Ireland’s Sienna Wright remains second overall at the ILCA 6 Youth World Championships in Aarhus after winning two of Sunday’s races in testing, shifty conditions. As Afloat reported yesterday, Wright ended Day 2 in second place on four points after four races, strengthened her challenge on Sunday with scores of 1-1-(5). With the discard now applying after six races, she counts eight points, leaving her just three points behind defending champion Hermionie Ghicas of Greece.
It was another highly consistent performance from Wright, whose six races so far have produced three victories, a second and a third, with Sunday’s fifth discarded.
Ghicas leads the ILCA 6 Youth Women’s fleet on five points, Wright is second on eight, and New Zealand’s Chloe Turner is third on 22.
Wright Adds Two More Race Wins
Wright began the championship with a third before winning Race 2 and taking second in Race 3. Her fourth-place score was another first, meaning she entered Sunday already firmly in the championship hunt. Two successive victories on Day 3 strengthened that position before a fifth in the sixth race became her discard.
The Irish challenge further down the women’s fleet saw Abigail Murphy move from 81st after Day 2 to 89th. She is now on 197 net points. Siún Ní Choistealbha, who was 103rd after Saturday, is now 109th on 247 points, with a DNF in the sixth race discarded.
Conor Cronin Climbs to 17th
Sunday brought the men’s competition level with the women in terms of races completed. The women had sailed four races by the end of Day 2 while the men had completed three; both fleets have now completed six races.
Italian charge — Lorenzo Ghirotti leads the ILCA 6 Youth Men’s World Championship in Aarhus on nine points after six races, with two wins among his counting scores. Photo: Peter Brogger
Among the Irish men, Conor Cronin climbed from 19th overnight to 17th overall. After opening the championship with scores of 10-2-12, Cronin added a discarded 26th, followed by an excellent race victory and a tenth. He now counts 35 points.
Marcus Shelley also improved, moving from 127th to 123rd, while Cormac Byrne climbed 23 places from 161st to 138th.
Irish Sailors Make Gains
Several other Irish sailors made significant gains during Day 3. Eolann Miles climbed 17 places, from 180th to 163rd, while Rory Brennan-Hobbs jumped 43 places, from 214th to 171st. The biggest Irish gain came from Harry Dunne, who climbed from 261st to 197th, an improvement of 64 places.
Irish pursuit — Eolann Miles is among the Irish sailors battling through the shifty conditions on Aarhus Bay during Day 3 of the 2026 ILCA 6 Youth World Championships. Photo: Peter Brogger
Max O’Hare, racing in the Under-17 category, moved from 165th to 176th, while Joseph Robinson went from 176th to 182nd. Eduardo Gasset is now 214th, with Under-17 sailor Jack Ives in 248th.
Italy’s Lorenzo Ghirotti leads the ILCA 6 Youth Men’s championship on nine points, just ahead of Croatia’s Toma Smirčić on 10 and Turkey’s Ali Özdemir on 11.
Shifty Aarhus Winds Test Youth Fleets
Conditions on Aarhus Bay provided a demanding test on Sunday, with westerly winds ranging from eight to 25 knots and substantial shifts forcing sailors to continually reassess their tactics.
Germany’s Johanna Jacobs described the racing as “really tricky and very shifty”, saying competitors had to keep adapting as conditions changed.
After Saturday’s programme brought the championship back towards schedule, Sunday was particularly productive for the men, who completed three races compared with two for the women. That leaves both championships on six races heading into Monday.
Wright Firmly in World Title Contention
For Ireland, Wright remains the standout performer after three days in Aarhus.
With three race wins from six starts and second overall, only three points separating her from the championship lead, the Irish sailor remains firmly in the hunt as the ILCA 6 Youth World Championships continue.
