The Rowing Ireland team competed at the second and final day of the Shanghai Sprints on Sunday, with teams entered in the Mixed Eight and Mixed Doubles events which took place on the iconic Huangpu River.
The Mixed Eight crew comprising Jack Dorney (Shandon Boat Club), Zoe Hyde (Tralee Rowing Club), Nathan Timoney (Queens University Boat Club), Alison Bergin (Fermoy Rowing Club), Adam Murphy (UCC/Shandon Boat Club) , Natalie Long (Lee Valley Rowing Club), Andrew Sheehan (UCC/Lee Rowing Club, Imogen Magner (Lee Valley Rowing Club) and Eoin Finnegan (University of Galway Boat Club) faced Romania in the quarter finals, and despite a strong start by Team Ireland the two crews were level by the halfway point, after which Romania then took the lead before eventually stretching clear to book their place in the semi-final.
Despite an earlier exit than planned, Nathan Timoney spoke of how much the team enjoyed the event and how the shorter 500m format might become a more frequent occurrence in elite competitive rowing.
“I think the last couple of days have probably been some of the best craic we’ve had as a team together. I mean 500 metre sprints, it’s a weird concept but an exciting one. I think it’s a really great way to accelerate the sport of rowing and what a way to do it in a city like Shanghai.”
In the Mixed Double Sculls event, Saturday’s medal winners Konan Pazzaia (Queens University Boat Club) and Mags Cremen (UCC/Lee Rowing Club) teamed up to put in a resounding performance against the United States in the quarter final. The pair encountered a minor steering issue early on but quickly recovered to power their way past the Americans and into the semi-final. They faced World Team in the last four, and despite recording a faster time during time trials, a late surge by World Team saw them win by the narrowest of margins, their crew of Viktorija Senkute and Nikolaj Pimenov going on to win the Mixed Double event outright with victory over the Netherlands.
That concluded Team Ireland’s participation in the inaugural World Rowing Shanghai Sprints, with Ireland winning gold in the Women’s Double Sculls event thanks to World Champions Mags Cremen and Zoe Hyde, as well as Konan Pazzaia taking home Bronze in the Men’s singles. Speaking to World Rowing, Mags spoke of her experience racing in Shanghai and being part of the Team Ireland crew for this first event of its kind.
“I think racing 500 metres is so unpredictable, so you just have to go go go, but I really enjoyed it, it’s so much fun.”
This unique race which offers a more intense and high-octane style of rowing over a much shorter distance has certainly provided its share of entertainment and challenges, and Ireland captain Jack Dorney was highly positive upon reflection of the event and the weekend overall.
“It’s such an honour and a privilege to represent Ireland at this event where we get to race the best in the world, getting back in an eight doesn’t hurt either and Ireland need to put more eights out there. This is the first step.”
Team Ireland return home with three medals in the bag having competed alongside some of the strongest rowers and nations in the sport. All eyes now look ahead to a new season for Rowing Ireland, with open trials commencing the weekend of 3rd-4th October. See here for more information.
