Irish sailors are in medal contention at the Mallorca Sailing Centre Regatta after the opening qualifying races in Palma Bay.
As Afloat reported earlier, eight Irish LA2028 hopefuls are competing across four Olympic fleets at the Mediterranean venue. After the first four races, two Irish sailors are within reach of podium positions.
In the ILCA 6 fleet, Howth Yacht Club’s Eve McMahon lies second overall after a consistent start. The 2025 world bronze medallist posted race scores of 6, 2, 4 and 2. Her clubmate Sienna Wright is 27th.
Hungary’s Maria Erdi leads the fleet, while Spain’s Nikko Palou Espinar sits third.
In the ILCA 7 class, Royal Irish Yacht Club’s Fiachra McDonnell is second overall after four races. His scores of 6, 19, 12 and 4 place him behind Italy’s Dimitri Peroni, with Israel’s Reem Pulci Magen in third.
The Palma regatta offers an early indication of form as Olympic campaigns begin to take shape ahead of the Los Angeles Games in 2028.
The three-day event (12–15 March) is a key warm-up for the 55th Trofeo Princesa Sofia Mallorca regatta. More than 300 teams from 41 nations are competing.
Racing is taking place across five Olympic classes — ILCA 6, ILCA 7, 49er, 49erFX and Nacra 17 — with up to nine races scheduled.
Ireland is also represented in the high-performance skiff fleets.
Paris 2024 Olympians Robert Dickson and Sean Waddilove are competing in the 49er class. The Royal Cork and National Yacht Club pairing of Ben O’Shaughnessy and Ethan Spain are racing in the U23 division.
In the 49erFX fleet, Erin McIlwaine and Ellen Barbour represent Ireland in the U23 category.
Royal Irish Yacht Club sailor Saskia Tidey is also racing in the fleet, campaigning for Team GB alongside Freya Black.
The regatta has attracted 326 teams in total. The ILCA 6 fleet is the largest with 115 boats, followed by 69 in ILCA 7, 67 in the 49er, 51 in the 49erFX and 24 in the Nacra 17.
