Siobhán McCrohan, a member of the Tribesmen Rowing Club in Ireland, secured a gold medal in the lightweight women's sculls final at the World Rowing Championships held in Belgrade, Serbia. McCrohan, aged 36, faced stiff competition from Mexican Kenia Lechuga and American Sophia Luwis, but her outstanding performance earned her the top spot on the podium. 

Despite the gruelling conditions in Belgrade, McCrohan executed her race plan to perfection. She paced herself in the early stages of the race while Martine Veldhuis of the Netherlands took an early lead. By the 500m mark, McCrohan had settled into third place behind Veldhuis and Lechuga, with the Dutch women already being reeled in. 

McCrohan improved to second place at the halfway point, sitting on the shoulder of Lechuga, just 0.27 behind the Mexican as Veldhuis was unable to keep pace and dropped out of the reckoning. Luwis then forced her way into the conversation, putting pressure on McCrohan, who kept her cool and stuck to her race plan, waiting for her moment to attack as she, Veldhuis, and Luwis pulled away from the chasing pack. 

McCrohan made her move as the scullers passed the 1500m mark. She upped her work rate and, with 300m to go, overtook Veldhuis, never looking back. With clear, calm water in front of her, she extended her lead in the closing stages, pulling away from Lechuga and Luwis, leaving the Mexican to win the battle for silver. 

McCrohan finished the race in 8:47.96, securing her first world championship gold medal after returning to representing Ireland this summer following a seven-year absence. Although she finished just off the podium in June's European Championships, she claimed world glory in her first season back in the boat, albeit in a non-Olympic class. 

"I only really came back to proper training in the winter of this season, so it's been a good comeback!" McCrohan told RTÉ Sport. "It wasn't so much that I made a decision that I should come back; it was that I couldn't stay away any longer." 

McCrohan's gold medal is a significant achievement for the Tribesmen Rowing Club member, who is traditionally used to the fast-flowing waters of the River Corrib. Although she had to face offshore winds in Belgrade, she took them in her stride, saying, "We all have to row in the same conditions, so it's worth noting that the race just takes longer." 

McCrohan's victory adds to the success of the Irish team at the World Rowing Championships. Both the men's and women's double sculls crews secured their boats' places at Paris 2024 for Ireland.

Philip Doyle and Daire Lynch finished just over a second behind the Croatian boat in their semi-final, while Alison Bergin and Zoe Hyde were also second, closely behind Americans Kristina Wagner and Sophia Vitas. 

While Jake McCarthy finished fifth in the lightweight men's single sculls D Final, McCrohan's gold medal will undoubtedly be a highlight of Ireland's performance at this year's championships.

Watch the World Rowing Championships on Saturday and Sunday from 12 pm on the RTE News Channel and RTE Player.

Three Irish rowing crews have qualified for the A and B finals at the World Rowing Championships in Belgrade, Serbia, and secured their spots at the Paris Olympics next summer.

Irish Women's Pair Aifric Keogh and Fiona Murtagh. With a second-place finish, the two Galway rowers are into the A Final. Murtagh and Keogh have shown good speed throughout this Championships and will be leaving it all on the line this Saturday in the hopes of making it on to that podium. at the World Rowing Championships in Belgrade, Serbia

Fiona Murtagh and Aifric Keogh put in an impressive performance to secure a women's pair spot for Ireland. The duo finished second in their semi-final, just behind the Romanian pair of Roxana Anghel and Ioana Vrinceanu.

22 year old Nathan Timoney and 24 year old Ross Corrigan have been on top form this week and have today qualified a men's pair for Ireland at Paris 2024. Timoney and Corrigan grew up rowing together with Enniskillen Royal BC in Fermanagh and are putting themselves up there with the top crews here at the World Championships. Ireland went out hard and held second position right from the start. With South Africa hot on their heels coming into the final sprint, they took it up another gear finishing with the fastest final 500. Their second place result sends them through to Saturday's A Final where they'll race the best of the best.

