Dun Laoghaire Harbour's Saskia Tidey, who now sails for Team GB in a 49erFX campaign for Paris 2024, struck gold with new sailing partner Freya Black at Lanzarote International Regatta.
Black and Tidey (of the Royal Irish Yacht Club) looked hard to beat going into the regatta with a consistent display in some strong wind conditions. In the medal race, the Irish-British combination crossed the finish line in fourth, giving them the gold medal. Italy’s Jana Germani and Giorgia Bertuzzi made a late charge across the finish to grab silver from the Americans, Steph Roble and Maggie Shea, who took bronze.
A year ago, Black had barely trapezed off the side of any dinghy, let alone a high-performance skiff like the 49erFX. Working with the experienced double Olympian Tidey, Black quickly made phenomenal progress. “I’m so, so buzzing and so proud of what we've done here this week,” said Black. Tidey added: “We’re slightly ahead of where we want to be and it’s a great start to a really important year as we build up towards qualifying for the Paris Olympics.
“We’ve had a really good training block here in Lanzarote. We've been here for three years now, and the conditions just deliver every single time we've been here"
Results here