A retiral in race nine of the 2024 Women's U21 European Championships dropped Ireland's Paris 2024 representative in the ILCA 6 class, Eve McMahon, off the podium in Mallorca this afternoon.

The Irish girl led the regatta most of the week, but a below-par performance on Thursday saw her relinquish her lead. 

The Howth Yacht Club sailor is lying eighth overall on 120 points in the 65-boat fleet, with the final race to sail on Saturday.

The day started with a two hours postponement onshore due to lack of wind. Sailors were only called to the water for their first race of the day at 13:10, with a 10-knot breeze blowing from the East.

All three fleets had a clear start and commenced racing consecutively. However, the breeze gradually diminished, leading the Race Committee to shorten the course. Only the ILCA 6 fleet completed the original course, with the first boat crossing the finish line after 59 minutes.

Polish sailor Lilly May Niezabitowska continues to show a solid performance. She further extended the lead over her nearest rival by finishing eighth today in the single race.

As the competition enters its final day on Saturday, she now holds 41 points, a significant 31 points fewer than the second-placed Emma Mattivi ITA from Italy.

Spanish sailor Claudia Adan Lledo ESP is also well-placed for the final day with 82 points and benefiting from a lower discard (30 points compared to Emma’s 45 or Lilly’s 38).

Alice Ruperto ITA (2nd today) and Marga Perello ESP complete the provisional Top 5 with 97 and 99 points, respectively.

European Top 10 after 9 races

Lilly May Niezabitowska POL 41 pt
Emma Mattivi ITA 72 pt
Claudia Adan Lledo ESP 82 pt
Alice Ruperto ITA 97 pt
Marga Perello ESP 99 pt
Ginevra Caracciolo ITA 109 pt
Alina Shapovalova UKR 111 pt
Eve McMahon IRL 120 pt
Pia Conradi GER 122 pt
Linda Dokoupilova CZE 127 pt

Ireland's Paris 2024 representative in the ILCA 6 class, Eve McMahon (47-33-12), relinquished her lead in the 2024 Women's U21 European Championships after eight races sailed in Mallorca on Thursday after maintaining the top position since the start of the regatta.

A below par performance in the afternoon races pushed the Howth Yacht Club sailor down to third place with 72 points in the 65-boat fleet. The new leader is Polish sailor Lilly May Niezabitowska POL (5-2-38) with 33 points, precisely half of the total points held by her closest competitor, Emma Mattivi ITA (44-6-1), who now sits in second place.

Spanish representatives Claudia Adan Lledo ESP (10-7-30) and Marga Perello ESP (24-50-13) complete the top 5 with 75 and 80 points respectively.

Winds fluctuating between 7 to 12 knots facilitated the addition of three new races across all three fleets, bringing the total to eight.

The day witnessed a mix of highs and lows within the fleets, resulting in some shifts at the top of the championship standings.

As the competition enters its final day on Saturday, the current provisional leaders stand as follows:

European Top 10 after eight races

1. Lilly May Niezabitowska POL 33 pt
2. Emma Mattivi ITA 66 pt
3. Eve McMahon IRL 72 pt
4. Claudia Adan Lledo ESP 31 pt
5. Marga Perello ESP 25 pt
6. Alice Ruperto ITA 95 pt
7. Ginevra Caracciolo ITA 96 pt
8. Alina Shapovalova UKR 99 pt
9. Irene de Tomas Perello ESP 103 pt
10. Pia Conradi GER 107 pt

Ireland's Paris 2024 representative in the ILCA 6 class, Eve McMahon, continues to lead the 2024 Women's U21 European Championships after five races sailed in Mallorca on Wednesday, but Poland's Lilly May Niezabitowska has whittled the Irish woman's margin down to just one point in some fickle winds at Reial Club Nautic Port de Pollensa.

As with previous days, proceedings began with a shore postponement. However, once on the water, all three fleets successfully commenced and completed their initial races of the day before the wind subsided.

