Dublin Bay's Next Act: Who to Watch at the 2026 ILCA 6 Women's Worlds
by Agustín Argüelles / ILCA 3 Sep 05:26 PDT
5-12 September 2026
The stage is set for the 2026 ILCA 6 Women's World Championship in Dublin Bay © Jordan Roberts / Down Under Sail
Reigning World Champion Louise Cervera FRA is back to defend her title, joined by fellow 2025 medalists Agata Barwinska POL, Silver medalist in Qingdao (and also Silver back in 2021), and Eve McMahon IRL, whose Bronze was Ireland's first-ever senior World Championship medal in the class.
The 2026 ILCA 6 Women's Worlds runs 5-12 September off the National Yacht Club and Royal St George Yacht Club, closing out an historic month of Olympic-class sailing on Dublin Bay.
Olympic medallists
Two Olympic medalists headline the entry list. Norway's Line Flem Høst NOR is the reigning Bronze medalist from Paris 2024 — her country's first-ever Olympic medal in the class. And in one of the biggest storylines of the fortnight, Rio 2016 Silver medalist Annalise Murphy IRL returns to top-level competition on the waters where she learned to sail, eight months after becoming a mother. (Read more on her comeback: The Class Nobody Can Quit).
2026 Grand Slam season
Unlike the men's fleet, no single sailor has run away with any of the main Grand Slam this year — three different winners from three legs suggest a wide-open title race. Eve McMahon IRL won in Palma de Mallorca, Charlotte Rose USA took Hyères, and Hannah Snellgrove GBR claimed the most recent leg in San Pedro — fittingly, the venue for LA 2028. That win puts Snellgrove in the frame as a real threat heading into Dun Laoghaire, while McMahon's home advantage and Rose's consistency make both hard to overlook.
2026 Europeans
Hungary's Maria Erdi HUN claimed her second Senior European title in Croatia last May after a dramatic final day, with Great Britain's Matilda Nicholls GBR taking Silver and Emma Plasschaert BEL rounding out the podium in Bronze.
Previous World medalists in the fleet
Beyond this year's reigning podium, Dun Laoghaire's start line runs deep with past World Championship medalists. Emma Plasschaert BEL carries two World titles (2021, 2018) and two Bronze medals (2024, 2022) into the regatta. Maria Erdi HUN, fresh off her European win, was World Champion in 2023. Charlotte Rose USA took Silver in 2024, and Maud Jayet SUI has two Silvers of her own (2023, 2022). Also on the water: Viktorija Andrulyte LTU, Bronze medalist in 2021, and two medalists from the 2020 Worlds in Melbourne, Maxime Jonker NED (Silver) and Line Flem Høst NOR (Bronze).
Irish interest
Eve McMahon leads a home team arriving on the back of a superb season, backed by Lucy Ives and Sienna Wright. But the story of the fortnight for Ireland is Annalise Murphy's return — a Rio 2016 medalist stepping back onto the international start line on the very waters where her career began.
Follow the action
These are the storylines shaping the build-up, but Dun Laoghaire's mix of tide, chop and shifting breeze off Dublin Bay has a habit of throwing up its own surprises — with a fleet this size, the real list of contenders is wider than any preview can capture.
For further information about the event and to follow the action daily, visit the event website at 2026ilca6women.ilca-worlds.org
The event is organised by National Yacht Club and Royal St George Yacht Club, in conjunction with ILCA. It is supported by premium sponsors Sport Ireland and Dun Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council, and associate sponsors Rooster, The Royal Marine Hotel, XOCEAN, and KPMG.