Fin is in fine form for a Euro fourth
Chichester sailor Fin Dickinson revelled in the best week of his young career with fourth place at the European Championships.
The 20-year-old, who races in the ILCA 7 class, rose from tenth to the brink of the podium on a brilliant final day of racing in Athens.
Dickinson fell narrowly short of a medal placing, three points behind Finn Lynch of Ireland who won bronze, but still toasted a memorable performance.
“This was the biggest event of the year for me, I’ve been targeting it for a long time,” he said. “I’m really happy with how it went. I didn’t expect to do quite that well!”
The U21 world champion finished third and fourth amid poor conditions on the final day in Greece – leading the fleet at one stage on the final downwind leg.
“I never really thought about winning a medal,” said Dickinson. “I went into the day expecting to go down in the rankings, not to rise. But I had a really good second race, it was very tight and then I found myself at the front of the fleet.
“It didn’t enter my mind that I could win it but looking back, there were a couple of silly little mistakes and if I’d tightened those up, I definitely could have won it. Having said that, I think it’s the best event I could have had and one of my proudest moments in the sport.”
In the event, gold went to Hungary’s Jonatan Vadnai and silver to Finland's Valtteri Uusaitalo.
Dickinson is targeting a place at the 2028 Olympics with world silver medallist Micky Beckett already earning Team GB selection in the ILCA 7.
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