Katie O'Brien and Steven McGowan had a strong race in the PR2 Mixed Double, staying in touch with Ukraine and Poland from the start on day one fo the European Rowing Championships on Lake Bled, Slovenia. Winding it up coming into the last quarter of the race, Ireland made up two seconds on Poland, the 2022 World silver medallists, to finish just .2 of a second behind them.
Katie O'Brien and Steven McGowan competing on day one of the European Rowing Championships on Lake Bled in Slovenia
The crew from the Netherlands led the race from start to finish, beating the current World Champions, Ukraine, by four seconds.
The Ireland Women's Pair of Natalie Long and Imogen Magner
The Women's Pair of Natalie Long and Imogen Magner finished 4th in their heat. Through the 1000m mark, only a bow ball separated the crews from Ireland and Great Britain as they fought for third position. With only one place straight to the A Final, the crew from Ireland are into tomorrow's Repechages.
Hyde and Puspure progress with the second fastest time into the Repechages after a second-place finish in the Women's Doubles heat. Up against the 2022 silver medallists, the crew from Ireland went out strong and held their position from the start. The Netherlands had a significant lead through the halfway mark, but Zoe and Sanita began to pull back from there, reducing the gap to just four seconds at the finish.
The Men's Double made their mark in the heat, winning it ahead of France, the current World Champions. It was a dog fight through the race with Ireland sitting just half a second up on France until the 1500m mark. Philip Doyle and Daire Lynch then tapped into the famous Irish sprint and pulled out ahead to take the win by three seconds. Both crews move on to the A/B Semi-Finals on Saturday.
Siobhán McCrohan took second place in the Lightweight Women's Scull Heat, sending her into the Repechage tomorrow. With a quick time, she goes to the reps as the fastest sculler. McCrohan was sitting fourth through the 1000m mark but easily rowed through the scullers from Turkey and the Czech Republic in the third 500m.
The Men's Lightweight Double put in a solid performance for their first race in this combination. Fintan McCarthy and Hugh Moore led the race from the start but Jerzy Kowalski and Daniel Galeza from Poland stayed right on their heels with barely anything separating the two crews. Ireland and Poland took the two available spots straight into the A/B Semi-Finals.
Next were the Women's Four of Eimear Lambe, Tara Hanlon, Fiona Murtagh and Aifric Keogh. In a tough race with only one crew to qualify directly into the A Final, the crew from Ireland had to go head to head with GB who won both the European and World Championships last year. In a gutsy row, Ireland finished in second place behind GB and had clear water over the Polish and Spanish fours.
Ireland's men's four at the European Rowing Championships 2023 - John Kearney, Ross Corrigan, Nathan Timoney and Fionnán McQuillan-Tolan
Directly after the women's race, the men's four had their go down the picturesque course. In another extremely tight race John Kearney, Ross Corrigan, Nathan Timoney and Fionnán McQuillan-Tolan finished in third place behind Romania and Italy. All three crews stayed within a canvas of each other down the course and finished with just three seconds separating them. They'll take to the water tomorrow where they'll race for a spot in the A Final.
Brian Colsh finished third in his heat of the Men's Scull. Starting off in fourth place, Colsh squeezed into third in the third 500m. It was only one crew to qualify straight into the A/B Semi so it's into the Repechage for Ireland.
The Lightweight Women's Double of Margaret Cremen and Aoife Casey are into tomorrow's Repechage after a third-place finish in their heat. Poland's double had a great start, leading the heat up to the halfway point. The Tokyo Olympic Champions moved in at this point to take the lead and finish the race with clear water. Ireland stayed in touch with Poland, but they were able to hold on to their advantage from the start and finished ahead of Cremen and Casey.
Thursday Results
PR2 Mix2x 4th -> Repechage
W2- 4th -> Repechage
W2x 2nd -> Repechage
M2x 1st -> A/B Semi
LW1x 2nd -> Repechage
LM2x 1st -> A/B Semi
W4- 2nd -> Repechage
M4- 3rd -> Repechage
M1x 3rd -> Repechage
LW2x 3rd -> Repechage
Friday Schedule (IST)
LW2x Rep - 8:15am
W4- Rep - 8:45am
LW1x Rep - 8:55am
M4- Rep - 9:25am
W2- Rep - 9:30am
W2x Rep - 9:50am
M1x Rep - 10:30am
PR2 Mix2x Rep - 10:35am
LM2x A/B Semi - 14:00pm
