Author: The Coach

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

Day 2 of the 2023 World Cup III taking place in Lucerne, Switzerland is over and there were some great results for Team Ireland.

Hugh Moore started the day off strong for the Irish team, In the C Final of the Lightweight Men’s 1x. The sculler had some close racing on Friday and today was no different. Hugh raced the South African sculler all the way down the course, eventually crossing the line in 4th place, only 2 seconds behind the sculler from South Africa. This final wrapped up a very strong weekend for Hugh Moore.

Next up for team Ireland was the women’s 2- of Natalie Long and Tara Hanlon. The pair had a fantastic Semi Final race, crossing the line in 3rd position and qualifying for tomorrows A final. Natalie and Tara rowed another confident race, racing the Greek pair right to the Line. Both pairs will meet again in tomorrows A final.

Not long after the Women’s pair stormed down the course, the Mens 2- of Ross Corrigan and Nathan Timoney raced their Semi Final in expert fashion, finishing in 2nd place. The race was an exciting one, with only three seconds separating the top three crews. The Irish pair had an aggressive start and kept that aggression going throughout the race, just getting pipped at the line by the Swiss Pair. All is still to play for tomorrow as both pairs will meet again in the A Final.

Similar to the Men’s Pair, the Mens 2x of Philip Doyle and Daire Lynch raced a very competitive Semi Final, with only one second separating the leading three crews. Philip and Daire crossed the line in a photo finish for 3rd place, just behind the Romanian Double. This sets the stage for an exciting A final Tomorrow.

After two strong races yesterday, Women’s 1x Zoe Hyde raced a very competitive Semi Final this morning, just missing out on that last qualifying spot for tomorrow’s A final. Similar to her teammates, Zoe started her race strong sticking with her competitors through the 500 meter mark. The field stretched out as the race went on and Zoe Came through the line in 4th place. Zoe will race again tomorrow in the B Final.

The Lightweight Women’s Double of Margaret Cremen and Aoife Casey had another close race today in their Semi Final. The pair executed an assertive race, ending their Semi Final in a close 3rd place and qualifying for the A Final tomorrow. The 2020 Olympians overtook the Canadian Double in order to clench that final qualifying spot.

Directly after the Irish Women’s Lightweight Double qualified for tomorrow’s A final, the Men’s Lightweight Double followed suit. Paul O’Donovan and Fintan McCarthy won their Semi Final today over the Swiss. Today’s race was a more competitive one for the Irish pair, crossing the line only a second ahead of the Swiss Double. Paul and Fintan go into tomorrows A Final as the fastest qualifiers.

Siobhán McCrohan ends the day brilliantly by taking home a silver medal for team Ireland in the Lightweight Women’s Single Scull. Siobhán has raced brilliantly all weekend and todays A Final was no different. The Lightweight Sculler showed off her skillful rowing during the race, staying firmly in medal contention throughout the quick race, finishing ahead of the sculler from Great Britain by 4 seconds. Siobhàn brings home the first of hopefully many medals for Team Ireland this weekend.

Saturday Results

• LM1x C Final-> 4th
• W2- 3rd -> A Final
• M2- 2nd -> A Final
• M2x 3rd -> A Final
• W1x 4th -> B Final
• LW2x 3rd -> A Final
• LM2x 1st -> A Final
• LW1x A Final -> 2nd

Sunday Times

• W1x B Final – 08:10 AM
• W2- A Final – 09:05 AM
• M2- A Final – 09:16 AM
• LW2x A Final – 09:31 AM
• LM2x A Final – 09:46 AM
• W4- A Final – 12:35 PM
• M2x A Final – 01:01 PM

The Women’s Pair of Tara Hanlon and Natalie Long had a strong heat where they finished second behind the Romanian pair, with a time of 07:14.00. The Irish pair had a strong start to the race which helped them move through the field and finish in a commanding second place. This fantastic result sees them straight through to the A/B Semi Final, which will take place on Saturday morning.

2020 Olympic champions Paul O’Donovan and Fintan McCarthy dominated their heat this morning, crossing the finish line 10 seconds in front of the next leading boat to finish first in their heat and are straight through to the A/B Semi Final Tomorrow. If winning their heat wasn’t enough, the Irish Lightweight Double recorded the fastest overall heat time by almost 5 seconds. This exciting result indicates another commanding weekend for the Irish Duo.

Siobhán McCrohan took first place in the Lightweight Women’s Scull heat which sees her straight through to the A Final on Sunday. Siobhán led her heat from the beginning with the sculler from Great Britain trailing closely behind, this didn’t last for long as the Irish Sculler only increased her lead through the 1000m mark and crossed the line with an almost 10 second lead. Siobhán McCrohan goes into Sunday’s A Final as the second fasted qualifier.

The Men’s Double of Philip Doyle and Daire Lynch looked relaxed in their heat, winning it ahead of the second New Zealand double and the pairing from the Czech Republic. It was another powerful performance from the Irish, where they rowed confidently though-out, taking the win by 10 seconds. Philip and Daire move on to the A/B Semi Finals on Saturday.

Next up was the Women’s Four of Eimear Lambe, Imogen Magner, Fiona Murtagh and Aifric Keogh. In a well fought race, the ladies Four finished in second place behind Romania and are straight through to the A Final. The crew from Ireland were bow ball to bow ball with the Romanian Four, who ended up winning the heat by three seconds. Both crews will meet again in the A Final on Sunday.

After a huge win in their heat this morning, the Men’s Heavyweight Pair of Ross Corrigan and Nathan Timoney went straight through to the Quarter Finals in the afternoon session. Ross and Nathan had a thrilling Quarter Final match up against the Lithuanian pair. The two boats battled it out all the way down the course, with the Irish pairing claiming victory by two seconds. Ross and Nathen are through to the A/B Semi Finals tomorrow.

Close racing this morning saw Hugh Moore, in the Lightweight Men’s 1x finish 5th in his heat and through to the repechage in the afternoon session. The repechage was an exhilarating race from start to finish, with only three seconds separating the top five finishers. Hugh finished fifth, missing out on that last qualifying spot by just one second and will compete in the C Final tomorrow.

Zoe Hyde in the Women’s Single Sculls had a fantastic day of racing. After a victory in the morning heat, Zoe qualified directly for the Quarter Finals. Zoe had tough competition in her heat and managed to clenched third place in her Quarter Final and the last qualifying spot over the sculler from the Czech Republic for the A/B Semi Final tomorrow.

The Lightweight Women’s Double of Margaret Cremen and Aoife Casey finished second in their heat this morning after a tough battle with the New Zealand pairing. The margin between the two crews was less than a second. After a win in the repechage Margaret and Aoife will race in the A/B Semi finals tomorrow.

Friday AM Results

• W2- 2nd -> A/B Semi
• M2- 1st -> Quarter Final
• M2x 1st -> A/B Semi
• LW1x 1st -> A Final
• W1x 1st -> Quarter Final
• LM2x 1st -> A/B Semi
• W4- 2nd -> A Final
• LM1x 5th -> Repechage
• LW2x 2nd -> Repechage

Friday PM Results

• M2- 1st -> A/B Semi
• W1x 3rd -> A/B Semi
• LM1x 5th -> C Final
• LW2x 1st -> A/B Semi

Saturday Schedule

• LM1x C Final – 8:55pm
• W2- A/B Semi – 10:22pm
• M2- A/B Semi – 10:40am
• M2x A/B Semi – 11:04am
• W1x A/B Semi – 2:00pm
• LW2x A/B Semi – 2:30pm
• LM2x A/B Semi – 2:42pm
• LW1x A Final – 3:37pm