Reigning ILCA 6 Women’s Under 21 World Champion McMahon of Howth Yacht Club is on 14 points, after one discard applied, with Niezabitowska on 15 and third-placed Marga Perello of the host nation on 25 in the 65-boat fleet.

A second Irish sailor, Lucy Ives, lies 51st.

This year’s event has attracted 202 sailors, 137 of whom compete in ILCA 7 and 65 in ILCA 6. They represent 36 nations, including 28 from Europe.

Racing continues until Friday.

European Top 10 after five races

1. Eve McMahon IRL 14 pt
2. Lilly May Niezabitowska POL 16 pt
3. Marga Perello ESP 25 pt
4. Helena Wolff DEN 28 pt
5. Claudia Adan Lledo ESP 31 pt
6. Ginevra Caracciolo ITA 31 pt
7. Emma Mattivi ITA 32 pt
8. Alina Shapovalova UKR 40 pt
9. Pia Conradi GER 48 pt
10. Adriana Castro Nuñez ESP 56 pt

Friday evening’s announcement of the Irish Sailor of the Year 2023 title for 19-year-old Eve McMahon at her sailing home of Howth Yacht Club well captures the zeitgeist of mid-2020s Ireland, not least in the fact that the title holder was away, wrapping up at the U21 Europeans in Mallorca.

Be that as it may, the announcement’s location was significant, for the geography of the Howth peninsula is such that Howth YC is willingly accepted as one of the semi-island’s main community centres. And in the bigger picture, gender equality has long been such a comfortably-accepted attitude in modern Irish sailing that it is no longer a matter of comment when female sailors win, whereas exceptional performance - from whatever quarter it may come - is always a package of fresh good news, to be celebrated with renewed enthusiasm.

It’s 2022, and Eve’s upward trajectory continues with Gold in the ILCA Youth Worlds

For after all, in the development of female sailing, it is eight years since Annalise Murphy of Dun Laoghaire won Ireland our first Olympic sailing medal in Rio in 2016. It is 90 years since Elizabeth Crimmins of Cork Harbour was the first female awardee in 1934 of the Irish Cruising Club’s premier trophy, the Faulkner Cup - introduced only three years earlier in 1931 - and it subsequently went to Daphne French in 1939, while the two most recent female awards have both been for Maire Breathnach of Dungarvan for a circumnavigation of South America in 2004, and Arctic voyaging in 2017.

DUBLIN BAY’S SKILLED HELMSWOMEN

And well beyond all that, all of 140 years ago, the skilled helmswomen racing against the men within the Dublin Bay Water Wag OD class achieved such success and fame that they featured in the top sailing magazines of the day.

Yet even putting aside any notion of possible gender bias in either direction, the adjudicators – aided but not entirely dictated by the voting patterns on the Afloat.ie website at year’s end – had to maintain a special discipline in adhering to the 12-month year, when the reality is that international sailors at the McMahon level are operating on a year-round schedule.

An exceptional sailing talent from a supportive and very talented family – Eve is welcomed home to Dublin Airport by herparents Vicky & Jim after another international success

Thus the decision was already clearly emerging even as the news came in on 10th January that she had qualified for the 2024 Paris/Marseille Olympics with her placing in the ILCA Worlds in Argentina. But the calendar reality is such that the deciding factor in Eve McMahon’s award of the Irish Sailor of the Year 2023 title came in October 2023 in a breezy Tangiers in Morocco for the ILCA U21 Worlds.

CLEAR WORLD TITLE

She was virtually out of sight in front on the leaderboard as the conclusion of the series approached when a capsize while in third place in the race of the day, approaching the line in extreme conditions, had the theoretical potential to lose the title. It was now that she fulfilled the Hemingway definition of courage as being “Grace Under Pressure”. She retrieved the situation in such smooth and unflustered style that she still finished eighth in a very demanding race, leading on to a remarkable clear overall win of the World Title by 14 points.

