireland’s Saskia Tidey following the Royal Irish Yacht Club sailor’s decision to move to Team GBR in 2017, citing a lack of opportunities for her to pursue her career at home.

The duo quickly established themselves as a powerhouse of the 49erFX fleet, backed up by string of podium results silvers at the Olympic test event and the 2020 World Championships.

Dobson and Tidey led the Tokyo 2020 regatta in the windy early stages before being overhauled later on as the breeze turned light, eventually finishing sixth.

Dobson, who married Dylan Fletcher a few weeks after returning from Tokyo, is now looking to work in banking.

“We gave it a really good crack but it wasn’t enough at the end. I think you have to know when it’s time to say that we did our best but it wasn’t really good enough”

On retirement, the 35-year-old from Rhu, near Glasgow, says: “The latest news for me is that I’m going to hang up my sailing boots and trapeze harness and say goodbye to the Olympic world. It’s been an amazing period of time, and now I’m going on to work out what the next thing is.

“It was a pretty easy decision to be honest. I genuinely felt in the couple of years before Tokyo that Saskia [Tidey] and I had given ourselves the best chance of winning a medal in Tokyo. We’d worked with some incredible coaches and support staff, and had some amazing sailors in our training groups. When you’re proud of the campaign you put together you have to accept the result at the end.

“We gave it a really good crack but it wasn’t enough at the end. I think you have to know when it’s time to say that we did our best but it wasn’t really good enough.”

Asked for her fondest memories of the Games, Dobson says: “It’s probably more of feeling than a memory. Regardless of the result not turning out the way we wanted, I wholeheartedly feel hugely proud to be part of that Tokyo team.

“We were surrounded by excellent people doing pretty incredible things. The atmosphere was one of elevating yourself. It was a huge honour to see some of the sailing greats that we had do their thing, and try to emulate that.”

As for her future plans? “I’m dipping my toes into the real world slowly, and I’m hopefully going to find a job in banking,” she says. “I’m definitely not going very far from Portland, I love it here. Sailing has brought me all the way from the west coast of Scotland to this little island and I love it. I won’t be completely disappearing.”

Dobson also had the following advice for sailing’s next generation: “I’d say just stay in love with our sport. It’s the most incredible sport, and so wide-ranging. You can sail fast boats, slow boats, complicated boats, simple boats, with people, on your own… Never lose the love for the sport.

“Do as much sailing across a variety of boats. And if you decide you want to go to the Olympics it’s totally possible. Anything is possible when you set a goal, put your mind to it and crack on.”

Sailing at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games has won Gold in the Best Coverage by the Host Broadcaster category of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) Golden Rings Awards.

Producer Henry Mok and director Leon Sefton received the award for providing an outstanding race experience for millions of viewers around the world via Olympic Broadcasting Services (OBS), which produces the live television, radio and digital coverage for the Olympic and Paralympic Games.

Using on-board cameras to capture the highs and lows of each class, along with the athleticism and determination of the athletes, viewers got the ultimate immersive experience.

This is now the third time sailing has won gold in this Golden Rings Awards category, following Beijing 2008 and London 2012.

David Graham, World Sailing CEO, said, "Filming sailing is unique. The idiosyncrasies, the adrenaline and the fiercely competitive nature of our sport can be difficult to capture and convey to the audience. All credit goes to OBS - they did a tremendous job and while their new innovations clearly added extra complexity and workload for them, it made a huge difference, particularly the onboard cameras they could control remotely from their dedicated network and equipping our athletes with microphones.

"These aspects really brought our sport alive for million of viewers. We are indebted to OBS and particularly their sailing team for these extra efforts - it has had a hugely positive impact on our sport, and will do for years to come. A well-deserved gold, thank you OBS!"

Sailing at the Tokyo 2020 Games also marked the debut of SAP Sailing Analytics to provide added depth to live broadcasts. The wind-based leaderboard and GPS tracking gave the opportunity for fans around the world to follow the races in real-time with greater accuracy and a broader range of statistics and insights to draw from. The SAP platform was featured by more than 30 rights holding broadcasters around the world and gave commentators access to the live data to enrich the viewing experience.

Speaking at the ceremony, IOC President Thomas Bach, said, "The Olympic Games Tokyo 2020 were the most engaged Olympic Games ever and another landmark moment in sports broadcasting history. Through the IOC’s partnerships with leading media companies around the world, we are able to share the magic of the Olympic Games to inspire billions of people.

"Our close partnership with our broadcasters is a great reflection that we can only go faster, we can only aim higher, we can only become stronger, if we work together – in solidarity.

"There were more submissions for the Golden Rings Awards than ever before, and the breadth, diversity and creativity of the production is testament to the passion and commitment of the individuals who work with us to broadcast the Olympic Games."

