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.

“Here, with it being so close to home, all the athletes have been able to go off site, or go home and so Peter and David, the Star guys, arrived back from a break at home,” said James O’Callaghan, Irish sailing’s performance director.

“They popped home for a low key, final break with family and friends. They have all come in and set up, are familiar with all the Olympic set up, the paraphernalia, the security and all that. Their gear is in their rooms. They come back and are ready to roll.”

O’Callaghan confirms he is entirely happy with the way their programmes have worked out, long-term and through the last few months. But the last few weeks have been difficult.

“It is a funny one, because it feels like the last three or four years have absolutely flown by, and you are wondering where it all went and now it feels like the last three weeks have been in slow motion. Everybody is ready and we just want to get started.”

Racing for the Stars, Finn class and the women’s match racing, begins tomorrow. O’Leary and Burrows start brimful of confidence, knowing the venue so well and are the duo which won here most recently, triumphing at the Skandia Sail for Gold regatta.

“The most important thing is that they do what they have always done: stick to the normal processes and don’t get put off their normal routine, but with the experience they already have, I just don’t see that happening,” said O’Callaghan.

“A good start would be great, but they have had bad starts in the past and come back, and good starts and maintained it.”

The regatta schedule starts with what might be termed the senior classes, those which attract more experienced and inherently successful, ‘medalled’ sailors, the Stars and Finns. That being different from the last three Olympic Games changes the dynamics for teams.

“For our team, it works in our favour. At the Perth World Championships, Annalise Murphy was first up and it felt like the spotlight was on her the whole week and she is very young for that.

“It was a good experience for her and so she is a better athlete for that.

“But this time it is nice that it is scheduled the way it is, the Stars are off first and then the Radials and then the 49ers, and so as the event goes on and each of the teams has their good days and bad, it will be shared out.”