IRELAND’S SANITA PUSPURE has defended her women’s singles title at the World Rowing Championships after storming to victory in Austria.
Puspure opened up a huge gap in the final 500 metres on her way to victory to leave New Zealand’s Emma Twigg well behind in second place at the finish.
The defending champion made a slow start in the final and was initially in third place behind Twigg and Vicky Thornley of Great Britain during the early stages.
Twigg continued to lead heading into the final stretch but Puspure moved through the gears to take over and produce a stunning finish to retain her title.
Ronan Byrne and Philip Doyle win silver in the Men's Double Sculls at the World Championships in Austria this morning. A first Irish sculling medal at Worlds since 1975 #RTEsport pic.twitter.com/vR7qLH75Xt
— RTÉ Sport (@RTEsport) September 1, 2019
Earlier, Ireland’s Ronan Bryne and Philip Doyle clinched a historic silver medal in the men’s double sculls.
The pair, who have already qualified for the Olympics, fell just short of taking gold after coming home just behind the China team at the line, finishing in a time of 6:06.250 ahead of third-placed Poland.
This was the first time that Ireland won a medal in sculling since 1975, with Doyle and Byrne producing an impressive performance to reach the podium.
China set the pace from early on as Ireland found themselves in fourth place in the opening stages.
They gradually moved up to the third and eventually second as the Polish team started to fade.
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