REVEALING THE BACKGROUND

This transcript of the interview with Cormac Farrelly, Hon. Communications Officer with Howth Yacht Club, gives some idea of the circumstances needed to support achievement at this level;

Putting it in context. HYC Communications Officer Cormac Farrelly interviewing Eve McMahon

Cormac HYC: I'm here with Eve McMahon in Howth Yacht club. Eve is the under 21 world champion for the ILCA6 class. Eve, let me dial you back to 2022. It started, I think, with you winning the Youth Europeans, then it was the youth worlds in The Hague, and then finally you were crowned ILCA 6 youth world champion in Texas. As far as I know, no other sailor, male or female, managed to do “The Triple”, winning all three championships in the one season. Tell us a little bit about what that was like.

Eve McMahon: Yes, it was an incredible year. There was a lot of hard work put into it and I suppose with support, a lot of people don't see the behind the scenes work that it takes to be on the podium and to be winning gold medals. And they don't really see the highs and the lows. So I just had to put my absolute all into the events. And I obviously had my Leaving Cert to sit, which was just a week before, but I just went into the events knowing that I did the most preparation that I could do. And I really just had to let the work, the hard work, kind of speak for itself. And to come out with three gold medals, it was absolutely incredible and a moment that will kind of always stick with me and it'll always make me very proud. But sport moves on and I'm coming up now with hopefully some bigger and better goals that I'm trying to work towards.

Cormac HYC: 2022 was obviously an amazing year, but then this year you had to step up a class. So you went from youth division up to senior division. And I know the expectations are huge and it's not an easy transition. So tell us a little bit about that.

Howth Yacht Club is very proud of its star sailor – this large poster has been up on the club’s West Wall since November 2023

Eve McMahon: Yes, so I have actually been competing in the youth, the under 21 and the senior division since I was 15. I did my first senior event in Australia. I went out to Australia for three months for the senior world championships. So I was really just trying to get all the experience that I can get from all the Olympic girls. So that was a huge stepping stone for me. But to be able to transition in and to be winning and being tipped as a known entity is really amazing

Cormac HYC: Many of us were watching you back in Tangiers in Morocco, and my recollection is that there were eight days of grueling racing. You're there on the last day, the last race, everything is up for grabs. You're very well positioned to become the ILCA 6 Under 21 World Champion, and then you capsize! What was going through your mind when that happened?

Eve McMahon: Listen, we're doing twelve races in a series and every race, it really can't be perfect when we're dealing with Mother Nature. So that's why we do so many training hours, to deal with those situations that go wrong and the adrenaline just kicks in and you just really had to get the boat back up quick. And I knew, although I wasn't looking at the results, I had somewhat of a comfortable lead, but there definitely was still a bit of panic. But that's sport. Things go wrong. So I really just had to get the boat back up quickly and finish right.

Cormac HYC: You're obviously very good at handling pressure! OK - I have to ask you about the Olympics. So I think it's no secret that your ambition was to get the nomination for Ireland, ILCA 6, for Los Angeles, 2028. But what about Paris 2024? Is that now a possibility?

Eve McMahon: Paris for sure. Listen, it's one of my ultimate goals to qualify for Paris. And as much as winning gold medals at youth and Under 21 are huge achievements for myself, they're for sure stepping stones for qualifying for Paris. So I'm heading off to Argentina. That's where I'll be while this whole awards (HYC Achiever’s awards) is taking place, and I'll be racing to the best of my ability and I'm loving absolutely every minute of it. And I'm really proud to be representing Howth.

Cormac HYC: Super. Just wrapping up on last year, you were Irish Sailor of the year. You were nominated twice by RTE for Young Sportsperson Of The Year… and now, which we're very proud of, you are the winner of the Howth Yacht Club 2023 Achiever Award for international sailing. I mean all of us in the club here are so proud of all your achievements to date, and you're such an inspiration, especially for the younger sailors. Can I ask you what it means to you to have won the Achievers award?

