Hayling Island’s 19-year-old Eilidh McIntyre has joined forces with Sophie Weguelin to campaign to win gold in the Rio Olympics 2016. Eilidh’s father Mike McIntyre won Olympic gold in 1988, in the Star Class. The Girls have formed ‘Team 3,2,1’ (3 Sails, 2 Girls and 1 Dream) as a means of fundraising to help finance their expensive 2-3 year campaign for gold in the Women’s Olympic 470 Class. ‘Team 3,2,1’ has already arranged a fundraiser on Saturday, 12 April at Hayling Island Sailing Club. It will be a Black tie affair, with guest speakers, an auction, a three course meal and a chance to be part of their journey! For details of this and other events contact Eilidh eilidhmcintyre@hotmail.co.uk or Gemma at gemma.griffiths12@hotmail.co.uk . Any business organisation that would be interested in sponsoring Team 3,2,1 should contact Eilidh or Gemma.
The pair competed at the first of the ISAF World Cup 2014 series for Olympic Classses held in America in January. The week long regatta in Miami saw tricky conditions for most of the week. Counting five firsts and a second in a small but star studded fleet, ‘Team 3,2,1’ won by a healthy margin after a tense medal race on the final day. Eilidh said on the Yachting World Blog “The light wind wasn't usually something we tend to favour, but it's not been a struggle this week. We've done a lot of training before the regatta and we felt pretty confident going in. It's just nice to know that we've got good pace, which is always helpful, and it's nice to know that we're able to handle ourselves in tight situations."
The pair are European bronze medallists, have previously won the EUROSAF Champions Cup title in Kiel, but this marks their first World Cup victory since teaming up last January. In the latest ISAF World Rankings released on 3 February, Sophie and Eilidh have moved up two places to be ranked world number 1 in their Class for the first time! The ISAF World Cup 2014 action moves back to Europe now and the next event in the series is in Palma, Majorca at the end of March. Follow the journey on Facebook at ‘Team 3,2,1’ or on Twitter @Team3_2_1