Princeton’s Quinlan and UCD Impress
London Metropolitan Regatta at Dorney Lake and the IRA Championships in the United States brought some good results for Irish rowers.
James Quinlan (pictured) stroked Princeton (below) to a bronze medal in the Collegiate Varsity Eight at the IRA National Championships at Mercer Lake, New Jersey. California won from Washington, with Quinlan’s crew just 3.166 seconds behind the winners.
At London Met, there were some good results on both days. University of Limerick won the Women’s Championship coxed fours on the Saturday, and UCD women won the Academic Eights and the C Final. UCD’s men finished second to Molesey in the B Final of the Open Eights.
On the Sunday, UCD won the Championship women’s coxed four; Trinity finished second, 12.3 seconds behind, taking the Academic category.
UCD’s men finished third in the Open Eight Championship, while University of Limerick were second in the men’s Open Quadruple, just 2.7 seconds ahead of Trinity.
Doyle and Lynch Fourth in Cracking European Final
Ireland’s double scull of Philip Doyle and Daire Lynch came like a train in their drive for a podium finish at the European Championships here in Bled. They could not break into the top three – and with that, Ireland’s chance of a medal at this event was gone. Three other A Finals today finished with a fourth, fifth and sixth place for the Ireland team.
The men’s double final was a great race. Croatia’s Sinkovic brothers, Valent and Martin, won by setting a new European Championship record in choppy conditions – they needed to excel to pass and beat Italy. Ireland’s charge was not quite enough to catch the Netherlands, who headed them by .62 of a second.
“We narrowly missed out on the medal. But it’s pretty windy out there today; conditions are different from yesterday,” Doyle said. “We formulated our plan on what we had done yesterday [they excelled in the semi, and finished second to Croatia], because it worked really well: coming strong through the second half of the race. If we had a flatter day, it might have suited us a bit more. With a longer stretch in the race we could have made up a few seconds to push through the Dutch.”
He said that the race showed up some technical difficulties and demonstrated the room for improvement in the Ireland crew.
Siobhán McCrohan produced the fastest final 500 metres but came up .27 shy of a medal in the lightweight single sculls.
The speed was impressive, but McCrohan had left herself a lot to do. Greece, Romania and Turkey had moved through the first three-quarters of the race as if they would rebuff all challengers, while the Irish sculler was sixth at 1500 metres. But McCrohan and Kristyna Neuhortova of the Czech Republic then hit the afterburners as Turkey’s Eliz Obay faded. The Czech flew into third, with McCrohan less than a third of a second behind in fourth at the finish line.
Katie O’Brien and Steven McGowan (below) confirmed that they are a growing force in their A Final of the PR2 Mixed Double. They finished fifth, but while Britain were impressive winners and the Netherlands took a good second place, McGowan and O’Brien were in the mix with Poland and the bronze medallists here, Ukraine, the reigning world champions.
The A Final of the women’s double resolved itself into two races. In the medal positions, Lithuania led Romania and the Netherlands – all the way to the stands, where Romania did what they do and sprinted hard to win gold.
Ireland, Germany and France slid back into a second race. France made the best attempt to bridge the gap in the final 500 metres, whereas Sanita Puspure and Zoe Hyde fell back to sixth.
Sweet Win in B Final for Magner and Long
Ireland’s women’s pair won their B Final and single sculler Brian Colsh raced to a very good second place in his C Final at the European Championships here in Bled.
The pair of Imogen Magner and Natalie Long had been put together late in the day, but they showed they were up for the fight through the competition and won their B Final to place seventh overall.
The Czech Republic held a small lead over Ireland and Italy until the third quarter, when Long and Magner grabbed control. The Czechs kept them honest (the picture is from the closing stages), but Magner and Long would not let them back into it.
Twenty-year-old Colsh showed outstanding self-belief to take second in the C Final of the men’s single sculls, placing him 14th of the 23 single scullers who competed in these European Championships.
