Lynch Holds Second in Los Angeles
Finn Lynch maintained his grip on second place after the opening day of Gold Fleet racing on Olympic waters at the Los Angeles Sailing Grand Slam in San Pedro, California. Meanwhile, Eve McMahon remains firmly in contention despite slipping to fourth overall, just two points behind the leader.
Day three saw another classic Southern California sea breeze arrive across the Olympic race courses, although competitors first had to contend with a light, unstable breeze of less than 10 knots before the familiar afternoon westerly built to around 15 knots.
The transitional conditions proved difficult for many. Finn Lynch (National Yacht Club) opened the day with an 11th-place finish, a result that became his discard, before responding in style with a second place in the stronger afternoon breeze.
The performance leaves Lynch just two points behind Great Britain's Michael Beckett at the top of the standings with two days of qualifying remaining.
Speaking after racing, Lynch said, "When I get off the line with speed, I have good races. It took a while for the sea breeze to kick in and the first race was sailed in the lighter conditions. By the second race it was more like 15 knots, and once the sea breeze filled in we had some really beautiful racing."
The opening Women's Dinghy (ILCA 6) race was abandoned after the light morning breeze failed to build sufficiently within the time limit. Once the sea breeze established itself, Ireland's Eve McMahon (Howth Yacht Club) posted a fourth and a fifth-place finish to remain firmly in medal contention.
McMahon now sits fourth overall, just two points behind American Charlotte Rose at the top of a tightly packed leaderboard where only two points separate the leading four sailors.
Rose has become a familiar rival for McMahon throughout this season's Sailing Grand Slam series, with the pair regularly exchanging places on the podium. They most recently renewed their rivalry on Dublin Bay at the Coaches Invitational Regatta, held ahead of the ILCA World Championships which come to Dún Laoghaire in August and September.
In the Men's Dinghy (ILCA 7), Ewan McMahon (Howth Yacht Club) endured a difficult opening day in Gold Fleet, recording two 18th-place finishes. He now sits 19th overall and trails the all-important top ten by 20 points with two days of qualifying remaining.
The ILCA fleets return to the water tomorrow for the second of three days of Gold Fleet racing. Only the top ten sailors at the conclusion of the series will progress to Friday's Medal Races, where the overall honours will be decided.
San Pedro OCR is one of only two major Olympic-class regattas held annually in the United States. Nearly 200 sailors from 34 nations are competing across the six-day event at the LA2028 sailing venue, including 35 Olympians and six Olympic gold medallists, providing one of the strongest fleets outside of a World Championship.