Nathan Timoney and Ross Corrigan also secured a men's pair spot for Ireland at Paris 2024. The pair came in second in their semi-final, with South Africa hot on their heels in the final sprint.

Reigning Olympic and World Champions Paul O'Donovan and Fintan McCarthy have secured a spot at Paris for the lightweight men's double. Making it look easy, O'Donovan and McCarthy held their composure through the first half of the race, passing the first marker in fifth place and the halfway mark in second place. Relying on their incredible strength and fitness, they were able to focus on their own race and one by one came through the other crews. In the end they finished with clear water ahead of the field with Czechia and Norway coming in behind them to take the remaining two spots to the A Final

Reigning Olympic and World Champions Paul O'Donovan and Fintan McCarthy secured a spot in the lightweight men's double, dominating their semi-final and finishing with clear water ahead of the field.

However, the lightweight women's double of Margaret Cremen and Aoife Casey narrowly missed out on an A final spot and will race in the B final on Saturday.

Eimear Lambe, Sanita Puspure, Imogen Magner, and Natalie Long finished in fifth place in the women's four, sending them through to the B final.

Siobhán McCrohan put in a stellar performance in the lightweight women's scull, winning her A/B semi-final and securing a place in the A final.

Tribesmen's Siobhán McCrohan is into the lightweight women's scull A Final after a win in her A/B Semi. Handling the tough conditions like a pro, McCrohan sailed over the waves and held a consistent speed throughout the race. Moving into the leading position in the third quarter, there was no looking back as she continued to pull away from the other crews. She will race the A Final tomorrow afternoon where she will be looking for a place on the podium.

Siobhán McCrohan in the lightweight women's scull at the World Rowing Championships in Bled, Slovenia

Jake McCarthy will compete in the D final of the lightweight men's scull against New Zealand, Norway, Azerbaijan, Georgia, and Finland.

All six crews have done Ireland proud, and rowing fans will be eagerly anticipating their performances in the A and B finals.

Day 5 Results (Irish interest)
Women's Pair A/B Semi 2nd -> A Final and Olympic Qualification
Men's Pair A/B Semi 2nd -> A Final and Olympic Qualification
Lightweight Men's Double A/B Semi 1st -> A Final and Olympic Qualification
Lightweight Women's Double A/B Semi 4th -> B Final
Women's Four A/B Semi 5th -> B Final
Lightweight Women's Scull A/B Semi 1st -> A Final
Lightweight Men's Scull A/B Semi 6th -> D Final

Friday Schedule (IST)
9:45am - Men's Double A/B Semi
9:55am - Women's Double A/B Semi
12:05pm - Lightweight Men's D Final
13:15pm - Lightweight Women's A Final

Irish rowers are making waves at the ongoing World Rowing Championships in Serbia, with three more crews advancing to the A/B Semi-finals and one step closer to the Paris 2024 Olympics.

The lightweight men's double of Paul O'Donovan and Fintan McCarthy left no doubt in the quarterfinals, finishing in style with clear water ahead of the remaining boats. This win ensures their spot in the A/B Semis tomorrow with the fastest time.

Irish M2 pair Ross Corrigan and Nathan Timoney at the World Rowing Championships in Serbia

Birthday boy Nathan Timoney and his pair partner Ross Corrigan also secured a place in the top 12 men's pairs, while the men's double of Philip Doyle and Daire Lynch also advanced to the A/B Semis.

The men's double of Philip Doyle and Daire Lynch advanced to the A/B Semis at the World Rowing Championships in Serbia

Skibbereen's Jake McCarthy finished fifth in the quarterfinal of the lightweight men's scull, sending him through to the C/D Semi-final. However, it was not enough to secure him a place in the A/B Semis.

