The third day of the Olympic Rowing Regatta takes place early Sunday morning Irish time in the Sea Forest Waterway in Tokyo, with four crews in action in the Women’s Single Sculls, the Men’s Double Sculls, the Women’s Pair and the Lightweight Women’s Double Sculls.

The Women’s Pair of Monika Dukarska and Aileen Crowley will begin the action on Sunday morning when they compete in the repechage after finishing fourth in their heat. Monika and Aileen were looking steady in third in their heat until the last 250m when Spain’s Aina Cid and Virginia Diaz Rivas launched a final charge.

Despite raising the rate to 43 strokes a minute Ireland were forced back into fourth, however they will get a second chance at a Semi-final spot in Sunday’s repechage.

Monika and Aileen will challenge rowers from USA, China and Greece when they take to the water at 01:50 (IST) and know that a 1-3 finish will see them book a place in the A/B Semi-final on Tuesday.

In the Lightweight Women’s Double Sculls, Aoife Casey and Margaret Cremen will also compete in the repechage after their fifth place finish in their heat on Saturday morning. Aoife and Margaret finished their heat with a time of 07:17.67 and will now face crews from Austria, Vietnam, Switzerland, Guatemala and Russian Olympic Committee in Sunday’s race.

The race will take place at 2:30 (IST) and a 1-3 finish will see the pair book a place in the A/B Semi-final on Tuesday.

After a dominant display in Friday’s heat, Sanita Pušpure is in action in the Women’s Single Sculls at 03:00 IST as she looks to book a place in Wednesday’s A/B Semi-final with a 1-3 finish.

Pušpure made light of the blistering conditions on the Sea Forest Waterway on Friday, moving into the lead of the six-boat heat after just 300m, before cruising to victory eight seconds ahead of the field.

Rowing Ireland’s final race of the morning comes in the Men’s Double Sculls as Ronan Byrne and Phillip Doyle look to secure a 1-3 finish in their A/B Semi-final at 04:40 IST and book their place in the medal race on Wednesday.

After a difficult race and a fourth placed finish in their opening heat, Ronan and Phillip bounced back in the repechage on Saturday morning to finish third with a time of 06:29.90 securing a spot in the Semi-final.

While Germany qualified safely, despite repeated challenges from Lithuania, Ronan and Phillip held on to third spot and a well-deserved place in the semifinals.

The expectation of strong winds on Monday has seen an adjustment of the event scheduling and reschedule of some races over the last two days. The saltwater course is changeable, with conditions unpredictable, a contrast from the calmer, 30-degree weather experienced during the start of the racing.

Next Irish Races (Confirmed)

Sunday 25th Racing (IST)

Repechage

  • Women’s Pair (W2-)  Monika Dukarska & Aileen Crowley – 01:50
  • Lightweight Women’s Double Sculls (LW2x) – Margaret Cremen & Aoife Casey – 02:30

Quarter-Final

  • Women’s Single Sculls (W1x) –  Sanita Pušpure – 03:00

A/B Semi-Final

  • Men’s Double Sculls (M2x) – Ronan Byrne & Philip Doyle – 04:40
Tuesday 27th Racing (IST)

A/B Semi-Final

  • Lightweight Men’s Double Sculls (LM2x) – Fintan McCarthy & Paul O’Donovan – 03:18/03:28 (TBC)
Wednesday 28th (IST)

A Final

  • Women’s Four (W4-) – Aifric Keogh, Eimear Lambe, Emily Hegarty & Fiona Murtagh – 01:50

Olympic Coverage

Full coverage of the Olympic Games will be available live on RTÉ2 and RTÉ Player from 1:30am each night. Rowing highlights will also feature on RTÉ2 at 9am and 7pm. 

Extensive results will be covered on Rowing Ireland’s website and social channels throughout the week.

Official Selection for Tokyo

Lightweight Men’s Double Scull (LM2x)

  • Fintan McCarthy (Skibbereen Rowing Club)
  • Paul O’Donovan (UCC Rowing Club)
  • Gary O’Donovan (Skibbereen Rowing Club) – Reserve

Women’s Single (W1x)

  • Sanita Pušpure (Old Collegians Boat Club)

Men’s Double Scull (M2x)

  • Ronan Byrne (UCC Rowing Club)
  • Philip Doyle (Belfast Boat Club)
  • Daire Lynch (Clonmel Rowing Club) – Reserve

Women’s Four (W4-)

  • Emily Hegarty (UCC Rowing Club)
  • Fiona Murtagh (National University of Ireland Boat Club)
  • Eimear Lambe (Old Collegians Boat Club)
  • Aifric Keogh (UCC Rowing Club)
  • Tara Hanlon (UCC Rowing Club) – Reserve

Women’s Pair (W2-)

  • Monika Dukarska (Killorglin Rowing Club)
  • Aileen Crowley (Old Collegians Boat Club)

Lightweight Women’s Double Scull (LW2x)

  • Aoife Casey (UCC Rowing Club)
  • Margaret Cremen (UCC Rowing Club)
  • Lydia Heaphy (UCC Rowing Club) – Reserve

Staff Team

  • Antonio Maurogiovanni – High-Performance Director
  • Fran Keane (Athlone Boat Club/Pres Rowing Club) – Coach
  • Dominic Casey (Skibbereen Rowing Club) – Coach
  • Giuseppe DeVita (UCD Boat Club)- Coach
  • Ciro Prisco (NUIG Boat Club)- Coach
  • Sinead Murphy – Physiotherapist
  • Feargal O’Callaghan (Shannon Rowing Club)- Team Manager