Displaying items by tag: bronze

3rd May 2015

Bronze Medal for Jenny Egan at European Canoe Sprint Championships

#CANOEING: Jenny Egan brought Ireland a first senior medal at the European Canoe Sprint Championships when she took bronze in the Women’s K1 5,000 metres in Racice in the Czech Republic today. Egan, from the Salmon Leap club in Leixlip, was part of a successful breakaway at 1,000 metres with Maryna Litvinchuk of Belarus, who took gold, and Irene Burgo of Italy, the silver medallist. Less than two-thirds of a second divided the three.

Ireland paracanoeist Patrick O’Leary finished fourth in his KL3 200 metre final. Robert Oliver of Britain took gold. O’Leary was just a third off a second of taking bronze.

European Canoe Sprint Championships, Racice, Czech Republic (Selected Results; Irish interest)

Saturday

Men

K2 200 – Heat Three (First Three to A Final; 4-7 to B Final; rest out): 1 Serbia 31.676; 8 P Egan, S Dobrovolskis 34.808.

C1 200 - Heat Three (Winner to Final; second to seventh to semi-final): 1 Portugal (H Silva) 39.236; 7 A Jezierski 43.220. Semi-Final: Jezierski did not start.

K1 200 – Heat Two: 6 T Brennan 37.596. Semi-Final (First Three to A Final, 4-7 to B Final): 1 Latvia (A Rumjancevs) 36.072; 7 T Brennan 37.852

Paracanoe KL3 – A Final: 1 Britain (R Oliver) 40.88; 4 P O’Leary 42.536.

Women

K1 200 – Heat Three (Winner to Final; second to seventh to semi-final): 1 Serbia (N Moldovan) 40.236; 7 J Egan 43.384. Semi-Final (First Three to A Final, 4-7 to B Final): 1 Russia (N Podolskaya) 42.196; 7 Egan 45.344.

Sunday

Men

K1 200 – B Final: 5 T Brennan (14^th overall)

K1 5,000 – A Final: 18 P Egan 22:58.09.

Women

K1 5,000 – A Final: 1 Belarus (M Litvinchuk) 22 mins 19.25 seconds, 2 Italy (I Burgo) 22:19.68, 3 Ireland (J Egan) 22 mins 19.9 seconds.

K1 500 – B Final 6 J Egan 2:00.376. (15^th overall)

K1 200 – B Final: 7 J Egan 44.896 (16^th overall)

Published in Canoeing

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History Maker Puspure the Afloat Rower of the Month for May

#ROWING: Sanita Puspure is the Afloat Rower of the Month for May. The Old Collegians single sculler put Ireland back on the map in this prestigious discipline when she took bronze at the European Championships, which ran from May 30th to June 1st. She finished third in her heat, behind Olympic champion Mirka Knapkova and Chantal Achterberg of the Netherlands, but then won her repechage and placed a steady second in her semi-final. Puspure went on to reproduce the good form she had been showing in training in the final, just .3 of a second behind gold medallist Knapkova and 0.02 behind fast-finishing Achterberg.

The achievement brought Ireland its first senior medal at a major Championships for a female openweight competitor.

Rower of the Month awards: The judging panel is made up of Liam Gorman, rowing correspondent of The Irish Times and David O'Brien, Editor of Afloat magazine. Monthly awards for achievements during the year will appear on afloat.ie and the overall national award will be presented to the person or crew who, in the judges' opinion, achieved the most notable results in, or made the most significant contribution to rowing during 2014. Keep a monthly eye on progress and watch our 2014 champions list grow.

Published in Rowing

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Medals for Irish Kayakers at Athens Special Olympics

The Irish team returned to a warm welcome last week after their success at the Special Olympics World Summer Games in Athens, winning an incredible total of 107 medals - 31 of them gold.

http://www.afloat.ie/watersport/canoeing/

O'Toole was followed closely by Shaun Bradley from Letterkenny, who won silver in the 200m and placed fourth in the 500m.

In women's kayaking, Teresa Maguire of Moore Abbey was Ireland's start turn with silver in the 200m and bronze in the 500m, while Celine Mulready of the Free Spirit club wasn't far behind with a 200m bronze and fourth place in the 500m.