Eve McMahon: It really is huge to me and I really want to thank Howth Club for their continued support. I go out into international regattas and I really am proud to be representing Howth Yacht Club. This is where I grew up to sail with my two brothers when I was five or six, and it's just a fantastic club to represent while I'm away and I really want to thank everybody for their support. And, yes, I'm absolutely delighted to win and I'm really, really looking forward to hopefully representing Howth Yacht Club at the highest level.

OLYMPIC QUALIFICATION

That aspiration to make it to the highest level was fulfilled on 10th January, and as men’s ILCA Olympic-selected Finn Lynch has so pithily out it, securing the Olympic qualification is “like getting a monkey off your back”. The concentration pattern can be more comfortably re-focused, as Ireland now has three places in the Paris Olympics sailing events at Marseille from July 28th to August 8th this summer in the form of Eve McMahon (Howth YC, Women’s ILCA), Finn Lynch (National YC, Men’s ILCA), and Rob Dickson & Sean Waddilove (Howth YC, Lough Ree YC & Skerries SC, currently front-runners for Men’s 49er).

FINGAL OLYMPIC SAILING TEAM?

From that listing, it’s irresistible to avoid pointing out that the old Viking territory of Fingal – still often thought of by uncouth Southsiders as North Dublin - could comfortably mount its own Olympic Sailing Challenge if we so wished. But we’re generous folk up here in the old longship lands, and if you chuck in Finn Lynch from Bennekerry in the lovely lands of Carlow - though now sailing under the NYC flag - we’ll obligingly concede it’s the Irish Olympic Sailing Team, while reminding you that it was our own Laura Dillon who was the first female winner of the Helmsman’s Championship back in 1996, yet reassuring you that last night’s display of peak peninsular pride out Howth way was just a matter of TGIF gone mad.

Fingal County Hall in Swords. It’s beginning to look as though Fingal could mount it own Olympic Sailing Team, for in addition to the qualified Eve McMahon, the former Viking territory has Rob Dickson of Howth and Sean Waddilove of Skerries currently topping the rankings for the Irish slot in the Men’s 49er, having secured the position for Ireland in the first place

Since getting the Olympic OK, the finalisation of the ultimate goal sees fresh priorities and future prospects taking centre stage. Nevertheless it was timely to reflect on Eve McMahon’s extraordinary sailing ability as demonstrated during 2023, for it’s at such a level that you would think that the ILCA had been expressly designed for her to show her talents, which amount to genius.

Away from the glamour of national ceremonies, Eve McMahon continues her demanding output of world class performance

That she is doing this at age 19 is remarkable, but it reflects the fact that she is from a keen sailing and maritime-minded family with a mutually supportive attitude, within an environment where boats are a completely normal part of life and living. It’s a sea-minded world in Howth where this weekend is rightly a time for celebration. But on Monday, Marseille on Sunday, July 28th will resume its position as the ultimate target.

A major awards ceremony may have been scheduled for her home club, but Eve McMahon had to be in Mallorca for the ILCA 6 U21 Euros

Ireland's Paris 2024 representative in the ILCA 6 class, Eve McMahon, is leading the 2024 Women's U21 European Championships after three races sailed in Spain.

The Howth Yacht Club ace is the top boat in the 65-boat fleet at the Reial Club Nautic Port de Pollensa in Mallorca, Spain.

The day commenced with a one-hour postponement on shore due to a lack of wind. Eventually, the first warning signal was sounded at noon, with steady winds ranging between 10-14 knots from a direction of 65 degrees.

Reigning ILCA 6 Women’s Under-21 World champion McMahon counts two race wins in her tally to be seven points clear of Spain's Marga Perello on 15 points. Poland's Lilly May Niezabitowska is one point behind Perello in third place.

Emma Mattivi from Italy (3-4) recently finished fifth overall at her first Senior Europeans in Athens and is here defending the U21 European title after winning the 2023 edition in Norway.

Italian sailor Maria Vitoria Arseni, recently crowned World champion at the 2024 ILCA 6 Youth Worlds in Argentina, is eighth.

Two more races are scheduled for Wednesday, with the first warning signal at 12:00. 

