Event: Sailing, 470 class.
Who are they? Scott Flanigan, 19, and Ger Owens, 33, bring the perfect blend of youth and experience to Ireland’s dinghy hopes in Weymouth.
Hailing from Howth and Dun Laoghaire respectively: Flanigan, as you might expect, is making his Olympic debut, while Owens is making his third appearance at the Games.
Image via Twitter. @470ireland
Road to London: This is a partnership relatively late in fruition. Flanigan only came aboard as crewman for Owens after winning three national titles in 2010. Still, they made the Olympic grade in May of this year. After missing out on the initial 20 places, the duo claimed 10th and 13th place finishes in the World Championships in Barcelona.
What they say about themselves: Speaking to the ISA, Owens says: ”We’ve had some fantastic results and the boats been going great, but there was a long time when we had to train basically on our own.”
Medal chances: Their ranking of 44th in the world is perhaps lowered by their late arrival and does not do justice to their ability to grind out a result. Just last month they achieved first place in the Silver Fleet race on the Weymouth course. Three Jimmies.
On the Twitter: You can follow their exploits @470Ireland where along with brilliant pictures like the one above, they’ll keep you up to date with their progress and preparation.
If you meet them in a bar, ask them… who’s in charge of the tunes.
If they were a YouTube video, they would be... okay, so maybe Owens isn’t quite old enough to be Flanigan’s father, but this is the greatest cross-generation tag-team since this pair (with a surreal Christian Bale style voiceover).
YouTube credit: AllCreaturesFeelFear
Scott grew up in Malahide. He sails out of Howth these days. Malahide has produced an Olympian for the last 7 Olympics. Not a bad record that.
Best of luck. Ireland has such good potential in Sailing, it’s a sport that with some decent professional coaching and funding we’d go far….