The Irish team returned to a warm welcome last week after their success at the Special Olympics World Summer Games in Athens, winning an incredible total of 107 medals - 31 of them gold.

The medal haul included a number in kayaking, with Ruairi O'Toole of Corrib Canoe Club taking gold in the men's 200m and second place in the men's 500m, which beats his previous best of bronze at the Special Olympics in Dublin in 2003.

O'Toole was followed closely by Shaun Bradley from Letterkenny, who won silver in the 200m and placed fourth in the 500m.

Published in Kayaking

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Volvo Dun Laoghaire Regatta

From the Baily lighthouse to Dalkey island, the bay accommodates six separate courses for 21 different classes racing every two years for the Dun Laoghaire Regatta.

In assembling its record-breaking armada, Volvo Dun Laoghaire regatta (VDLR) became, at its second staging, not only the country's biggest sailing event, with 3,500 sailors competing, but also one of Ireland's largest participant sporting events.

One of the reasons for this, ironically, is that competitors across Europe have become jaded by well-worn venue claims attempting to replicate Cowes and Cork Week.'Never mind the quality, feel the width' has been a criticism of modern-day regattas where organisers mistakenly focus on being the biggest to be the best. Dun Laoghaire, with its local fleet of 300 boats, never set out to be the biggest. Its priority focussed instead on quality racing even after it got off to a spectacularly wrong start when the event was becalmed for four days at its first attempt.

The idea to rekindle a combined Dublin bay event resurfaced after an absence of almost 40 years, mostly because of the persistence of a passionate race officer Brian Craig who believed that Dun Laoghaire could become the Cowes of the Irish Sea if the town and the local clubs worked together. Although fickle winds conspired against him in 2005, the support of all four Dun Laoghaire waterfront yacht clubs since then (made up of Dun Laoghaire Motor YC, National YC, Royal Irish YC and Royal St GYC), in association with the two racing clubs of Dublin Bay SC and Royal Alfred YC, gave him the momentum to carry on.

There is no doubt that sailors have also responded with their support from all four coasts. Running for four days, the regatta is (after the large mini-marathons) the single most significant participant sports event in the country, requiring the services of 280 volunteers on and off the water, as well as top international race officers and an international jury, to resolve racing disputes representing five countries. A flotilla of 25 boats regularly races from the Royal Dee near Liverpool to Dublin for the Lyver Trophy to coincide with the event. The race also doubles as a RORC qualifying race for the Fastnet.

Sailors from the Ribble, Mersey, the Menai Straits, Anglesey, Cardigan Bay and the Isle of Man have to travel three times the distance to the Solent as they do to Dublin Bay. This, claims Craig, is one of the major selling points of the Irish event and explains the range of entries from marinas as far away as Yorkshire's Whitby YC and the Isle of Wight.

No other regatta in the Irish Sea area can claim to have such a reach. Dublin Bay Weeks such as this petered out in the 1960s, and it has taken almost four decades for the waterfront clubs to come together to produce a spectacle on and off the water to rival Cowes."The fact that we are getting such numbers means it is inevitable that it is compared with Cowes," said Craig. However, there the comparison ends."We're doing our own thing here. Dun Laoghaire is unique, and we are making an extraordinary effort to welcome visitors from abroad," he added. The busiest shipping lane in the country – across the bay to Dublin port – closes temporarily to facilitate the regatta and the placing of six separate courses each day.

A fleet total of this size represents something of an unknown quantity on the bay as it is more than double the size of any other regatta ever held there.

Volvo Dun Laoghaire Regatta FAQs

What is Dun Laoghaire Regatta?

Dun Laoghaire Regatta is Ireland's biggest sailing event. It is held every second Summer at Dun Laoghaire Harbour on Dublin Bay.

When is Dun Laoghaire Regatta?

Dun Laoghaire Regatta is held every two years, typically in the first weekend of July.

Where is Dun Laoghaire Regatta held?

As its name suggests, the event is based at Dun Laoghaire Harbour. Racing is held on Dublin Bay over as many as six different courses with a coastal route that extends out into the Irish Sea. Ashore, the festivities are held across the town but mostly in the four organising yacht clubs.

