Ad Astra sailing ace Eve McMahon wins gold at Princess Sofia Regatta
7 April 2026
UCD Ad Astra Elite Sports Scholar Eve McMahon has taken home gold at the Princess Sofia Regatta in Mallorca.
Her win marks the first Irish victory at the venue in 10 years.
The 20-minute opening race saw McMahon and her friend, Britain’s Daisy Collingridge, pace each other. Collingridge finished one place ahead, extending her lead to six points.
However, in the second and last final race, McMahon pulled away to the front of the pack and managed to keep enough boats between her and Collingridge.
The race was too short for the British sailor to recover, and minutes later, the pair embraced on the finishing line with just one point in the difference of their scores.
“When I crossed the finishing line, I couldn’t believe it. I had to pull a great race out of the bag and I just went on the hunt,” said McMahon.
“I sail to attack and I sail to win – it’s great to get any medal, but gold is always what you want at the end of the day.”
The Princess Sofia Regatta is the first major Olympic classes event of the year. It features over 800 boats and around 1,400 athletes.
Ireland last won a gold here in 2016 in the lead-up to the Rio Olympics when Ryan Seaton and Matt McGovern won the 49er men’s skiff event.
The win comes after an outstanding 2025 for the Howth native, which saw her take home gold at the LA Sailing Grand Slam and bronze at the ILCA 6 World Championships in China.
The 22-year-old BComm student is the first ever Irish female sailor to medal at a senior world championship.
Her incredible showing in 2025 saw her achieve another historic moment, becoming the first Irish sailor to be named number one in the World Sailing rankings.
In 2024, McMahon was one of four UCD students who represented Ireland at the Paris Olympic Games, and was crowned a two-time world champion that year after successfully defending her ILCA6 U21 World title.
The Ad Astra Elite Sports Scholarship programme at University College Dublin supports students who are competing and succeeding at the highest sporting levels. It is the University’s flagship scholarship programme.
By: Rebecca Hastings, Digital Journalist, UCD University Relations
To contact the UCD News & Content Team, email: newsdesk@ucd.ie
