Annalise Murphy, Ireland's only qualified sailor for Tokyo 2021, is entered for this week's Kiel Week. The massive German Regatta marks her return to international competition since the outbreak of COVID.
Regular Afloat readers will know that the Olympic programme was thrown into disarray in March when important European Olympic qualifiers were cancelled during the Pandemic.
Now, with the resumption of competition, it is more than clear there is pent up demand with both the quantity and quality of fleets signed up to race on the Baltic Sea.
This is more than evident in Murphy's red hot Laser Radial fleet gathering in Kiel.
The complete top ten of the World Championships 2020 (where Murphy finished 12th) in the Olympic one-handed class for women is on the starting line. Also the three medal winners from Rio Olympics.
Foremost the Olympic champion of 2016 and reigning world champion Marit Bouwmeester from the Netherlands. As at the World Championships in Australia earlier this year, Bouwmeester will meet her compatriot and World Championship runner-up Maxime Jonker, the Norwegian Line Flem Höst, and Anne-Marie Rindom from Denmark. The Dane won the Kieler Woche in 2018 and won the bronze medal ahead of Brazil at the Olympic Games.
Also, last year's winner of Kieler Woche and Olympic and World Championship 6th, Josefin Olsson from Sweden, is certainly among the candidates for the Kieler Woche victory.
As well as Ireland's 2016 silver medalist, the Olympic fifth-placed from Finland Tuula Tenkanen completes the field of favourites.
After Kiel, Murphy will travel to Gdansk, Poland for more training and preparation before the European Championships starting on 6 October.