Six sailors selected for Youth Sailing World Championships
Six Irish sailors have been selected for the 2026 Youth Sailing World Championships in Vilamoura, Portugal, where racing will take place from 15 to 19 December.
Sienna Wright (Howth Yacht Club) and Marcus Shelley (Royal St George Yacht Club) will compete in the female and male ILCA 6 events. Juliet Ryan and Ella Rock (Royal St George Yacht Club) will race in the female 29er, while Daniel Copithorne (Schull Harbour Sailing Club) and Matt Mapplebeck (Royal Cork Yacht Club) will represent Ireland in the male/mixed 420.
Wright heads to Vilamoura after winning silver at the ILCA 6 Youth World Championships in August. She also finished second at the Irish ILCA Nationals and, at the senior ILCA 6 World Championships in Dún Laoghaire, missed Gold Fleet by two points before finishing third in Silver Fleet. The 18 year old also won bronze at this competition in 2023.
Shelley, a member of the Irish Sailing ILCA 6 Development Squad, finished second at the Irish Sailing Foundation Youth Nationals and third at the Irish ILCA Nationals. He also represented Ireland at the ILCA 6 Youth World Championships in Aarhus, Denmark, and finished fifth at this month’s Irish Sailing Junior Champions’ Cup in Schull.
Ryan and Rock were the leading female crew at the Irish Sailing Foundation Youth Nationals, finishing third overall in the 29er fleet. They went on to win the Irish 29er Nationals in June, taking the overall, women’s and under-17 titles. They also represented the class at the recent Irish Sailing Junior Champions’ Cup.
Copithorne and Mapplebeck won the 420 title at the Irish Sailing Foundation Youth Nationals and retained the Irish Sailing Junior Champions’ Cup in Schull this month. The crew, who won both the Irish 420 Nationals and Junior Champions’ Cup in 2025, finished third overall at this year’s Irish International 420 Class Championship. Both sailors were also part of Ireland’s team at the Youth Match Racing World Championship in Denmark.
The coaching team to accompany the athletes will be confirmed in the coming weeks.
Irish Sailing Performance Director James O’Callaghan said: “The Youth Sailing World Championships are the leading event for young sailors, and it is great to see Ireland represented by a team that has performed so well at home and internationally this year.
“These sailors have made strong progress over the past two seasons. Vilamoura is another opportunity for them to compete against the best youth sailors in the world.”
The championship will bring together sailors from around the world for 11 medal events across male, female and mixed categories. It is organised by World Sailing in partnership with Vilamoura Sailing, the Portuguese Sailing Federation and the Municipality of Loulé.
For further information go to Youth Sailing World Championships - Home