Philip Lawton (born 7 October 1977) is an Irish former sailor, who specialized in the two-person dinghy (470) class.[1] Together with his partner and eventual three-time Olympian Gerald Owens, he was named one of the country's top sailors in the double-handed dinghy for the 2008 Summer Olympics, finishing in a lowly sixteenth place.[2] A member of the Royal Irish Yacht Club, Lawton trained for the Games under his personal coach and Owens' former partner from Athens 2004 Ross Killian.[3]
Personal information | |
---|---|
Nickname | Thaddeus |
Nationality | ![]() |
Born | Cork, Ireland | 7 October 1977
Height | 1.78 m (5 ft 10 in) |
Weight | 68 kg (150 lb) |
Sailing career | |
Class | Dinghy |
Club | Royal Irish Yacht Club |
Coach | Ross Killian |
Lawton competed for the Irish sailing squad, as a 30-year-old crew member in the men's 470 class, at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing.[4][5] Building up to their Olympic selection, he and skipper Owens finished a satisfying fortieth to secure the last of the twenty quota places offered at the 2007 ISAF Worlds in Cascais, Portugal.[6] The Irish pair surprised the 29-boat fleet by rounding the top mark of the lighter-air second and fifth race, respectively, throughout the ten-leg regatta.[7][8][9] A series of substandard outcomes towards the final half, however, left both Lawton and Owens chasing the pack and never recovered, slipping them off the medal round to a lowly sixteenth overall with 129 net points.[2][10]
References
edit- ^ Evans, Hilary; Gjerde, Arild; Heijmans, Jeroen; Mallon, Bill; et al. "Phil Lawton". Olympics at Sports-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on 3 December 2016. Retrieved 13 April 2020.
- ^ a b "Owens and Lawton miss out". RTÉ.ie. 16 August 2008. Retrieved 13 April 2020.
- ^ "Owens back in harness for 470 campaign". The Irish Times. 25 March 2011. Retrieved 13 April 2020.
- ^ "Event Guide: Men's Two Person Dinghy – 470". World Sailing. 9 August 2008. Retrieved 8 April 2020.
- ^ O'Riordan, Ian (7 August 2008). "Irish Olympic Squad". The Irish Times. Retrieved 13 April 2020.
- ^ "Owens qualifies 470 for Beijing Olympics". The Irish Times. 13 July 2007. Retrieved 13 April 2020.
- ^ "French Lead The Way In Men's 470". World Sailing. 9 August 2008. Retrieved 8 April 2020.
- ^ "Irish crew enjoy another victory". RTÉ.ie. 11 August 2008. Retrieved 13 April 2020.
- ^ "Steady Aussies Maintain Men's 470 Lead". World Sailing. 9 August 2008. Retrieved 8 April 2020.
- ^ "Beijing 2008: Men's 470 Class". Beijing 2008. NBC Olympics. Archived from the original on 5 January 2014. Retrieved 13 September 2013.
External links
edit- Philip Lawton at World Sailing
- Philip Lawton at Olympics.com
- Philip Lawton at NBC 2008 Olympics website at the Wayback Machine (archived 20 July 2012)
- Phil Lawton at Olympedia