The final day of the 55 Trofeo Princesa Sofía Mallorca delivered a fitting climax as steady sunshine and a classic sea breeze set the stage for a decisive ILCA 6 showdown.
Ireland’s Eve McMahon and Britain’s Daisy Collingridge resumed their duel from the previous day, carrying a match-race intensity into the medal-deciding races.
McMahon, the Howth Yacht Club sailor and two-time Under-21 world champion, held her nerve when it mattered most. She produced what she later described as “the race of my life” in the second race of the day to secure overall victory by a single point.
Collingridge, who finished third at the regatta last year, pushed hard throughout. The pair traded control in a tightly contested battle, but McMahon’s decisive final performance created the gap needed to seal gold.
“As a result this is pretty up there. It is one of the biggest regattas to win,” McMahon said.
Final Duel — Ireland’s Eve McMahon battles on Palma Bay during the decisive ILCA 6 race, holding off Britain’s Daisy Collingridge to secure gold at the Sofia regatta. Photo: Sailing Energy
Reflecting on the head-to-head contest, she added: “I had a feeling the British girl who was leading after the first one was going to come after me. I defended it really well and wiggled my way out of it.”
With a medal secured but the title still in play, McMahon chose to attack. “I knew I had no chance of dropping to bronze so I was going… right, I’m going to hand it right back to her. So I handed it back to her and we had a real good tussle.”
Despite their friendship ashore, the on-water rivalry was uncompromising. “We knew we are obviously really good friends, but we knew once we were out on the water that all is fair in love and war,” she said.
Brotherly Pride — Eve McMahon is congratulated by her brother Ewan McMahon after securing ILCA 6 gold in Palma, sealing victory with a decisive final race at the Sofia regatta. Photo: Sailing Energy
“I said to my coach, right, I have to pull out a magic trick here and that’s what I did. I had a great race and managed to get six boats between us.”
The victory marks a strong early-season statement for Ireland in the first Sailing Grand Slam regatta of the Olympic cycle.
