logo
Irish sailor Eve McMahon wins LA Grand Slam gold medal in perfect preparation for 2028 Olympics

Irish sailor Eve McMahon wins LA Grand Slam gold medal in perfect preparation for 2028 Olympics

The Irish Sun17-07-2025
IRISH sailor Eve McMahon enjoyed the perfect early boost for the 2028 Olympics by claiming a gold medal at the LA Grand Slam yesterday.
The
Advertisement
2
2024 's UCD Sportsperson of the Year will be hoping to reach her second Olympic games
2
McMahon has been shortlisted for RTÉ Young Sportsperson of the Year three times
And the race was held on the same Californian waters that will host the Games in three years' time.
It was a big win for Howth woman McMahon, who trailed Great Britain's Hannah Snellgrove in second before surging to victory. Poland's Agata Barwinska came third.
In fact, McMahon was disqualified from the third race but was consistently finishing inside the top ten of her other outings.
She won the seventh race and also recorded three further top-three finishes.
Advertisement
Read more on Irish sport
Those displays meant she could discard her disqualification and an 18th-place finish in the second race to win the event.
McMahon said: 'I'm delighted to win here in LA. Racing on the future Olympic waters is really motivating and I really wanted to go out there today to see what I could do.
'I'm very happy with how I performed and that I was able to come away with the gold.
'This event gave us a real taste of what LA 2028 will feel like.'
Advertisement
Most read in Other Sports
Elsewhere, Eve's brother Ewan came 17th in the men's ILCA 7 class, while Rio Olympian Finn Lynch was eighth.
'They have to be stopped!' - Meath new unofficial All-Ireland anthem splits opinions online
Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

US President Donald Trump tees it up with Paul McGinley as he opens new course
US President Donald Trump tees it up with Paul McGinley as he opens new course

Irish Daily Mirror

timean hour ago

  • Irish Daily Mirror

US President Donald Trump tees it up with Paul McGinley as he opens new course

US President Donald Trump was joined by Irish golfing legend Paul McGinley as he officially opened his newest golf course in Aberdeen. Trump has spent the last few days in Scotland visiting his golf courses and holding a number of political meetings as part of the proceedings, was the opening of the 'new course' at Trump International Golf Links in Aberdeen. The controversial US President was joined by Ryder Cup-winning captain Paul McGinley and his fellow Sky Sports pundit and PGA Championship winner Rich Beem for a round of golf. McGinley is one of Ireland's golfing greats, winning three Ryder Cups as a player and was a winning captain in 2014. US President Donald Trump, with former Ryder Cup captain Paul McGinley (left) on the first tee during the official opening of the New Course, the second championship course at Trump International Golf Links U.S. President Donald Trump shakes hands with Paul McGinley Speaking at the ribbon-cutting ceremony, Trump said, "We'll play it very quickly, and then I'll get back to D.C., and we'll put out fires all over the world." During his speech, Trump also praised UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer and Scotland's First Minister John Swinney and his 'great deal' after agreeing a trade deal with the UK. Trump also offered rare praise to the media, calling them 'terrific' while joking that he didn't brand them as 'fake news'. He said they 'treated us really well' and also said that he 'loves Scotland'. 'We're going to go out and have a good time,' the US President continued. 'It's going to be a special day and a special year and a special decade, and we're going to make all of our countries strong and great and really wonderful again. ' The course officially opens to visitors in mid-August and will set players back some £495 (€570) as he adds to his ever-growing golf course portfolio. Trump currently owns 15 golf properties, including former Open venue Turnberry in Scotland and Doonbeg in Co. Clare, and has some 11 properties in the US.

Daniel Wiffen narrowly qualifies for 800m freestyle final at World Championships
Daniel Wiffen narrowly qualifies for 800m freestyle final at World Championships

Irish Times

time2 hours ago

  • Irish Times

Daniel Wiffen narrowly qualifies for 800m freestyle final at World Championships

World and Olympic champion Daniel Wiffen has narrowly qualified for the final of the men's 800m freestyle at the World Aquatics Championships in Singapore. The 24-year-old qualified eighth from Tuesday morning's heats, the reigning champion in the event from the 2024 World Championships in Doha touching the wall in 7:46.36. Wiffen finished fifth in heat two, leaving him with a nervous wait during the last remaining heat to see whether his time would be quick enough to progress. As the slowest qualifier, he will swim in lane eight in Wednesday's final (12pm Irish time). 'Obviously pretty disappointed with the overall swim of the 800,' Wiffen said after the heat, 'but we've got a lane, so we've got a chance to defend my title, and I'm going in with that mindset of that I can win this still, even though I'm eighth in.' Having failed to qualify for the final of the men's 400m freestyle on Sunday, he added: 'I just feel really weak at the moment. I felt it in the 400m and then I felt it in the 800m free, so something's going wrong, I just need to figure out what it is and then change it for tomorrow night's final.' Jack Cassin was also in the pool for Team Ireland on Tuesday, swimming a personal best of 1:57.04 in the heats of the men's 200m butterfly. The 21-year-old, making his World Championships debut, placed 20th overall, with only the top 16 proceeding to the semi-finals. 'I'm definitely happy with that,' the Cork swimmer said after. 'It's been a long season, so I'm kind of happy to drop some more time in that 200 ... Definitely have to refine some skills, see what I can work on for the next season, but it's definitely motivated me now.' Three Irish swimmers are in action on Wednesday. Danielle Hill kicks things off, racing in heat five of the women's 50m backstroke (3.10am Irish time), followed by Ellen Walshe in the second heat of the women's 200m butterfly (4.25am Irish time) and Evan Bailey in the eighth heat of the men's 100m freestyle (3.40am Irish time). The semi-finals in the three events will be held on Wednesday afternoon (Irish time).