Nineteen-year-old Eve McMahon concluded the weather-hit ILCA 6 class European Championships in 15th place overall. 

Already qualified for Paris, the Howth Olympic debutante will compete at the forthcoming French Olympic Week in Hyeres as her final major competition before the Olympics.

She was coached this week in Athens by ILCA 6 Rio silver medalist Annalise Murphy, who said: "Eve is so young, still only 19 and sailed a great week to come 15th at a European championship is really great.”

Maria Erdi of Hungary celebrates her first-ever European ILCA 6 championship title in Athens Photo: Matias Capizzano

Maria Erdi of Hungary clinched her first-ever European championship title, adding to her accolades as the reigning World champion from the previous year in The Hague. This marks her second European medal, following her bronze achievement in Andora, Italy, in 2023. Securing victory in the Medal Race, she concluded the championship with 21 points after seven races.

Viktorija Andrulyte of Lithuania secured second place with 27 points, earning the Silver medal along with qualification for Paris 2024.

The Bronze medal went to French sailor Louise Cervera, who amassed 29 points.

Croatia’s Elena Vorobeva finished fourth overall, clinching the second Olympic spot at stake in this championship.

Top 10 ILCA 6 Women’s Senior Europeans:

1 – Maria Erdi HUN 21 pt
2 – Viktorija Andrulyte LTU 27 pt
3 – Louise Cervera FRA 29 pt
4 – Elena Vorobeva CRO 37 pt
5 – Nazli Cagla Donertas TUR 49 pt
5 – Emma Mattivi ITA 49 pt
7 – Pernelle Michon FRA 53 pt
7 – Agata Barwinska POL 53 pt
7 – Anne Marie Rindom DEN 53 pt
10 – Marie Barrue FRA 58 pt

Eve McMahon (Howth YC) improved her overall position in the Women's ILCA 6 European championships in Athens, Greece where she lies 14th overall going into the final day of racing.

McMahon – already selected for the Paris 2024 Olympics – will likely end up outside the top ten with one race on Friday but can still move up further in the rankings.

The championship has a new leader, and it’s none other than Maria Erdi from Hungary, the reigning 2023 World champion. Following six consistently strong performances, she now leads the fleet with 19 points, edging ahead of the overnight leader Viktorija Andrulyte from Lithuania, who sits at 21 points. Louise Cervera, the next French Olympic representative, holds third place with 25 points.

"It was a wonderful day. The first race was just amazing. I had a good start and good tactic, and then I did good stuff at the speed. I was really first from far away, so I was happy. On the second race the same, I finished fifth, so it was really cool. The last one I did a bit of a shitty start, so it was difficult for me but, it’s ok, I’m really happy about the day," Cervera told reporters.

Top 5 – Senior Europeans:

Maria Erdi HUN 19 pt
Viktorija Andrulyte LTU 21 pt
Louise Cervera FRA 25 pt
Elena Vorobeva CRO 29 pt
Anne Marie Rindom DEN 33 pt

After three races sailed, Paris 2024 qualified Eve McMahon of Ireland lies in 20th place at the ILCA 6 European Championships in Athens. 

In light and flukey conditions that have delayed the racing schedule, the Howth star scored a consistent seven and a 12 in the 110-boat fleet.

Fierce competition is unfolding among the front-runners, vying for both European titles. Viktorija Andrulyte LTU (1-4-2) and Elena Vorobeva CRO (1-2-30) currently share the lead in the rankings and are tied on three points. 

Maria Erdi HUN (3-5-3) stands third in the provisional podium with 6 points. Anne Marie Rindom (4-12-3) DEN and Louise Cervera FRA (12-3-4) follow closely with 7.

In the fight for the Olympic tickets and also among the Top 10 are Katrina Micallef MLT (30-4-4) and Ursula Balas CRO (9-10-1), with 8 and 10 points respectively.

More light winds are expected for Day 4 on Wednesday, organisers will again try for three races although once four have been completed the minimum standard for a championship event will have been reached.

