Ireland's Robert Dickson and Seán Waddilove up to sixth at European Championships

After qualifying for the Gold fleet final round on Friday, Ireland's Robert Dickson and Seán Waddilove jumped up the overall standings of the 49er European Championships in Portugal from 13th to sixth place overnight.

Crucially for Irish hopes at Paris 2024, the pair now lead the chase for the single nation qualifying place available at this event.

There are still two more days of competition to go, including the high-scoring medal race final set for Monday afternoon.

In the light winds off Vilamoura today, the Dublin crew took a 10th place before going on to place second in a day when keeping out of trouble was critical.

In such light winds, one mistake can be impossible to recover from but Dickson and Waddilove held their nerve in both races.

Going into the final round, the Belgian crew of Yannick Lefebvre and Jan Heuninck were nine points ahead in the hunt for Olympic qualification.

Today's racing saw them slip back to 14th place while Italy's Simone Ferrarse and Leonardo Chiste are in 11th and 10 points behind the Irish boat.

With potentially six races remaining before the medal race, there is still plenty of scope for change in the standings - in both directions - and weather will dictate whether any or all remaining races can even be completed.