Poland’s Piotr Plominski all but owned the race and won. Colsh came from the very back of the field in the first third of the race and then picked off each of the other competitors, bar the Pole.
The men’s four also raced hard in a close B Final. With just 500 metres to go, they held second to Germany, though there was very little between them and Italy and Ukraine, who came through to push Ireland into fourth.
Saturday Finals Yield No Joy for Ireland
Three finals but no medals summed up the day for Ireland rowers at the European Championships in Bled today.
The women’s four (above) struggled in the early part of their race, and while Aifric Keogh, Tara Hanlon, Fiona Murtagh and Eimear Lambe did improve, the most they could do was to take fifth ahead of Spain. Romania came pulled out a stunning final 500 metres to take the gold away from Britain.
Aoife Casey and Margaret Cremen recorded 50 strokes per minute at the start of their final of the lightweight women’s double. It kept them in the hunt, but not for long. The Irish fell out of the main battle and would finish fifth. Britain won: they had a good day overall and wrapped up the action with a great win in the men’s eights.
The omens for the men’s lightweight double were not good. Hugh Moore and Fintan McCarthy took third in their semi-final behind a hard-driving Switzerland. The final again featured a sweet and fast 2,000 metres by Jan Schaeuble and Raphael Ahumada Ireland, and again the Irish crew were not able to match it. Moore and McCarthy finished sixth, while Italy’s new combination of Stefano Oppo and Gabriel Soares pushed the Swiss hardest and earned their silver. Greece took the bronze.
The one consolation on the day was the performance of the men’s double. Philip Doyle and Daire Lynch, a new unit, were at the back of the field early in their semi-final. But they came through with real intent and took second behind Croatia’s Valent and Martin Sinkovic.
The programme for Sunday sees Ireland in four finals (times Irish)
10.01 Lightweight women’s single sculls (Siobhán McCrohan)
11.20 PR2 mixed double sculls (Katie O’Brien, Steve McGowan)
11.37 Women’s Double Sculls (Zoe Hyde, Sanita Puspure)
11.53 Men’s Double (Daire Lynch, Philip Doyle)
Ireland’s Doyle and Lynch Accelerate Into A Final
Brothers Valent and Martin Sinkovic are among the greatest rowing crews of all time, with Olympic gold medals in pairs and double to prove it. The Croatians set the pace, and would go on to win.
Worryingly for the Irish in this hot venue, Ireland were in 6th at 500 metres, but they had moved to 4th at halfway. And from there it was impressive to watch – they moved through the field and put real pressure on the Sinkovics coming to the line. The final tomorrow should be interesting.
Third Place Secures Place in Final for McCarthy and Moore
Ireland’s lightweight men’s double scull qualified for the A Final of the European Championships here in Bled. Fintan McCarthy and Hugh Moore did it by taking the third and final qualifying spot in a tense semi-final.
Switzerland have been the rising challengers to Ireland, and after early sparring Jan Schaeuble and Raphael Ahumada Ireland made their point by taking over and going on to win convincingly. Greece moved into second and held it, while Ireland had to battle hard to stay ahead of Germany. However, Moore and McCarthy waxed as the Germans waned, and Spain shot into fourth. Ireland took a clear third.
Moore and McCarthy are a new crew, and Paul O’Donovan’s shoes are big ones to fill for Moore. It will be interesting to see can McCarthy and Moore pull it together to win a medal on Saturday.
The lightweight double was the sixth Ireland boat to qualify tor A Finals (see earlier report).
Brian Colsh showed his battling qualities to qualify for the C Final after an exciting and very close C/D semi-final of the single sculls. Quintin Antognelli of Monaco clung on to a lead for most of the race, but each of the six boats looked like they could finish in the top three for much of the 2,000 metres. Antognelli won, with the young Irishman pushing into second, while Kjetil Borch of Norway (above with Colsh) annexed the crucial third place.
