Eve McMahon moved up three places overall to 14th place after eight races sailed in the Paris 2024 Olympic regatta in the Women’s Dinghy (ILCA 6).
Race 7 got underway in a 13-knot westerly breeze on the Frioul race area. The fleet got away at 14:40, but seven sailors were premature, leaving 36 sailors to battle it out on a straightforward windward/leeward course.
McMahon (Howth YC), sailed consistently with mark roundings of 9, 7, 4, 5, to finish in 6th place, losing out on 5th by 1 second to the Finnish sailor, Josefin Olsson. Overnight leader, Marit Bouwmeester sailed through the fleet after a poor first beat to finish 3rd.
A slightly decreased but more shifty wind in race 8 saw McMahon round the 1st mark in 19th place, catching up on the 1st downwind to round mark 2 in 15th, a place she maintained to the finish
Today’s results meant debutante McMahon moved up a few places to lie 14th overall. However, she is 22 points outside 10th, and if she is to make the medal race, then Monday will need to see considerably improved results.
Eve McMahon - I really want to make the medal race Photo: Lloyd Images
Any result in the top 20 boats for a first-time Olympian would be an outstanding achievement but the World Under 21 World Champion is hugely ambitious.
"I really want to make the medal race; I've always been on the edge of it the past season," McMahon said after the racing ended. The medal race is top ten, and I've always been 11th, 12th, 13th, and 14th the whole season. I'm knocking at the door of it. It would be amazing to make it just to be in the atmosphere and to race against them in the medal race."
Dutch sailor - three-time Olympic medallist Marit Bouwmeester extended her lead over defending Olympic and world champion Anne-Marie Rindom (DEN) with Switzerland's Maud Jayet in third place.
Bouwmeester opened the day with a third placed finish in race seven and then came 11th in the subsequent race which was her weakest finish of the regatta so far Photo: Lloyd Images
Despite the result the Dutch sailor is still far ahead of the fleet, sitting 28 points clear of Anne-Marie Rindom.
The Danish athlete began the day with an underwhelming 15th, but recovered well to take fourth in the next race and solidify her hold over second overall.
Switzerland’s Maud Jayet sits in third, 12 points adrift of Rindom, following seventh and eighth finishes today.
Bouwmeester Edge Closer to Individual Dinghy Golds Photo:
Bouwmeester said: “This Olympics is quite the same as Rio, where you’re in the middle of the bay. I’m just focusing on myself and sailing as well as possible.”
Rindom said: “It has been tricky and there have been some really long days for us girls starting out. The heat takes the energy out of you. We were prepared for the heat, but this is another level.
“I was a little disappointed in the first race about my decisions at the start. I started alone on the left side and it was too much of a risk looking back now.”
Jayet said: “The wind shifted around quite a lot during both races. There was quite a big variation in intensity. I’m glad my strategy paid off both times.”
Racing continues on Monday, with the final two races scheduled to complete the opening series before Tuesday's medal race
Results are here
Explainer
Medals for the Women’s Dinghy (ILCA 6) will be decided by the cumulative results of the 43-strong fleet over 10 races. The boat with the lowest total will rank first.
Athletes will be able to discard their worst finishing position after they’ve completed three races.
At the end of the Opening Series, the top ten boats in the fleet will qualify for the Medal Race, which is worth double points. The score in the Medal Race cannot be discarded. The sailor with the smallest overall points total will win gold.
