Murphy boosts chances of Olympic qualification

Irish sailor, Annalise Murphy, has given her chances of qualifying for next year’s Olympics a major boost after moving up to second overall in the Laser Radial class at the World Sailing Championships in Perth, Australia.

The top 29 countries in the fleet at the tournament are set to secure a place at the London 2012 Olympics.

Murphy had three races today and she finished second, first and fourth in them, meaning that after five races altogether she is just two points behind leader Evi Van Acker of Belgium.

The Rathfarnham woman had finished 30th and second in the first two races of the series, but can discard her lowest result and combine the rest to give her overall position.

The 21-year-old, who sails out of the National Yacht Club in Dun Laoghaire, has five more races before the 10 best-placed sailors compete in the medal race on Sunday.