Colsh is 20; Borch, who is 33, is the silver medallist from the Tokyo Olympic Games.
Five Star Performance by Ireland Crews in Euro Repechages
Ireland is having a very good second day at the European Championships here in the sunshine of Bled in Slovenia. Five boats have already qualified for A Finals, with the lightweight men’s double semi-final still to come.
Ireland won two of their eight repechages, through Sanita Puspure and Zoe Hyde in the women’s double and Siobhán McCrohan in the lightweight single. Yet, sharing the limelight was the fourth place which qualified Katie O’Brien and Steven McGowan in the PR2 Mixed Double (above).
They dug out a superb, fighting finish in their repechage to take that final qualification spot. This is a big step in the development of a crew targeting the Paralympics next year. The top six at the World Championships in September will be guaranteed a place at the Paralympics.
McGowan and O’Brien were exactly level with Italy at the 1500-metre mark, but they produced the fastest final 500 metres of all the crews to nail that crucial fourth place behind France, the Ukraine (the world champions) and Poland.
Puspure and Hyde had settled for second in the heats behind the outstanding Dutch crew of Roos de Jong and Laila Youssifou, but there was none of that today (see pic below as they cool down). They led their repechage right through, with Britain tracking them and hoping to nail one of the two A Final places, only to see France finish better and take second.
McCrohan was similarly emphatic in her win in the lightweight double. She returned to major international action after a seven-year lay-off and looked the part. Switzerland’s Eline Rol took the second qualifying spot.
The two other Ireland qualifiers came through by finishing second and third in their repechages. The lightweight double of Margaret Cremen and Aoife Casey looked in real danger of not making the top two necessary to progress, but a fine finish saw them pip Italy in a race won by Greece. Unusually off-form in the heat, it was encouraging to see this boat, which medalled at the World Championships in 2022, up its form as it hopes to make a podium again come Saturday’s final.
The women’s four had a more comfortable progression to their final, which is also on Saturday (11.22 Irish time). Top four would have been enough, but they took third. This crew has three of the four which took bronze at the Olympic Games, but it is very much reconfigured, as Eimear Lambe has taken over in the stroke seat from Emily Hegarty, who is injured. Tara Hanlon has come in, with Fiona Murtagh and Aifric Keogh retaining their places.
The women’s pair of Natalie Long and Imogen Magner, a rower for Leander who was making her debut for Ireland, missed out by finishing third. As a completely new crew, this was a competitive showing. They jousted with Britain for the second spot behind Croatia, but could not oust them.
The Ireland men’s four also targeted a top-two spot, and it looked a possibility for about two-thirds of the race. The Netherlands and Switzerland then took off, and Ireland found Ukraine charging after – and taking – their third placing.
Brian Colsh was up against it in the repechage of the men’s single. The man who would go on to win, Croatia’s Damir Martin, is three times an Olympic medallist; in fact he came within thousandths of a second of gold in the single in 2016. He qualified for another final with a win in this repechage. The battle for second saw the home country, Slovenia, pipped by Hungary. Colsh, who is just 20, got stuck in fourth, but was just a few lengths off the top three at the finish.
Irish Make Three Euro Finals in Very Different Ways
Irish crews started the second day of the European Championships by taking the three slots in finals which the repechages offered: there was a win, a second and a third – in very different races.
First off was a thriller. The lightweight double of Margaret Cremen and Aoife Casey, the World Championships bronze medallists in 2022, needed to make the top two in their repechage to reach the final. They barely made it. Greece led for much of the race and won, with Ireland having to sprint to the finish to hold off Italy. They had .32 of a second at the finish.
The women’s four had a bigger target: a top-four placing would send them to Saturday’s A Final. Denmark, the Netherlands and Ireland slotted into those positions and finished in that order. The Irish crew of Aifric Keogh, Tara Hanlon, Fiona Murtagh and Eimear Lambe upped the rating significantly as they pushed to take second, but the Dutch took it. Spain landed fourth.
