In their first major competition since the Paris 2024 Olympics in Marseille, all four Irish sailors will be in action next week at the annual Trofeo Princesa Sofía in Mallorca, as previously reported on Afloat.ie.
Robert Dickson and Sean Waddilove are among the favourites for the Men’s 49er skiff event after narrowly missing out on a medal at the Olympics.
Howth Yacht Club’s Eve McMahon leads the charge in the women’s ILCA 6 single-handed event. McMahon continues to build her form at senior level following her Olympic debut in Marseille which marked her journey towards the podium in Los Angeles in 2028.
The Dublin sailor has a new coach in Slovenian triple Olympic medallist Vasilij Zbogar, who has has switched from coaching Finn Lynch (National Yacht Club) following his 10th place in Marseille last summer.
In turn, Australian coach Ben Walkemeyer will help Rio and Paris graduate Lynch towards his third Olympic appearance. The Carlow sailor comes to this competition with a win already under his belt from the Mallorcan Sailing Centre Warm-Up Regatta last weekend.
Lynch will have some competition in the form of Ewan McMahon (Howth YC), older brother to Eve, who takes his place on the senior squad following a block of intensive winter training, signalling his serious intent for LA 2028.
“This is a healthy rivalry with both working together to get the best out of the other,” said Rory Fitzpatrick, Irish Sailing technical director. “We have a team approach that cooperates ashore and competes on the water which seems to be working very well.”
All four Olympians will be joined in Palma by Lauren O'Callaghan and Charlotte Eadie in the women's 49erFX skiff event, which also features Royal Irish stalwart Saskia Tidey competing for Team GB.
Ireland will also be represented by under-17 World Champion Sienna Wright (Howth YC) in the women’s ILCA 6 class.
“We have a senior squad hungry to win medals and their competitive profile indicates this is a realistic goal,” said James O’Callaghan, Irish Sailing performance director. "These four sailors are also the vanguard for the dozens of up-and-coming talented sailors on the Irish Sailing Pathway that over the next four years we will hopefully see more of on the world stage.”
Some 850 crews are registered for the six-day event, which gets under way on the Bay of Palma next Monday 31 March with a three-day qualification series to determine Gold fleet standings before a medal race final on Saturday 5 April.