Jake McCarthy finished fifth in the quarterfinal of the lightweight men's scull, sending him through to the C/D Semi-final at the World Rowing Championships in Serbia

The Irish crews will face tough competition from Mexico, Poland, Norway, Belgium, the Czech Republic, Norway, Spain, Croatia, New Zealand, and Germany in the upcoming rounds. With windy conditions forecasted for tomorrow, the race schedule has been moved forward to ensure fair competition.

The Irish rowers have a bright chance to qualify for the Paris 2024 Olympics, and the upcoming races promise to be exciting for Irish fans.

Wednesday Results (Irish interest)
Lightweight Men's Scull Quarterfinal 5th -> C/D Semi
Lightweight Men's Double Quarterfinal 1st -> A/B Semi
Men's Pair Quarterfinal 2nd -> A/B Semi
Men's Double Quarterfinal 2nd -> A/B Semi

Thursday Schedule (IST)
8:35am - Women's Pair A/B Semi
9:05am - Men's Pair A/B Semi
9:25am - Lightweight Women's Double A/B Semi
9:35am - Lightweight Men's Double A/B Semi
10:05am - Women's Four A/B Semi
11:35am - Lightweight Women's Scull A/B Semi
14:25pm - Lightweight Men's Scull C/D Semi

Galway Rowing Rowing Club rowers Katie O'Brien and Steven McGowan have secured Ireland's first boat for the upcoming Paralympic Games in Paris 2024.

The duo competed in the PR2 mixed double at the World Rowing Championships and emerged victorious, earning the sole qualifying position for the 2024 Paralympics.

It's been 11 years since Ireland has had a crew compete in the Paralympics, with the PR3 mixed coxed four in London 2012. But O'Brien and McGowan's inspiring performance has ensured that the country will be represented once again next year.

Katie O'Brien had been unable to find a double partner prior to the Tokyo Olympics, but she finally realized her dream at this year's World Championships. Meanwhile, Steven McGowan, who only picked up the sport less than two years ago, has made remarkable progress to compete at the level he is now.

The Irish duo had a strong start in their heat and were right in the mix with World Cup III bronze medallists Michal Gadowski and Jolanta Majka of Poland. The 2022 World Champions, Ukraine, were unable to keep up with the pace that was set and struggled to move into the top grouping. With only one crew to progress straight into the A Final, O'Brien and McGowan had to make a move to put themselves in the lead spot. And through the third 500m, Ireland was the fastest boat on the water, pushing their bow ahead of Poland. In the end, O'Brien and McGowan secured the ticket to Paris, leaving no chance for their competitors to catch up.

Fiona Murtagh and Aifric Keogh, another Galway pairing, also performed remarkably in the women's pair repechage. With an incredible start, they led the field by over two seconds by the first 500m mark. Italy's Aisha Rocek and Alice Codato tried to catch up with Fiona and Aifric, but they failed to break their lead. With their first-place finish, the Irish duo qualified for the A/B Semis on Thursday morning.

However, the men's four of John Kearney, Jack Dorney, Adam Murphy, and Fionnán McQuillan-Tolan missed out on the A/B Semis. They will race the C Final after finishing fifth in their repechage. The crew had a promising start, sitting in second place through the halfway point. But all the crews stayed in contention, and coming into the last quarter, Ireland had moved back to fifth place. There wasn't enough left to push into the top three for a spot in the A/B Semi.

In the men's quad, Brian Colsh, Andrew Sheehan, Ronan Byrne, and Konan Pazzaia had a fourth-place finish in their repechage, missing out on the A/B Semi. As the race progressed, Ireland made their way closer to the top three, and in the final 500m, they were the fastest boat on the water. But it wasn't enough to edge them ahead of the American crew.

Overall, it was a great day for Irish rowing, with O'Brien and McGowan securing the first boat for the country in the 2024 Paralympics. The country will be looking forward to more success in the coming days of the World Rowing Championships.