What a return to action for Siobhán McCrohan! The Galway woman, who is 35, took fourth place in a European final back in 2011 in the lightweight double, and last competed in major international competition in 2016. Today she looked bang in form as she won her repechage convincingly (above).
Moore and McCarthy Win Heat at European Championships
Paul O’Donovan’s absence from the Ireland lightweight double because of his medical exams was a big talking point here at the European Rowing Championships in Bled. But the men’s lightweight double and the men’s double were the two Ireland heat winners, with eight other boats going to repechages.
Hugh Moore had done enough to deserve his chance to accompany Fintan McCarthy in the lightweight double, and their first race went well. They led – if not by much – down the course and won a tight battle with Poland to take first. Fast-finishing Portugal could not push into the top two of Ireland and Poland, who progressed directly into the A Final.
Three other Ireland crews in this block of races had to settle for places in the repechage.
The women’s four were pitted against another talking-point crew in Britain. The world champions were boosted by Helen Glover’s return. They were never really tested, though Ireland did close up to them as they took second.
The men’s four also finished well, but were pipped for second by Italy in a race won by Romania.
Siobhán McCrohan returned to international competition after a long break. She finished second to Evangelia Anastasiadou of Greece in the heat of the lightweight single sculls.
Earlier Ireland’s Daire Lynch and Philip Doyle gave the team a boost with a good win in their heat of the double sculls.
France gave the new crew a good race down the course, with tiny margins separating the crews at the 500, 1,000 and 1500 marks. But Ireland led through each of these and confirmed their good form coming to the line as France did well to take the second A Final place on offer ahead of Romania.
The first three Ireland crews to go into action each had just one place to aim for; they did not secure that and will go on to repechages.
The PR2 Mixed Double of Steven McGowan and Katie O’Brien were in just about the toughest heat imaginable. Ukraine are the world champions, while Poland and the Netherlands took silver and fourth place last year. Ukraine and the Netherlands duked it out to take first – Ukraine won. Ireland fought it out with Poland for third, but were pipped by .33 of a second.
There was also a fourth place for the new Ireland women’s pair of Imogen Magner and Natalie Long.
In the women’s double, Ireland’s Zoe Hyde and Sanita Puspure gave way to Laila Youssifou and Roos de Jong of the Netherlands, who took the one A Final place. Ireland did close at the finish, but the Netherlands made their point well. When it came to the second heat, Romania were also impressive winners.
The lightweight women’s double could only take third in their heat. Aoife Casey and Margaret Cremen (below) disputed second in a race won by France. But as the French moved into the A Final, Ireland lost out in a battle with Poland for second.
Brian Colsh (20) finished third in his heat of the men’s single sculls. Sverri Nielsen of Denmark won, taking the place in the A Final.
Doyle and Lynch Start Europeans With a Good Heat Win
France gave the new crew a good race down the course, with tiny margins separating the crews at the 500, 1,000 and 1500 marks. But Ireland led through each of these and confirmed their good form coming to the line as France did well to take the second A Final place on offer ahead of Romania.
Ireland’s first three crews each had just one place to aim for; they did not secure that and will go on to repechages.
The PR2 Mixed Double of Steven McGowan and Katie O’Brien were in just about the toughest heat imaginable. Ukraine are the world champions, while Poland and the Netherlands took silver and fourth place last year. Ukraine and the Netherlands duked it out to take first – Ukraine won. Ireland fought it out with Poland for third, but were pipped by .33 of a second.
There was also a fourth place for the new Ireland women’s pair of Imogen Magner and Natalie Long.
In the women’s double, Ireland’s Zoe Hyde and Sanita Puspure gave way to Laila Youssifou and Roos de Jong of the Netherlands, who took the one A Final place. Ireland did close at the finish, but the Netherlands made their point well. When it came to the second heat, Romania were also impressive winners.