The Golden Rings Awards is a prestigious international competition organised by the IOC to promote and award excellence in the broadcasting of the Olympic Games.

The winners were selected by an international jury headed by IOC Member Anant Singh, who is a leading professional in the film and media industries, Chair of the IOC Communications Commission and a member of the IOC's Olympic Channel Commission and the Digital & Technology Commission.

The awards ceremony took place in the IOC’s headquarters, Olympic House, in Lausanne, where the IOC is currently hosting a series of IOC commission meetings.

The athletes and staff who represented Team Ireland at Tokyo 2020 this summer were formally congratulated at the Official Team Ireland Homecoming in Dublin Castle this morning.

A record number of Irish athletes competed at the Summer Olympics in Japan with 116 athletes (including three dinghy sailors; Annalise Murphy in the Radial and Robert Dickson and Sean Waddilove in the 49er) competing across nineteen sports.

Olympic Federation of Ireland President Sarah Keane, and CEO of Sport Ireland, John Treacy were joined by the Taoiseach Micheál Martin, Minister Catherine Martin, Minister of State Jack Chambers and His Excellency Ambassador of Japan to Ireland, Mitsuru Kitano at the special event to honour the athletes.

Athletes were presented with gifts to recognise their achievements as Olympians at the ceremony, which included music by musician Roisin O. Top class memorable performances and emotional moments captured the nation for two weeks, in a Games that netted two Olympic titles and two bronze medals for Ireland, with a record number of eight athletes stepping on the podium.

Congratulating the athletes and team at the official event Taoiseach Micheál Martin said,

“I am delighted to honour and pay tribute to the Team Ireland athletes and staff for an Olympic Games that will live long in the memory.

“We are incredibly proud of our medallists, and also each and every athlete. Your personal efforts and commitment was truly inspirational.

“To even reach the Games was an extraordinary journey, and your achievements lifted the nation this summer.”

Inside the Games has reported that World Sailing’s deficit for 2020 was lower than expected — and that it expects a similar dividend from the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo to what it received five years ago from Rio 2016.

Sailing’s world governing body says the “successful delivery” of Tokyo 2020 this summer after a year’s delay enforced by the COVID-19 pandemic had “alleviated the critical financial risks associated with the cancellation of the Games”.

The body’s accounts also included confirmation of an arrangements to borrow $3.1 million (€2.7 million) from the IOC, repayable without interest over five years from this December.

Inside the Games has much more on the story HERE.

It was party time in Dun Laoghaire Harbour last Thursday night (September 23rd) to welcome home the Irish Olympic sailing team from last month's Tokyo Olympic Games.

Invited guests included Government Ministers, Olympians, local Dun Laoghaire Rathdown officials plus yacht club commodores and sponsors who were all back on the waterfront to hear Annalise Murphy's thoughts post-Tokyo as the team returned to its High-Performance HQ at the Irish Lights Depot.

Murphy's teammates, the 49er duo Robert Dickson and Sean Waddilove were in attendance too along with the Tokyo backroom team.

Minister of State for Sport and the Gaeltacht Jack Chambers along with Minister of State at the Department of the Environment, Ossian Smyth, the local Green Party TD, were invited to the outdoor function.

From Northern Ireland, 1984 and 1988, Olympian Bill O'Hara OBE was also at the get-together, as were members of the Olympic Federation of Ireland including CEO Peter Sherrard.

The Dun Laoghaire High Performance HQ was the venue for last Thursday night's homecoming celebrations of the Olympic Team

The Rio silver medalist signed off the evening by thanking Rory Fitzpatrick 'for being her coach' and updated the event on how she is adjusting to life as an MBA student at UCD.

Irish prospects for Paris 2024

Next on the agenda for the Irish Olympic sailing team is, of course, Paris 2024. With just three years to the first gun at Marseille, Thursday evening provided the chance to pitch Irish prospects.

The race for places has already begun with Polish duo Mikolaj Staniul / Kuba Sztorch crowned 49er European champions in Thessaloniki last week. Although no Irish crew participated at the Greek event, there are already triennial developments at home with Cork Harbour's Seafra Guilfoyle and Johnny Durcan announcing this month they will be making a bid for the single Irish men's skiff slot.

Finn Lynch, who was unsuccessful in his quest for a Tokyo Laser place, has already declared he will run again and it is expected Howth's Ewan McMahon will also be a contender. And in the Radial, McMahon's sister, Eve and Aoife Hopkins, both of Howth, will each seek the nomination.

Tokyo 2020 Review

A number of post-Tokyo reviews are being conducted. One is being undertaken by Irish Sailing, which, for the first time since Athens 2004, will be in the hands of "an external sports management expert", according to sailing president David O'Brien.

That's a process that will no doubt shine a light on the circumstances surrounding the controversially cut-short 2020 Radial selection procedure. 

The review is expected to be completed by year-end.