Donnacha Keeley and Ciaran Purdy won gold in the U23 Lightweight Men’s Double Sculls World Championship after a dominant performance in Canada this afternoon. It was a tight race, with the Canadians leading the pack in the first half. However, the University of Galway and Queens University pair comfortably moved up the gears, taking the lead by the 1500m mark. From there, nothing could stop them as they became the fastest boat in the final 100 meters, securing the world championship title.
Adam Murphy and Brian Colsh took home Ireland’s first medal of the 2024 World Championships of the day. The Polish crew established an early lead, with Adam and Brian battling Australia for second place through the halfway mark. The Australians made a push in the last 200m, leading to Ireland settling for the bronze medal position.
Sophie Monahan and Aine O’Mahoney are 6th in the World in the U23 Lightweight Women’s Double Sculls. The pair started strong but up against a tough field which included the Greece pair of Dimitra Kontou and Evangelia Anastasiadou who competed at the 2024 Paris Olympics and ultimately took the lead to win final.
Andrew Sheehan finished 6th in the U23 Men’s single sculls A final, Sheehan showed incredible perseverance throughout the race, battling through a competitive field.
After missing out on the A final by just 0.02 seconds, it was no surprise that Rowing Ireland’s BM4x were favourites for todays B final. By the 500m mark, it was clear that this would be a two-boat race between Ireland and Switzerland and approaching the halfway mark, the Irish crew made their move, passing the Swiss, charging to the finish line, Shane Rafferty, Fergus Bryce, Donagh Claffey, and Fionn O’Reilly crossed the line to win the B final and place 7th overall in the World Championships.
Siobhan McCrohan cruised into the A final after finishing second in her semi. McCrohan faced 2024 Olympic double sculls silver medalist Ionela Livia Cozmiuc in today’s semi, who managed to maintain a lead from the halfway point over the Tribesmen sculler.
Paul O’Donovan was in full control of the LM1x semifinals today. Leading with clear water from the halfway point, he wound up again approaching the finish and crossed the line with the fastest time from both semifinals.
Unfortunately, the BW2x duo of Grace Healy and Holly Davis had to withdraw from today’s B final due to medical reasons.
Results:
BLM2x A Final (Donnacha Keeley, Ciaran Purdy) > GOLD
BM2x A Final (Brian Colsh, Adam Murphy) > BRONZE
BLW2x A Final (Sophia Monahan, Aine O’Mahony) > 6th
BM1x A Final (Andrew Sheehan) > 6th
BM4x B Final (Shane Rafferty, Fergus Bryce, Donagh Claffey, Fionn O’Reilly) > 1st
LW1x A/B Semi (Siobhan McCrohan) > 2nd
LM1x A/B Semi (Paul O’Donovan) > 1st
Saturday Schedule
15:24 – JM4x A/B Semi (Michael McGrath, Jack Rafferty, Rian Claffey, Sean Morris)
15:34 – JW2x A/B Semi (Anna Brennan, Moya Knowles)
19:43 – LW1x A Final (Siobhan McCrohan)
20:00 – LM1x A Final (Paul O’Donovan)
