Bronze for Ireland’s Eve McMahon in Los Angeles
Ireland's Eve McMahon has claimed a bronze medal at the Los Angeles Sailing Grand Slam on the waters that will host the sailing competition at the Los Angeles 2028 Olympic Games.
McMahon secured her place on the podium after a composed performance in Friday's Final Series in San Pedro, California, bringing to a close a week of racing against many of the world's best Olympic sailors.
Racing took place inside the bay in ideal conditions of 10–13 knots of breeze, with both McMahon and fellow Irish sailor Finn Lynch having qualified for the new-look Final Series.
The Women's Dinghy (ILCA 6) Final Series began after a short delay while the light morning breeze settled across the course. Starting the day level on points for third overall, McMahon delivered when it mattered most, finishing third in the opening Final Series race to strengthen her grip on a medal position.
She backed that up with a fourth-place finish in the final race to secure the bronze medal, ending the regatta just two points behind silver medallist Charlotte Rose (USA) and four behind Britain's Hannah Snellgrove, who took gold after leading for much of the week.
Irish Sailing ILCA 6 Coach Vasilij Zbogar said, "Eve sailed a very strong Final Series. In the first race she finished third, which kept the pressure on the leaders and gave us a comfortable gap back to fourth overall. She executed the second race well too. She had a good start and made the right strategic decisions, but the conditions inside the bay were very shifty and difficult to read. She still sailed an excellent race to finish fourth. Unfortunately, the sailors in first and second also finished ahead of her, so there was no opportunity to move up. Eve did everything she could this week and we're very happy to come away with the bronze medal."
Looking ahead to the rest of the season, the multiple Olympic medallist added, "We'll take a short break now before getting straight back to work preparing for the World Championships in Ireland in September. There's still plenty to improve, but that's where our focus is now. Racing for a world title on home waters is a huge opportunity and we'll do everything we can to be ready."
In the men’s Finals, Finn Lynch began the day in fourth position but an entanglement with two competitors at one of the marks resulted in a first final race finish of 10th putting the medal opportunity out of reach. Lynch finished the regatta with an eighth place that gave him a final position of seventh overall. The final result was bittersweet in that Lynch missed a medal but will now have the confidence to know he is a contender for the podium in two year's time.
Paris 2024 Olympic champion Matt Wearn secured gold, with Cyprus’ Pavlos Kontides taking silver and Great Britain’s Michael Beckett completing the podium.
Attention now turns to the ILCA World Championships in Dún Laoghaire, Dublin, with the ILCA 7 World Championship taking place from 23–30 August and the ILCA 6 World Championship following from 5–12 September. This will be the first time since 2001 that Ireland has hosted a World Championship for an Olympic sailing class, presenting the Irish sailors with a rare opportunity to compete for a world title on home waters.
More than 250 sailors representing 46 nations will compete on Dublin Bay. Several international teams have already held training camps in Dún Laoghaire, while June’s Coaches Invitational Regatta offered an early opportunity to test the venue. Eve McMahon won the ILCA 6 event, with Great Britain’s Elliot Hanson taking the ILCA 7 title ahead of Pavlos Kontides.
ILCA 7 World Championships
ILCA 6 World Championships