Day 3 Results (Irish interest)

PR2 Mixed Double Heat 1st -> A Final and Paralympic Qualification
Women's Pair Repechage 1st -> A/B Semi
Men's Four Repechage 5th -> C Final
Men's Quad Repechage 4th -> C Final

Wednesday Schedule (IST)
11:43am - Lightweight Men's Scull Quarterfinal
11:50am - Lightweight Men's Double Quarterfinal
12:18pm - Men's Pair Quarterfinal
12:53pm - Men's Double Quarterfinal

Seven Irish crews were afloat for the second day of the 2023 World Rowing Championships in Belgrade, Serbia, with impressive performances across multiple events.

The women's pair of Fiona Murtagh and Aifric Keogh secured a place in the repechage after finishing second in their heat, while Cork's Margaret Cremen and Aoife Casey advanced directly to the A/B Semi of the lightweight women's double.

Cork's Margaret Cremen and Aoife Casey were racing in the second day of the 2023 World Rowing Championships in Belgrade, Serbia

Alison Bergin and Zoe Hyde won their heat in the women's double, securing a place in the A/B Semi and giving themselves a chance to qualify for the Paris 2024 Olympics.

The women's pair of Fiona Murtagh and Aifric Keogh secured a place in the repechage after finishing second in their heat

The women's four team of Eimear Lambe, Sanita Puspure, Imogen Magner, and Natalie Long also made it through to the A/B Semi, finishing third in their heat.

However, the men's four and quad teams will need to fight their way through the repechage to progress.

Despite finishing sixth in their heat, John Kearney, Jack Dorney, Adam Murphy, and Fionnán McQuillan-Tolan will race again in the repechage for a chance to make the A/B Semi.

Similarly, the men's quad of Brian Colsh, Andrew Sheehan, Ronan Byrne, and Konan Pazzaia finished sixth in their heat but will have another opportunity to qualify for the Semi in the repechage.

Lightweight sculler Jake McCarthy of Skibbereen

Skibbereen's Jake McCarthy secured a place in the quarterfinals of the lightweight sculler event after winning his repechage.

Day 2 Results (Irish interest)
W2- Heat 2nd -> Repechage
LW2x Heat 2nd -> A/B Semi
W2x Heat 1st -> A/B Semi
W4- Heat 3rd -> A/B Semi
M4- Heat 6th -> Repechage
M4x Heat 6th -> Repechage
LM1x Repechage 1st -> Quarterfinal

Tuesday Schedule (IST)
9:30am - PR2 Mix2x Heat
10:40am - W2- Repechage
11:15am - M4- Repechage
11:36am - M4x Repechage

Skibbereen rower Jake McCarthy is into the repechage of the men's lightweight scull after a fifth place finish in his heat on day one of the 2023 World Rowing Championships in Serbia.

Right up until the final 200 metres McCarthy and the sculler from Belgium were sitting bowballs apart, fighting for that fourth place position for a ticket straight into the quarterfinals. Coming to the line it was Marlon Colpaert of Belgium that was able to hold on to the momentum and take that final spot. Jake races again tomorrow afternoon for a place in the quarterfinals.

Siobhán McCrohan (Tribesmen RC) is into the A/B Semi's of the lightweight women's scull at the World Rowing Championships in Belgrade

Siobhán McCrohan (Tribesmen RC) has cruised into the A/B Semi's of the lightweight women's scull with a second place finish in her heat. The race was reduced to a four boat race due to the Individual Neutral Athlete Anastasiia Liubich failing to make weight prior to racing. With two boats to progress through to the A/B Semi finals Siobhán made her mark early on in the race, opening up the initial lead. Going with her was the Romanian sculler and after the two created a significant gap to the remaining boats they settled into the race. Siobhán is up next on Thursday morning for the A/B Semi.