Irish athletics golden girl Kate O'Connor poses for selfie with loved up footballer Georgie
Irish athletics golden girl Kate O'Connor poses for selfie with loved up footballer Georgie

Sunday World

time2 hours ago

  • Sunday World

Irish athletics golden girl Kate O'Connor poses for selfie with loved up footballer Georgie

The pair who have each been celebrating significant wins in their respective fields are pictured together in the snap Ireland's gold-medal winning athlete Kate O'Connor has shared an adorable picture of her with loved-up boyfriend Irish striker Georgie Kelly together on holidays in Portugal. The pair who have each been celebrating significant wins in their respective fields are pictured in the snap that Kate captioned: 'A few days of R&R & celebrating the Harkins'. Kate poses for the selfie in yellow dress while Georgie grins in the background. She is on a well-deserved break after a series of stunning victories. Just last Thursday, the 24-year-old added a gold to her glittering CV at the World University Games in Rhine-Ruhr, Germany. Kate and Georgie on holidays News in 90 Seconds - Tuesday, July 29 Dominating the heptathlon to smash her Irish record with 6487 points, she declared: 'I've been going for that (record) for a long time. 'I'm in the shape of my life at the moment and to go out and do that here, at a world stage, I'm really happy with that.' It had already been a massive year for O'Connor, a master's student in communication and PR at Ulster University, who twice smashed the Irish pentathlon record indoors. She won bronze at the European Indoors in Apeldoorn, the Netherlands before winning World Indoor silver in Nanjing, China – the first ever medals Ireland had won in the multi-events at that level. She had previously won heptathlon silver at the European U-20 Championships and at the 2022 Commonwealth Games for Northern Ireland. 'Now I've finally got a gold,' she said. 'It's a great way to start my outdoor season. I'd quite a few highs there but also quite a few lows, so I'm looking forward to the next couple of weeks, trying to improve some things and really have them right going into [the World Championships in] Tokyo.' For Carlisle United's Irish striker Georgie, he has come through what Mark Hughes described as a 'torrid' time with injury to deliver a recent win that gives the club some hope in their relegation battle. In March, after girlfriend Kate took home a bronze medal from the pentathlon at the European Indoor Championships in the Netherlands, he hailed her as a 'killer'. 'She's well versed in dealing with different pressures to me. We are different, Kate is ruthless, a real competitor, win at all costs,' Kelly told the Irish Independent at the time. 'Her ability to produce under pressure last weekend, that was unreal, the pressure she was under, seeing girls perform well just before her and knowing she has to hit a certain mark or she's gone, that's the bit of my sports psyche that I'd lack. 'She's a killer and I admire so much about what she does – I probably don't tell her enough.' He's spent his teenage and adult years focused on a football career in Ireland with UCD, Derry City, Dundalk, St Patrick's Athletic and Bohemians and then cross-channel with Rotherham United and current side Carlisle. But it's his time spent with Kate that has opened Kelly's eyes to the levels needed and achievements made. 'That was the first ever medal for an Irish athlete, male or female, in a multi-event. She was the first Irish Olympian in the heptathlon so it's all new, her and her coaches are figuring it out as they go along. So to get to that level is just incredible,' he says. 'Even the fact that the pentathlon is indoor and the heptathlon is outdoor, she's always been a much better heptathlete because of the javelin, she has a monster jav, that's where she gets her points. It's some leap she's made even in six months and it's so exciting to think what we can do, there is no ceiling for Kate.' However, as Kelly is in Carlisle and O'Connor is based in Ireland, he revealed how finding time together is not easy. 'Kate's off to China for the World Championships next week, then her indoor season finishes and she might get some time off. Hopefully she will get over to me in England for a bit, before she ramps up again for the outdoor season which peaks in August. 'She can't just up and move to a base elsewhere, that's the hardest thing about being away on your own. It's only for a few years, we'll get there, we'll make it work. 'It's not like I work in an accountancy firm that's nine-to-five and I know she has weekends off, if I had a day or two off, there's no guarantee she will be off so it's a tough balance. It's not easy.'

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into a world of global content with local flavor? Download Daily8 app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store