Today rounded up World Cup III in Lucerne and Ireland are coming home with three medals.
Ireland had a strong start to the morning with Zoe Hyde racing in the Women’s Scull B final. After a hard weekend of racing, Zoe left it all out on the water, staying in touch with all of the scullers throughout the race. Zoe finished her race in 5th place after battling the Serbian sculler right to the line. Hyde rounds off her weekend with an 11th place finish overall.
Next down the course for Ireland was the women’s pair of Tara Hanlon and Natalie Long in the Women’s Pair A Final. The pair had a fast start and built on that speed throughout the middle 1000 meters. Going stroke for stroke with the Spanish pair throughout the race, it was Briz and Cid from Spain that ultimately finished ahead. Natalie and Tara finished the race in sixth place in a very competitive race for medals.
Fermanagh’s Ross Corrigan and Nathan Timoney missed out on the medals in the Men’s Pair A final, crossing the line in sixth place. Similar to the women’s pair, the men’s pairing had a fast start but struggled to stick with the pace of the leading crews throughout the second half of the race. Ross and Nathan finished strong, crossing the line only a canvas behind the Spanish crew who were A finalists at the Tokyo Olympics. In Septembers World Championships, 11 crews in the Men’s Pair qualify for Pairs so this was a very strong performance from this new combination
The Lightweight Women’s Double of Margaret Cremen and Aoife Casey executed a fantastic race, finishing just outside the medals in the A Final. The crew really came alive in the last 500 meters, coming back at the leading crews and crossing the line in fifth place. In the end, there were only four seconds separating places second through fifth.
Olympic Champions Paul O’Donovan and Fintan McCarthy raced what might have been the race of the day. The Lightweight Men’s Double started from behind and confidently moved up the field until they were bow ball to bow ball with the early race leaders, the Swiss and French doubles. The Irish and the French crews battled all the way to the line, with the French double claiming the victory over the Irish pair by only 0.09 seconds. Paul and Fintan took home a silver medal and will definitely be looking for more in Belgrade.
The first A Final of the afternoon session was the Women’s Four of Eimear Lambe, Imogen Magner, Fiona Murtagh and Aifric Keogh, who finished fifth in the A Final. From the beginning, Ireland struggled with the fast pace that the other crews had set. The Irish four strongly battled with the crew from New Zealand for fifth and sixth, just getting pipped at the line to come home in sixth position.
The Men’s Heavyweight double of Philip Doyle and Daire Lynch finished the weekend strong for Team Ireland with a bronze medal in the Men’s Heavyweight Double. Philip and Daire fought back in the last 750 meters to overtake the Romanian double in the closing stages of the race. The double improved on their finish since competing at the European Rowing Championships in May, where they finished just outside of the medals in fourth position.
This well deserved result rounded off a great weekend of racing for Ireland at the 2023 World Cup III. All eyes are now on September’s World Championships in Belgrade, Serbia where Paris Olympic spots are up for grabs.
On the weekends racing, High Performance Director, Antonio Maurogiovanni said; “This weekend was great racing experience for our crews, coming home with three medals and seven of nine crews in A Finals. Six of the seven crews were Olympic boats and show the potential to qualify them for Paris. This World Cup showed a high standard of competition with all the nations taking part except Italy and USA.
The main focus for us now is Olympic qualification at the World Championships in September. We’ve made improvements since Europeans and we’ll be looking for more again coming into Worlds.
We’ve tried some new crews and they’re still learning to race together and solidify the crew dynamic. There is more work to be done but we’re in a good place. The staff, coaches and athletes will leave nothing to chance working hard and doing all the best to make the 2023 team as competitive as possible.
A huge thank you to the coaches, athletes and support team out here. There are a lot of long days that go on behind the scenes away from family and friends and it makes all the difference.”
“As President of Rowing Ireland, I am immensely proud of our athletes’ outstanding performance at World Cup III in Lucerne, securing two silver medals and one bronze. Their unwavering dedication, relentless training, and indomitable spirit have brought glory to our nation.” said Neville Maxwell.
“These exceptional achievements are a testament to the talent, resilience, and teamwork that define our rowing community. Congratulations to our remarkable athletes for their accomplishments on the world stage. Your success inspires future generations and solidifies our position as a force to be reckoned with in the world of rowing.
The team behind the team deserve massive recognition for all of the work being put in all season. A huge thank you to High Performance Director, Antonio Maurogiovanni, all of the coaches, team manager and physios. Your work does not go unnoticed”
Ireland Results
- LM2x A Final -> SILVER
- LW1x A Final -> SILVER
- M2x A Final -> BRONZE
- LW2x A Final -> 5th
- W2- A Final -> 6th
- M2- A Final -> 6th
- W4- A Final -> 6th
- W1x B Final -> 5th
- LM1x C Final -> 4th