Olympic champions Paul O'Donovan and Fintan McCarthy had a solid performance in the heat of the lightweight men's double at the World Rowing Championships in Belgrade

Paul O'Donovan and Fintan McCarthy are back in the winning spirit with a solid performance in the heat of the lightweight men's double. Taking the lead from the start of the race, there was no catching the 2022 World Champions. New Zealand had a good race moving from fourth to second, but with each 500m the Irish double continued to increase their lead. They race again on Wednesday for the quarterfinals.

An impressive race from the Enniskillen duo of Nathan Timoney and Ross Corrigan sends them straight through to the men's pair quarterfinals. Hitting a low of 40 strokes per minute in the first 500m Ireland went out hard, placing themselves in the top two with 2022 World Silver Medallists Spain. Through the middle of the race Timoney and Corrigan challenged Spain, moving into the lead of the race.

Enniskillen duo of Nathan Timoney and Ross Corrigan are straight through to the men's pair quarterfinals at the World Rowing Championships in Belgrade

It was only in the last sprint that Spain picked up their boat speed and came through Ireland beating them by just 1.19 seconds.

Irish rowers Philip Doyle (Portora BC) and Daire Lynch (Clonmel RC) are into the men's doubles quarterfinals at the World Rowing Championships in Belgrade

Philip Doyle (Portora BC) and Daire Lynch (Clonmel RC) are into the men's doubles quarterfinals with a second-place finish in their heat. It was the American double that led from the start but there was only just over a second separating the top four crews to the first marker. Doyle and Lynch sat in third position until they made their move on the French double coming into the final 400 meters. The French crew, including reigning champion Hugo Boucheron, could not catch Ireland on the line.

Day 1 Results (Irish interest)
LM1x Heat 5th -> Repechage
LW1x Heat 2nd -> A/B Semi
LM2x Heat 1st -> Quarterfinal
M2- Heat 2nd -> Quarterfinal
M2x Heat 2nd -> Quarterfinal

Monday Schedule (IST)  (Irish interest)
9:28am - W2- Heat
9:49am - LW2x Heat
10:25am - W2x Heat
11:21am - W4- Heat
11:35am - M4- Heat
12:24pm - M4x Heat
15:47pm - LM1x Repechage

Sunday, September 3, marks the beginning of the 2023 World Rowing Championships in Belgrade, Serbia. This is the first opportunity for the rowers to qualify Ireland for the 2024 Paris Olympics.

This year, Rowing Ireland has 28 athletes competing across 12 boat classes. This is the largest number of athletes representing Ireland at a World Rowing Championships.

At last year's Championships, Ireland won four medals; LM2x Gold, PR2 W1x Gold, LW2x Bronze and W2x Bronze.

Jake McCarthy picked up rowing in 2012 after twin brother Fintan joined Skibbereen RC. A major highlight in Jakes's rowing career was in 2016 when he and Fintan made it to the A Final of the European Championships in the LM2x. Jake last raced at the 2019 World Championships where he finished 8th in the LM4x.

Jake McCarthy (Skibbereen RC) will be the first down the course for the heat of the lightweight men's scull. If McCarthy can finish in the top four boats he'll go straight into the quarterfinal, avoiding the repechage. He faces World Cup III silver medallist, Artur Mikolajczewski from Poland and the Austrian sculler Lukas Reim who won the B Final of the same event. This is Jake's first appearance at a World Rowing event since the 2019 World Championships where he finished second in the B Final of the lightweight men's quad.

World Cup III silver medallist, Siobhán McCrohan (Tribesmen RC) has had an impressive season so far picking up a medal in Lucerne and placing fourth at the European Championships in Bled. There has been a mix of athletes on the podium for the lightweight scull in 2023, and with the 2022 World Champion and 2023 European Champion from Romania, moving into the lightweight double, the single scull event is wide open. Two crews progress to the A/B Semi with the remainder going to the repechage. Keep an eye on Gianina Van Groningen, the new sculler for Romania. Groningen finished 6th at the Tokyo Olympics in the lightweight double and raced in the Romanian eight that won bronze at World Cup III.

Reigning World Champions, Paul O'Donovan (UCC RC) and Fintan McCarthy (Skibbereen RC) are back in the lightweight men's double and they're going for gold. At World Cup III in Lucerne they were narrowly beaten on the line by the French double. Just .09 of a second separated the two boats. After their four week training camp in Banyoles they're ready to go again. With four crews to qualify it's likely the Skibbereen boys will bypass the repechage and head straight into the quarterfinals.

Nathan Timoney began rowing with Enniskillen Royal BC in 2015. In his junior years, he represented Ireland at the Coupe de la Jeunesse in the JM2-. Nathan is currently doing a business degree in University Belfast and competing for their rowing team. He was selected for last year's U23 World Championships where he won bronze in the men’s four

Nathan Timoney (Queen's University Belfast BC) and Ross Corrigan (Portora BC) race the men's pair tomorrow afternoon. They made their debut in the pair in July at World Cup III, where they finished sixth in the A Final. They have been drawn against Spain in tomorrow's heat, who beat them by less than a second in 8the World Cup final. Again four crews go through to the quarterfinals from the heat.

The men's double of Philip Doyle (Portora BC) and Daire Lynch (Clonmel RC) won bronze in Lucerne and finished in fourth place at the European Championships earlier in the year. The USA double of Benjamin Davison and Sorin Koszyk came second in World Cup II so they're a double to watch but with four crews to qualify for the quarterfinals, Doyle and Lynch are in a good place.

On Monday the women's pair, lightweight double, four, double and the men's four and quad will hit the water for their heats.

Sunday Schedule (IST)
10:08am - LM1x Heat
11:12am - LW1x Heat
11:19am - LM2x Heat
12:01pm - M2- Heat
12:50pm - M2x Heat

Ireland has announced the selection of 12 crews that will compete at the 2023 World Rowing Championships in Belgrade, Serbia.

The event, taking place from September 3rd to 10th, serves as the first opportunity for Irish rowers to secure Olympic qualification spots for the 2024 Paris Olympic Games.

The selected athletes will face a tough challenge, as this event is their last chance to qualify for the Paris 2024 Olympics after the final qualification event in Lucerne next May. 

In 2019, Rowing Ireland qualified four boats for the Tokyo Olympics, followed by two more at the final qualification event. This year, 28 athletes will be racing in just two weeks' time, the largest number of Irish athletes to compete at a World Rowing Championships for Ireland, with 26 of them being in Olympic class events.

The selected crews are as follows: Katie O'Brien and Steven McGowan for the Para Mixed Double (PR2 Mix2x); Margaret Cremen and Aoife Casey for the Lightweight Women's Double (LW2x); Siobhán McCrohan for the Lightweight Women's Scull (LW1x); Paul O'Donovan and Fintan McCarthy for the Lightweight Men's Double (LM2x); Jake McCarthy for the Lightweight Men's Scull (LM1x); Fiona Murtagh and Aifric Keogh for the Women's Pair (W2-); Alison Bergin and Zoe Hyde for the Women's Double (W2x); Eimear Lambe, Sanita Puspure, Imogen Magner, and Natalie Long for the Women's Four (W4-); Nathan Timoney and Ross Corrigan for the Men's Pair (M2-); Philip Doyle and Daire Lynch for the Men's Double (M2x); Brian Colsh, Andrew Sheehan, Ronan Byrne, and Konan Pazzaia for the Men's Quad (M4x); and John Kearney, Jack Dorney, Adam Murphy, and Fionnan McQuillan-Tolan for the Men's Four (M4-).

The High-Performance Director, Antonio Maurogiovanni, leads the team, along with coaching staff Dominic Casey (HP Lightweight Head Coach), David Breen (HP Para Coach), Giuseppe De Vita (HP Women's Head Coach), Ashley Rowe (HP Women's Coach), Fran Keane (HP Men's Head Coach), Nicolo Maurogiovanni (HP Men's Coach), physiotherapists Heather O'Brien and Orla Doolin, and team manager Michael O'Rourke.

