Howth's Robert Dickson goes into French Olympic Week (24-29th April 2023) in Hyerés recovering from a viral infection over the past week but it is not the only issue confronting the Howth Yacht Club ace and Tokyo 2020 crew-mate Seán Waddilove in the build-up to Paris 2024.

It's not clear just how much practice was achieved in the past fortnight but following the giant Princess Sofia Trophy regatta in Palma, Mallorca, extra practice for light air conditions was on the cards for the Irish 49er sailors, as their performance in windier conditions when they leapt into the lead was clearly linked to their overall result.

It seems like only yesterday that the Olympic debutantes packed up from Tokyo, but the sprint is on for Paris 2024, and the just-finished Princess Sofia Trophy 2023 was the first chance to see the new characters and who is returning.

For all the talk of Olympic sailing falling apart, Palma showed otherwise with a full bay and a very healthy-looking Olympic slate.

There's been no news from Dickson and Waddilove themselves, but 49er coach Matt McGovern has given forth on Palma's positives and negatives. "There were some really good positives, like having good days and leading the regatta," said McGovern. "The crux is executing the starts well and boat speed in the light stuff - if we don't start well, then we don't have the boat speed to recover and get back on plan," he added.

But what is equally frustrating for the Irish duo, (who were on target for a debut medal in Tokyo until an overweight trapeze harness got in their way) is the fact that the 49er Class has had the biggest shake-up with all of the medalists retiring post-Tokyo but were unable to capitalise on it.

As analysis from the 49er class reveals, the changing of the guard runs deeper than the medalists, with only nine of the 20 sailors from the top 10 in Tokyo still sailing and only two in-tact partnerships. That's a lot of open real estate for a fleet in the queue behind the dominant forces of Australia's Outteridge and New Zealand's Burling for a decade.

It seems likely a return now to the sort of racing that was expected in the 2000s, where winners changed on a regatta-to-regatta basis. With all their Tokyo experience, this must be an opportunity for Dickson and Waddilove.

It was certainly looking like that prior to Palma when they appeared to reap the rewards of sixth place at Mallorca Sailing Centre Regatta 2023. And there was no doubting their regatta potency either when they posted two wins on Palma's windy Wednesday, but their inability to hold on to that overall lead and not even make the top ten for the medal race is a head-scratching moment. 

Beck and Gunn

The duo will now deal with some formidable new competition, such as Palma winners Logan Dunning Beck and Oscar Gunn (NZL), who took second in the medal race to cruise and a nine-point victory. This Kinwi pair started out gold fleet brilliantly, winning the first two races and only had three races out of the top 10 all week. The team is in its eighth year on the international circuit and its fifth at the front end of the fleet. They won Kiel week 2019 and came third at the Oceania Championship in Auckland immediately prior to the 2019 Worlds, but couldn't wrestle the New Zealand entry from Burling and Tuke for Tokyo and have all the tools to be contenders in Paris.

The 49er story in Palma is a down-under tale, with four of the top five places going two each to New Zealand and Australia. With Max Paul (AUS), Tom Burton came second despite an over early in the first regatta race. Tom is the 2016 Laser gold medalist and 2019 Laser World Champion, and this second-place finish would be the best finish for a laser convert to 49er ever. Many have tried, most noticeably Robert Scheidt (BRA), but none have scored medals at top regattas until now. There were a few jokes in the boat park about 20-knot gybes being on the to-do list still, as the regatta was a light affair, but credit is due after three years of dedicated training allowing his elite sailing talent to show. 

McHardie and McKenzie (NZL) finished third after a stellar opening series had them in the lead after qualifying. They sailed a consistent final series and could have won, but a ninth in the medal race let them down a bit to close it out. 

The European fleet claimed half of the top 10, with the usual contenders having ups and downs. Wen and Liu from China came eighth, repeating their performance from ninth at the 2023 Worlds in Nova Scotia. One theme to keep an eye on could be the diversity of fleets top performances have been coming from. European, New Zealand, Australian and Chinese fleets each delivered top 10 performances after six months sailing apart. At this late stage of a quadrennial, it's been more common for the top teams to have segregated into elite groupings. Perhaps with covid forcing everyone home, teams have found a more local way to develop. 

Guilfoyle and Durcan

New rivals for the Irish Paris slot are Séafra Guilfoyle and Johnny Durcan (Royal Cork Yacht Club), who claim to have made significant gains over the winter training season. They will be looking for a gold fleet finish to Hyeres after posting 40th overall in Palma.

With just over three months remaining until the World Sailing Championships at The Hague (Netherlands), where the first nation places will be decided for Paris 2024, it will be all to play for.