IRISH LIGHTWEIGHT DOUBLE Sculls duo Paul O’Donovan and Fintan McCarthy have today secured their place at the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo by virtue of their winning today’s World Championship semi-final in Austria. 

The pair finished in a time of 6:13.460, ahead of Germany and Norway to book both an Olympic berth and a place in the ‘A’ final, which takes place on Saturday, at 12.54pm. 

O’Donovan and McCarthy are the first Irish crew to qualify for next year’s Olympics. 

Elsewhere, Aileen Crowley and Monika Dukarska finished third in their semi-final; a top-two finish would have secured their Olympic qualification along with a place in the A final. They instead drop into the B final, where a top five finish will ensure Olympic qualification. 

Ireland’s women’s four team of Tara Hanlon, Eimear Lambe, Aifric Keogh and Emily Hegarty came close to qualifying – they finished fourth in a semi-final that rewarded the top three with a slot at Tokyo. They will qualify for the games if the finish either first or second in the B final. 

Gary O’Donovan, meanwhile, finished sixth in his semi-final in the lightweight single sculls. Lydia Heaphy also crossed the line in the same position at the end of her lightweight single semi-final. 

This article was amended to correct the time and date given for the Lightweight Double Skulls final.