Ad Astra sailing ace Eve McMahon secures historic first for Ireland at Senior World Championships
19 May 2025
Irish sailor Eve McMahon has won bronze at the ILCA World Championships, marking her as the first ever Irish female sailor to medalled at a senior world championship.
The Paris Games Olympian and BComm student at University College Dublin finished third in the women's ILCA 6 event behind Poland's Agata Barwinska and Frenchwoman Louise Cervera.
"It's all kind of just set in now," McMahon said afterwards. "We’re back in from a very long day of racing and to come away with a bronze medal is amazing.
“I finished off my youth career with a lot of medals and to start my senior career with a bronze medal at the World Championships makes me really happy.”
The 22-year-old UCD Ad Astra Elite Sport Scholar never fell outside the top six in any of the races she sailed in Qingdao, China.
Her remarkable achievement securing third place marks the first time an Irish female sailor has reached the podium at the Senior World Championships, and comes off two back-to-back Under 21 World Championships, and an Olympic debut in 2024.
“I always kind of had a feeling that it close, I never knew exactly the points or anything like that,” she said.
"My coach came up to me just as the five-minute gun went and said I needed to be top five in this race then he drove off. So I was like 'oh my God there's obviously a chance for a medal here!’”
In the six races sailed as part of the women's ILCA 6, McMahon recorded results within the top six places in the 99-boat event while also avoiding any penalties.
"It was a really difficult day, very strong winds but Eve made three solid races. She is sailing really well and we're looking forward to the days and months of competition ahead,” said Irish Sailing coach Vasilij Zbogar, who won silver for Slovenia in the 2009 Beijing Olympics.
"This is another truly historic moment for Irish Sailing,” added James O'Callaghan, Irish Sailing's Performance Director.
“Eve is the first female sailor to win a senior world championship medal. Massive credit goes to Eve's determination and coach team of Vasilij Zbogar and Rory Fitzpatrick."
By: David Kearns, Digital Journalist / Media Officer, UCD University Relations
To contact the UCD News & Content Team, email: newsdesk@ucd.ie
