Calm before the storm for O’Leary and Burrows

With their official practice race today, Ireland’s Star class duo Peter O’Leary and David Burrows are the only members of the Olympic sailing team who remained in Weymouth and did not travel to London for the opening ceremony last night.

The carefully scheduled final days before they start racing were designed to ensure they start fully refreshed and focused — achieving the perfect balance between being acclimatised and totally familiar with all the Olympic hoopla and fuss but not stale from having been in the village too long.

So O’Leary and Burrows, who have had a base at the sailing venue for at least two years, arrived back in Weymouth yesterday from a short final break at home designed as the perfect pre-Games tonic.