Rowing Ireland’s women’s four and women’s quad secured semi-final places on the second day of racing at the World Rowing Championships in Amsterdam, while the men’s four and men’s quad saw their campaigns end at the heat stage.
The new women’s four of Claire Feerick, Aisling Hayes, Emma Waters and Emma Fagan finished second behind defending world champions USA in their heat in 7:21.08, qualifying fifth-fastest overall.
The women’s quad of Emily Hegarty, Sophia Young, Alison Bergin and Izzy Clements also progressed after finishing third behind Switzerland and USA in 6:59.16. They advanced as the second-fastest non-automatic qualifier.
For both crews, the result provides an early indication of their competitiveness at World Championship level, with the combinations selected in Amsterdam in part to test their potential against the leading crews internationally.
The men’s four of Jack Dorney, James Doran, Adam Murphy and Fionnán McQuillan-Tolan finished sixth in their heat in 6:34.50, while the men’s quad of Konan Pazzaia, Andrew Sheehan, Ryan Spelman and Martin O’Grady finished fifth in 6:44.42. Neither crew will progress to the semi-finals.
The focus now turns to the next stage of racing, with Ireland continuing to use the Championships as an important measure of where its crews currently stand against the best in the world as the programme builds towards Olympic qualification.
Rowing Ireland’s women’s double of Zoe Hyde and Mags Cremen and women’s pair of Imogen Magner and Natalie Long are both scheduled to race their semi-finals today Wednesday, while Fiona Murtagh and Fintan McCarthy begin their singles campaigns.
Rowing Ireland Racing Schedule – Wednesday 26 August 2026
| Event | Athlete(s) | Race Time (IST) |
| W1x Heat 5 | Fiona Murtagh (University of Galway BC) | 12:36pm |
| M1x Heat 3 | Fintan McCarthy (Skibbereen RC) | 12:52pm |
| M2 C Final | Ross Corrigan (Portora BC) Nathan Timoney (Queen’s University/Belfast BC) | 13:29pm |
| W2- Semi Final 1 | Natalie Long (Lee Valley RC) Imogen Magner (Lee Valley RC) | 15:27pm |
| W2x Semi Final | Zoe Hyde (Tralee RC) Mags Cremen (Lee RC) | 15:54pm |
Rowing Ireland congratulates all athletes who have raced up to date and wishes the very best of luck to those competing today. A special thank you goes to our High-Performance coaches and support staff for their dedication and commitment, which make these performances possible.
Credit: Conor Lyall.
