Despite a gear failure setback in her first Gold Fleet race, Eve McMahon remains very much in the hunt for a Paris 2024 Olympic place in the final three races of the 2024 ILCA6 Women’s World Championship at Mar del Plata, Argentina, on Tuesday.

McMahon was scored as 'DNC', meaning she was officially recorded as 'did not come to the starting area' in the first of her two final races on Monday after her tiller-extension joint sheared right on the start line.

The fitting was replaced with a spare, but it meant missing the race.

The 52-point score – which may yet be discardable – and is in marked contrast to her earlier consistent results in the qualifying rounds of 19, 4, 19, 4 and 14.

The 19-year-old finished 18th in the second race and is currently in 20th place overall on 78 points in her 51-boat fleet, according to the official results (below).

Despite the DNC, McMahon remains in the hunt for one of seven Olympic nation qualification spots. Discounting those already qualified, here are the standings (as of Tuesday morning) for those crucial seven spots, with thanks to Howth Yacht Club for the working tally:

1. Finland: 67 points
2. Ireland: 78 points
3. Turkey: 104 points
4. Spain: 119 points
5. India: 122 points
6. Uruguay: 123 points
7. Romania: 126 points
8. Mexico: 129 points
9. Brazil: 137 points

Denmark's Rindom remains on top

The day’s first race unfolded with northwest winds at approximately 12 knots. For the second race, conditions changed as a southwest front entered, bringing an intensity of 18 knots that gradually decreased throughout the day.

In the gold fleet, Danish sailor Anne Marie Rindom remains firm at the top after securing a 7th place finish in the first race and winning the second. Norwegian sailor Line Flem Hoest rose to second place, trailing by only 12 points. Vasileia Karachaliou, representing Portugal, rose to third place, thanks to her consistent strategy throughout the day, achieving two fifth-place finishes.

According to official reports, the racing schedule has been adjusted at Mar del Plata to take advantage of the forecast, and organisers will aim for three races on Tuesday that will decide the championship - and with it, the next seven nation places for the Paris 2024 Olympics in the women's single-handed dinghy event.

Results below and check out McMahon's recent interview with Howth Yacht Club here

The Irish sailor 'disqualified' from last week's ILCA European Championships in Italy missed an umpire's signal due to noise, according to the Irish Sailing Association.

The ISA state, "during racing, the on-the-water umpires signalled a penalty turns [sic] to Dun Laoghaire's Fiachra McDonnell, which he missed in the noise of the on-the-water activity". 

Following the conclusion of racing last Friday in the ILCA6 European Championship, the international jury disqualified McDonnell from the week-long competition, scoring him as 'DNE' or 'Do Not Exclude' for every race sailed.

McDonnell incurred three penalties during the course of the week-long competition in Andora, prompting the jury decision under Rule 42. 

A description of the incident on the event website on leg one of race 11 states, "Repeated body pumps on the beat, close to the mark, Did not retire, DNE for all races in the event".

"McDonnell was initially shown in the provisional results for the 71-boat fleet as having placed ninth overall, and only when the final official result was published on Friday evening was the revised standing apparent," the ISA said.

Howth teen Eve McMahon booked her place to the Youth World Sailing Championships in The Hague in July when she sailed to success at the Irish Youth Sailing Championships on Belfast Lough today. 

The reigning World Youth Champion in the single-handed ILCA6 (formerly the Laser Radial) won her 38-strong event in convincing fashion by winning both final races on Sunday to bring her tally to five race wins on Belfast Lough.

Clubmate Rocco Wright who had been leading the class and a group of six challengers since racing began on Thursday finished second overall.

Rocco Wright Photo: Simon McIlwaine/Wavelength Images

In so doing, both McMahon and Wright reached the standard to be nominated to represent Ireland in The Hague in the girls and boys divisions respectively of the World Sailing event.

Sienna Wright of Howth Yacht Club Photo: Simon McIlwaine/Wavelength Images

There were further celebrations in the Howth YC camp when Sienna Wright, Rocco's younger sister won the ILCA 4 (formerly Laser 4.7) class by a comfortable 13-point margin.