First Major Regatta Beckons for Irish Olympic Sailors on LA2028 Campaign.
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 Princess Sofia Trophy in Mallorca, Spain.
Ireland's Robert Dickson (Howth Yacht Club) and Sean Waddilove (Skerries Sailing Club) are amongst the favourites for the Men's 49er skiff event after narrowly missing out on a medal at the Olympics.
Eve McMahon (Howth YC) 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 LA.
The Dublin sailor has a new coach in the form of Slovenian triple Olympic medallist Vasilij Zbogar. Vasilij has switched from coaching Carlow sailor Finn Lynch (National Yacht Club) following his 10thplace in Marseille last summer. In turn, Australian coach Ben Walkemeyer will help the Rio and Paris graduate towards his third Olympic appearance. Finn 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," commented Rory Fitzpatrick, Irish Sailing's 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 (National Yacht Club) and Charlotte Eadie (Ballyholme Yacht Club) in the women's 49erFX skiff event. 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," commented 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."
Almost 850 crews are registered for the six-day event, an increase on the comparable period for the last games cycle.
Racing gets underway on the Bay of Palma on Monday 31st March with a three-day qualification series to determine Gold fleet standings before a medal race final on Saturday 5th April.
You can follow the event across all of Irish Sailing's Socials; Instagram, Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIN