Eve McMahon claimed U23 gold and finished fourth overall at the ILCA European Championships in Croatia after a dramatic final day of racing. The Howth Yacht Club sailor narrowly missed the senior podium following a week of challenging and unpredictable conditions.
Three races were completed in the women’s fleet on the final day after Thursday’s racing was cancelled due to storms.
McMahon started the day in sixth overall but moved into medal contention with race finishes of seventh and second. A 26th-place finish in the final race was discarded as her worst result of the regatta, leaving her fourth overall and top under-23 sailor.
Irish Sailing ILCA 6 coach Vasilij Žbogar said conditions remained difficult throughout the day. “Conditions were very different today, with a change in wind direction making racing quite unpredictable,” he said. “Eve put together a really strong performance and placed herself exactly where she needed to be after the first two races.”
Žbogar said the result marked another step forward in McMahon’s development. “Fourth place is always difficult, but winning gold in the under-23 category is a very strong result,” he said. “We will now debrief and take those learnings into the next event in Los Angeles before turning our focus to the World Championships in Dublin.”
The women’s championship title was won by Hungary’s 2023 world champion Maria Erdi.
Finn Lynch seventh
In the men’s ILCA 7 fleet, Finn Lynch of the National Yacht Club secured seventh overall after another consistent regatta. Lynch posted results of 13th and eighth in the final two races to confirm his top-seven finish according to the official results below
Irish Sailing ILCA 7 coach Ben Walkemeyer praised Lynch’s consistency across the week. “Finn did everything he could today,” Walkemeyer said. “Conditions were extremely shifty, but he managed to stay very consistent throughout the racing.”
Ewan McMahon also competed in the Gold Fleet but dropped from 14th to 26th overall after an early-start disqualification in the opening race of the day. Despite the setback, he recorded several strong results during the championship, including two fourth-place finishes.
Development sailor Fiachra McDonnell of the Royal Irish Yacht Club finished 18th overall in the Silver Fleet.
The Irish squad will next compete at the LA Sailing Grand Slam before returning home to prepare for the 2026 ILCA World Championships in Dun Laoghaire. Ireland will host an Olympic-class sailing world championship for the first time since 2001.
