Irish Rowing had a successful Day Two of the World Rowing Cup II, eight of the nine Irish crews competing this weekend qualified for A Finals. Lydia Heaphy won the Silver Medal in the Lightweight Women’s Single, and Gary O’Donovan finished fourth in the Lightweight Men’s Single Final. The remaining seven crews will be racing on Sunday morning.
Lydia Heaphy placed second in the Lightweight Women’s Single Sculls A Final, with a time of 08:25.15. Lydia faced tough competition but held strong ground, and she managed to edge ahead of Italian rower Federica Cesarini, securing second place. Lydia earned herself a spot on the podium with a silver medal. Lydia raced rowers from Switzerland, Italy, China, and the Netherlands.
Lydia Heaphy competed in the Lightweight Women’s Sculls A/B Semi-Final, finishing first with a time of 08:32.81, and progressed into the A Final. Lydia faced tough competition with crews from Italy, Switzerland, Germany, and Great Britain.
Gary O’Donovan competed in the Lightweight Men’s Single Sculls Final A, placing fourth with a time of 07:24.52. Gary was rowing alongside Chilean Felipe Andres Cardenas Morales, who finished ahead of Gary by a tenth of a second. The race saw tough competition throughout, with two rowers from Italy also earning places on the podium.
Gary O’Donovan qualified for the A Final by finishing second in the Lightweight Men’s Single Sculls A/B Semi-Final. It was a tight race with two boats from France and the Chilean boat competing with Gary for the three available places. Gary finished second behind the French Sculler by less than two-tenths of a second. Gary finished with a time of 07:35.59 and moved into the A Final.
Aileen Crowley and Monika Dukarska competed in the Women’s Pair Repechage, finishing first with a time of 07:35.44, qualifying for the A final. It was a close race right until the last hundred metres, in which Aileen and Monika fought off the Chilean team to claim first place. They will race in the A Final on Sunday morning.
Tara Hanlon and Claire Feerick also competed in the Women’s Pair Repechage, finishing third and also qualifying for the A final. Tara and Claire finished with a time of 07:40.73. Both pairs faced teams from Chile, China and the Czech Republic. Tara and Claire will race in the A Final on Sunday.
Ronan Byrne and Phil Doyle competed in the Men’s Double Sculls A/B semi-final, finishing in first with a time of 06:27.65. The double made substantial progress in the final 500 metres, beating the British crew by less than a second and securing their place in the A Final on Sunday.
Jack Dorney, Alex Byrne, John Kearney and Ross Corrigan competed in the Men’s Four Repechage, finishing fifth with a time of 06:21.50. It was a close race, with teams from Italy, Switzerland and the Netherlands battling for two places in the A Final, ultimately resulting in a win for the Dutch team. Jack, Alex, John and Ross will compete in the B Final on Sunday.
In the Women’s Single Sculls, Sanita Puspure finished second with a time of 08:06.18 in the A/B Semi-Final. The race was won by Victoria Thornley of Great Britain, who led by just over one second. Sanita rowed alongside scullers from the United States, Greece, Mexico and the Netherlands and secured her place in the A Final.
Daire Lynch placed third in the Men’s Single Sculls A/B Semi-Final with a time of 07:12.29. Daire fought off competition from Japanese rower Ryuta Arakawa, gaining ground in the last 500 metres and securing the remaining place in the A Final. This was a tight race right until the end, with the top four crews finishing within three-and-a-half seconds of each other.
Paul O’Donovan & Fintan McCarthy competed in the Lightweight Men’s Double Sculls A/B Semi-Final. The double started strong and maintained a steady lead to finish first with a time of 06:36.95. Paul and Fintan finished four seconds ahead of their Belgian counterparts, who finished second. The pair secured their place in the A Final on Sunday morning.
Sunday’s Racing Times (IST)
08:45 M4- (Jack Dorney, Alex Byrne, John Kearney & Ross Corrigan) B Final
09:15 W2- (Aileen Crowley & Monika Dukarska) – A Final
09:15 W2- (Tara Hanlon & Claire Feerick) – A Final
10:28 M2x (Ronan Byrne & Phil Doyle) – A Final
11:13 W1x (Sanita Puspure) – A Final
11:29 M1x (Daire Lynch)- A Final
11:44 LM2x (Paul O’Donovan & Fintan McCarthy) – A Final
Saturdays Results
LW1x (Lydia Heaphy) – 1st – A/B Semi-Final
LM1x (Gary O’Donovan) – 2nd – A/B Semi-Final
W2- (Aileen Crowley & Monika Dukarska) – 1st – Repechage
W2- (Tara Hanlon & Claire Feerick) – 3rd – Repechage
M2x (Ronan Byrne & Phil Doyle) – 1st – A/B Semi-Final
M4- (Jack Dorney, Alex Byrne, John Kearney & Ross Corrigan) – 5th – Repechage
W1x (Sanita Puspure) – 2nd – A/B Semi-Final
M1x (Daire Lynch) – 3rd – A/B Semi-Final
LM2x (Paul O’Donovan & Fintan McCarthy) – 1st – A/B Semi-Final
Saturday’s A Final Results
14:15 LW1x (Lydia Heaphy) – 2nd – A Final
14:27 LM1x (Gary O’Donovan – 4th – A Final
Live Streaming
All A finals will be live streamed on www.worldrowing.com