Ireland's Paris 2024 qualified Eve McMahon opened her account at the ILCA 6 European Championships in Athens, Greece, today with a 21st place. 

With several top rivals absent, the Howth Yacht Club teen has an excellent opportunity to build on her already impressive season.

Lithuanian sailor Viktorija Andrulyte LTU was the winner today in the Blue fleet, while Elena Vorobeva CRO did the same in the yellow one. Both sailors are also in the fight for qualifying their nations to the Olympics so it’s a double prize for them.

German sailors Julia Buesselberg GER and Pia Kuhlman GER come next with 2 points, followed by the 2023 World champion Maria Erdi HUN and Evangelia Karageorgou GRE with 3. Evangelia is also in the fight to qualify Greece for Paris 2024.

2024 World champion and reigning Olympic champion Anne-Marie Rindom DEN (1x Gold medal at the Europeans) was seventh,  the 2023 World champion Maria Erdi HUN (Bronze medalist in last Europeans in Andora) was fifth and the twice Senior European champion Agata Barwinska POL, who clinched the title in 2021 and 2022 was ninth.

Several of the latest World and European Youth medalists are also competing in Athens, eager to make their mark among the Seniors. This talented group includes Ireland's McMahon, Chiara Benini ITA, Emma Mattivi ITA, Maria Vitoria Arseni ITA, Giorgia Della Valle ITA, Shai Kakon ISR, Marilena Makri CYP, Petra Marendic CRO and Ana Moncada ESP.

17 European nations have already secured qualification for the upcoming Olympic Games in ILCA 6. These nations include:

BEL, DEN, ESP, FIN, FRA, GBR, GER, HUN, IRL, ITA, NED, NOR, POL, POR*, SUI, SWE and TUR.

Fourteen European nations are yet to qualify for the Olympics, and their sailors will be competing in Athens for the two available tickets. These nations include:

BUL (1 sailor), CRO (6 sailors), CYP (2 sailors), CZE (3 sailors), EST (3 sailors), GRE (14 sailors), ISR (4 sailors), LAT (1 sailor), LTU (1 sailor), MLT (1 sailor), ROU (1 sailor), SRB (1 sailor), SLO (2 sailors) and UKR (3 sailors).

Racing is scheduled to continue daily from Monday to Friday - weather permitting - with the opening round comprising a qualification series of at least four races to decide Gold fleet.

The top ten finishers will compete for the medal race final on Friday to decide the podium.

Rising star of Irish sailing, Eve McMahon, is all set to compete in the ILCA 6 European Championships in Athens, starting this Sunday. With several top rivals absent, the Howth Yacht Club teen has an excellent opportunity to build on her already impressive season.

Many of her competitors, including Emma Plasschaert of Belgium, Charlotte Rose of the USA, Maud Jayet of Switzerland, and Marit Bouwmeester of The Netherlands, will not be present at the event along with many of the top 20 in the international fleet as the focus now shifts directly to July's Olympic Regatta.

This means that McMahon, who finished 20th at the Argentinian World Championships, can further cement her position in the Women's single-handed fleet for Paris 2024, for which she has already qualified. 

Annalise Murphy is back on the water in a coaching role at the ILCA 6 Europeans in Athens Photo: Afloat

However, the 140 boat competition (with 134 European boats) is still stiff, with Women's World Championship winner Anne-Marie Rindom and Maria Erdi of Hungary, who finished seventh at the Argentinan Worlds medal race in January, very much the favourites in a competition that has two Olympic Qualifier places up for grabs.

The Rio 2016 silver medallist, Ireland's Annalise Murphy, will also be present at the event, providing McMahon with expert coaching and support. It should all mean McMahon has the opportunity to finish in the top five or 10, giving her a welcome boost for Marseille.

The event will start on Sunday with a three-day qualification round, after which the Gold fleet split will be decided. The final round will commence on Wednesday, with the Medal Race for the top ten boats on Friday to determine the podium. McMahon will be looking to make her mark and add another feather to her cap.