How big is Dun Laoghaire Regatta?

Dun Laoghaire Regatta is the largest sailing regatta in Ireland and on the Irish Sea and the second largest in the British Isles. It has a fleet of 500 competing boats and up to 3,000 sailors. Scotland's biggest regatta on the Clyde is less than half the size of the Dun Laoghaire event. After the Dublin city marathon, the regatta is one of the most significant single participant sporting events in the country in terms of Irish sporting events.

How old is Dun Laoghaire Regatta?

The modern Dublin Bay Regatta began in 2005, but it owes its roots to earlier combined Dublin Bay Regattas of the 1960s.

How many boats compete at Dun Laoghaire Regatta?

Up to 500 boats regularly compete.

How many yacht clubs are represented at Dun Laoghaire Regatta?

Up to 70 different yacht clubs are represented.

Where do the yachts come from to compete at Dun Laoghaire Regatta?

The Channel Islands, Isle of Man, England, Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland, Ireland countrywide, and Dublin clubs.

How many boats are visiting boats at Dun Laoghaire Regatta?

Nearly half the sailors, over 1,000, travel to participate from outside of Dun Laoghaire and from overseas to race and socialise in Dun Laoghaire.

What type of yachts race in Volvo Dun Laoghaire Regatta?

21 different classes are competing at Dun Laoghaire Regatta. As well as four IRC Divisions from 50-footers down to 20-foot day boats and White Sails, there are also extensive one-design keelboat and dinghy fleets to include all the fleets that regularly race on the Bay such as Beneteau 31.7s, Ruffian 23s, Sigma 33s as well as Flying Fifteens, Laser SB20s plus some visiting fleets such as the RS Elites from Belfast Lough to name by one.

What famous sailors race in Dun Laoghaire Regatta?

Some sailing household names are regular competitors at the biennial Dun Laoghaire event including Dun Laoghaire Olympic silver medalist, Annalise Murphy. International sailing stars are competing too such as Mike McIntyre, a British Olympic Gold medalist and a raft of World and European class champions.

How much does it cost to enter Dun Laoghaire Regatta?

There are different entry fees for different size boats. A 40-foot yacht will pay up to €550, but a 14-foot dinghy such as Laser will pay €95. Full entry fee details are contained in the Regatta Notice of Race document.

Where can spectators view Dun Laoghaire Regatta?

Spectators can see the boats racing on six courses from any vantage point on the southern shore of Dublin Bay. As well as from the Harbour walls itself, it is also possible to see the boats from Sandycove, Dalkey and Killiney, especially when the boats compete over inshore coastal courses or have in-harbour finishes.

How does Dun Laoghaire regatta compare to international regattas?

Very favourably. It is often compared to Cowes, Britain's biggest regatta on the Isle of Wight that has 1,000 entries. However, sailors based in the north of England have to travel three times the distance to get to Cowes as they do to Dun Laoghaire.

Why is Dun Laoghaire Regatta so unique?

Dun Laoghaire Regatta is unique because of its compact site offering four different yacht clubs within the harbour and the race tracks' proximity, just a five-minute sail from shore. International sailors also speak of its international travel connections and being so close to Dublin city. The regatta also prides itself on balancing excellent competition with good fun ashore.

Who organises Dun Laoghaire Regatta?

The Organising Authority (OA) of Volvo Dun Laoghaire Regatta is Dublin Bay Regattas Ltd, a not-for-profit company, beneficially owned by Dun Laoghaire Motor Yacht Club (DMYC), National Yacht Club (NYC), Royal Irish Yacht Club (RIYC) and Royal St George Yacht Club (RSGYC).

What does Dun Laoghaire Regatta contribute to the local economy?

The Irish Marine Federation launched a case study on the 2009 Volvo Dun Laoghaire Regatta's socio-economic significance. Over four days, the study (carried out by Irish Sea Marine Leisure Knowledge Network) found the event was worth nearly €3million to the local economy over the four days of the event. Typically the Royal Marine Hotel and Haddington Hotel and other local providers are fully booked for the event.