FOUR IRISH CREWS will have a shot at Olympic rowing medals this week after a brilliant morning at the Vaires-sur-Marne Nautical Centre in Paris.
Reigning Olympic champions Paul O’Donovan and Fintan McCarthy will be joined by Ross Corrigan and Nathan Timoney, and Aoife Casey and Margaret Cremen, in Friday morning’s medal races.
And with Philip Doyle and Daire Lynch already preparing for Thursday’s double sculls final, it’s shaping up to be a seismic week on the water for Team Ireland.
O’Donovan and McCarthy proved that they are still the boat to beat in the lightweight men’s double sculls as they won their semi-final with the fastest overall time.
The Skibbereen duo won in 6:21.88 ahead of Switzerland (6:24.31) and Czechia (6:25.99), while Italy (6:22.85), Greece (6:23.36) and Norway (6:26.62) qualified from the second semi-final.
Earlier on Wednesday, Fermanagh’s Corrigan and Timoney dug deep to qualify for the final of the men’s pair.
After going out hard early on, they hung on in a thrilling finale to keep fast-finishing New Zealanders Daniel Williamson and Phillip Wilson at bay, taking the third and final qualification spot (6:32.22) behind Romania (6:29.86) and Great Britain (6:31.56).
The lightweight women’s double sculls semi-finals were also a nail-biter as Cremen and Casey prevailed in a titanic tussle, finishing third in 6:59.72.
The Cork duo were fractionally outside the qualification spots with 500m to race, but reeled in Tokyo silver medallists Laura Tarantola and Claire Bove of France to edge out the home hopefuls and progress in their place.
However, there was disappointment for Aifric Keogh and Fiona Murtagh in the women’s pair as they finished sixth in their semi-final (7:32.97) and will now race in Friday’s B final.
Awesome men, be unreal if they can defend their crown, national treasures.
An Irish athlete has won a gold medal in rowing, and yesterday 2 of them in swimming thats 3 gold medals for Irish athletes so far. Though 2 of them were representing GB they are still Irish, and it should be noted, not many gold medals come to these shores.
@Kingshu: awh now, We give out shit when the Brits claim ours we can’t be doing the same!
@Mike O’Loughlin: in NI the Irish and British identities are not mutually exclusive, a large number of people are both, that doesn’t make them less Irish.
@Kingshu: no gold yet in rowing
@Kingshu: but you are right all for ni are irish but we perfer when the tri colour and anthem is played
@Mike O’Loughlin: just to add Jack McMillan represented Ireland in the last Olympics.
@Square: Gold in rowing was Hannah Scott from Colraine.
@Kingshu: ya but no tri colour are anthem so she british gold
@Square: Irish athlete won a gold medal. The tri colour isnt the flag of every Irish person in Ireland. Like Jack McMillan we should be proud of another Irish person winning gold.
@Kingshu: na he is GB
@Square: did you say that when he was swimming for Ireland in last Olympics? Representing Ireland or GB he’s still Irish, and I’m proud when any Irish athlete gets a gold medal, are you not?
@Kingshu: when running for GB its different as i said we dont support GB is all im saying i know he is irish but dont support GB
@Square: So you’re letting your hate of GB trump your love for the Irish?
@Kingshu: i hate nobody are any country lets leave it now