Eve McMahon has had so much success at youth and age-level sailing that it is easy to presume her historic bronze medal at the ILCA 6 sailing World Championships in Qingdao in May was expected.
The 21-year-old Howth Yacht Club star’s phenomenal trajectory – back-to-back World U21 titles and 13th on her Olympic debut last Summer – heightens the chances of senior success but, like every young prodigy, she has jumped into the biggest shark tank now, where nothing is guaranteed.
The dramatic nature of her breakthrough – the first medal at this level by an Irish female sailor – and her detailed preparation underlines just how hard she’ll keep pushing the envelope.
When she started studying International Commerce (with Spanish) at UCD three years ago she had already decided to do her Erasmus year in Valencia because it is the venue for the 2026 World Championships, the first qualifier for the LA Olympic Games.
Heading to Spain last September provided the ideal post-Paris bounce and she chose to live, not with other Irish students, but with a Spanish sailing family to totally immerse herself in the local sailing scene.
By cramming four modules into first term she could concentrate on the boat from January.
The only downside? After her latest milestone medal, she flew home from China to Sutton and, a week later, had to dash back to Valencia to sit two last exams.
All this was packed into five months in which the bubbly Northsider established a new coach (Irish Sailing’s Vasilij Zbogar), a new training group (the British Olympic team) and, after picking up some costly penalties mid-season, hastily rejigged her downwind technique just a fortnight before ‘Worlds’.
The event itself proved epic and a massive test of McMahon’s nerve and skill.
Lack of wind saw the first four days cancelled so everything was condensed into six races, split over the last two days.
McMahon was sitting sixth at the half-way point. Next day she started with a sixth and a third and reckoned she’d need a top five in the final race to make the podium.
With the 99 strong fleet split into two heats taking place in close proximity she was unaware just how fine the margins were and started badly: “I had been sailing great but, at the first top mark I found I was in 20th position!”
Somehow she kept picking off opponents and finished sixth yet still had no idea if that was enough.
“All I knew was that was one hell of a race to go from 20th to 6th. It took us about 40 minutes to sail in. It was only when I was pulling my boat back up in the boat park, and all the British girls ran down to hug me, that I discovered I’d won bronze!”
McMahon actually finished on the same points as the Polish silver medallist but placings in sailing are decided by whoever has had the highest result during their series, and Agata Barwinska had actually won her final race.
“It was incredibly close across the board. There were only four points too between ourselves and sixth place,” McMahon explains.
Such are the minuscule margins in elite level sport.
Once she has wrapped up her exams she’s headed to the Netherlands for a two-week training camp.
This huge breakthrough helps her remain philosophical that even her best laid plans for early 2028 Olympic qualification have been foiled.
Last year’s severe flooding in Valencia meant the year, and venue, for the first LA Games qualifiers have been moved.
“I know!” she laughs.
“Those World Championships are now going to be in Brazil, in 2027, in Fortaleza but that’s renowned for big waves and big winds and I absolutely love that.”
By then the Ad Astra student should have completed her final year in UCD and before that comes another hectic summer on the Grand Slam (SGS) circuit, World Sailing’s new title for their World Cup series.
“There’s a big World Cup in Germany (June 21-29) and another in Los Angeles (July 12-20) which is particularly exciting because it’s the first time we’re actually going to be on the Olympic waters for LA. Then we’ll finish off our season in Sweden in August for the senior Europeans. I’m super excited.”