Following a short but tense medal race final on the Bay of Palma this morning (Saturday, 5th April), Ireland's Lynch (National Yacht Club) secured third place in the Princess Sofia event that sets a promising tone for his journey towards the Los Angeles 2028 Olympics.
As Afloat reported earlier, the Carlow sailor qualified for the medal race final following a ten-race series in which he recorded a race win and two second places. These results put him into second overall and ensured he was one of only three sailors in the top ten capable of taking a medal.
Britain's Michael Beckett had already secured Gold on Friday evening, adding to his country's haul of five event wins in Palma this week.
Britain's Elliot Hanson, who won the medal race, took silver and dropped Lynch to third overall.
ILCA 7 Bronze medal winner Finn Lynch on the Princess Sofia 2025 podium with Britain's Elliot Hanson (silver) and Michael Beckett (gold) Photo: Sailing Energy
"It's a great start to the Olympic cycle, I'm happy out," Lynch said ahead of the prize-giving beside Palma's famous cathedral. "I had a good buffer going into the medal race and just needed to watch the Italian, but unfortunately, the British sailor got ahead and won, so I took the Silver, but I'm happy with Bronze."
Lynch paid tribute to new coach Ben Walkemeyer for bringing a fresh approach to his training, particularly around his starting technique.
It was a successful fortnight on the Balearic Island for Lynch, who won the warm-up event at the Mallorca Sailing Centre Regatta.
Rival to Lynch for LA2028, Ewan McMahon of Howth Yacht Club proved his worth too this week by winning the final race of the series and only narrowly missing a place in the medal race final.
The Sailing Grand Slam (SGS) circuit brings together five world-class events across the sailing season; developed in close collaboration with World Sailing, it creates a global platform to showcase the world’s top sailors in the build-up to the LA 2028 Olympic Games.
