GARY AND PAUL O’Donovan won silver for Ireland in the lightweight men’s double sculls at the European Rowing Championships in Glasgow.

The Skibbereen pair tried to reel in the Norwegian crew of Are Strandli and Kristoffer Brun over the final 500 metres but couldn’t close the gap to pip them to gold.

Strandli and Brun won in a time of 6:20.85 with the O’Donovans a stroke behind in 6:22.84. The Italian crew of Stefano Oppo and Pietro Ruta chased them to the line and took bronze in 6:23.32.

“It was a tough old race,” Gary told RTÉ Sport afterwards. “We’re just feeling pretty shagged now but we’ll recover in time.

“We gave it a good old go, tried to get there in front of all of them, but the Norwegians were just too quick.

“I don’t think we left ourselves with too much to do. We planned to keep within touching distance for the first 500m so we went off pretty hard, and I think we managed that. The plan then was to move through towards the kilometre.

“We caught the Italians and gained a lot on the Norwegians but I think they’re just a bit fitter and stronger today and they managed to pull away again.”

Attention will immediately turn to the Rowing World Championships which take place next month from 9-16 September in Plovdiv, Bulgaria.

“I suppose we’re a little bit disappointed with silver but we know the Norwegians are pretty good,” Paul said.

“The main focus for the year is the world championships. Usually the Europeans are in May or June so having them a bit later this year gives us a good indicator of what to do, so there is a lot to do over the next few weeks. That will provide some motivation at least.”

Earlier, Denise Walsh and Aoife Casey finished second in the B Final of the lightweight women’s double sculls, ensuring a top-eight finish at these championships.

The42 is on Instagram! Tap the button below on your phone to follow us!