With the eyes of the world watching, Ireland's rowers will be pulling hard to secure their place on the Olympic stage in Paris.

It's rowing gold and two silvers for Ireland in the 2023 U23 World Championships in Bulgaria.

As Afloat reported earlier, the Irish crews pulled out all of the stops in today's A Finals and were rewarded with three podiums out of the four boats.

The lightweight men's double were extremely unlucky, catching a last-minute crab to drop them out of the medals.

Brian Colsh and Konan Pazzaia are the 2023 U23 World Champions in the men's double sculls. Last year this duo won bronze and has successfully made the upgrade to gold today. Racing like their semi-final, Colsh and Pazzaia went out fast, taking an early lead ahead of the field. Once their bow was ahead there was no stopping Ireland as they charged to the line, consistently sitting as the fastest boat on the water.

The U23 World Championships is a good indicator of the athletes to keep an eye on when progressing into the senior categories, and there's no doubt that these two athletes are only at the beginning of their international successes.

Silver Star 1: Andrew Sheehan (Lee) won silver in the BM1x at the World Under-23 Rowing Championships in Bulgaria

The County Cork scullers, Andrew Sheehan and Alison Bergin, both put on an exceptional show bagging silver medals. With a conservative start, Sheehan sat in the third position while Piotr Plominski of Poland took a commanding lead. Andrew always stayed in touch with the group, but coming into the final 500m, he kicked into gear, increasing his stroke rate to 40 strokes per minute. He broke through the Portuguese sculler and reduced the margin between himself and Plominski with every stroke he took, finishing just 0.71 of a second behind the gold medallist. Last year Sheehan won bronze in the men's four. To be able to come back a year later, swapping disciplines, and going one further to win silver in the single scull shows huge calibre from the athlete.

Silver Star 2: Alison Bergin (Fermoy) left with her BW1x silver medal won at the World Under-23 Rowing Championships in Bulgaria

Alison Bergin of Fermoy Rowing Club also upgraded her 2022 medal from bronze to silver this year. Bergin held her composure through the middle of the race, relying on that sprint finish that Ireland is very well known for. Moving from fifth to third position in the first 1500m of the race, there was no holding her back when it came to a fight for silver in the final quarter. There was no boat holding Bergin's pace as they closed into the line, as she gained on the Swiss sculler Aurelia-Maxima Katharina Janzen. In the end Janzen held on to the lead that she had put down early in the race, and it was second in the world for Alison Bergin.

The lightweight men's double of Ciaran Purdy (Queen's University Belfast BC) and Rory O'Neill (University of Limerick RC) just missed out on the medals finishing in fourth place. Ireland sat in sixth position through the halfway mark but it was not the time to fear yet, as all weekend, it's been the second 1000m that they have been picking up their real speed. Moving through that point the lightweight men started on their move towards the top places. With 300m to go Ireland put themselves in the bronze position and were actively gaining on Spain for that silver spot. 50m out from the line, disaster struck Purdy and O'Neill when they caught a boat-stopping crab pulling them back out of the podium positions. After a medal-worthy performance, it's fourth that they'll have to settle with.

"The team showed some incredible performances today and are coming away with well-deserved gold and silver medals. To be U23 World Champions in an Olympic boat class is hugely motivating for the years ahead," said High Performance Director Antonio Maurogiovanni. "Last year, we won a silver and three bronze medals; this year, we have improved again, picking up gold and two silvers with a close 4th place."

"The lightweight double was unfortunate not to make the medals but had an excellent performance finishing in the top end of their boat class. Our U23s are a testament to the strength that our entire high-performance squad has, and it’s great to see them up on the podium year after year. A big thanks to all the athletes, families, clubs, coaches and staff."

Ireland Results at Under 23 World Rowing Championships, Bulgaria

BM2x - Brian Colsh, Konan Pazzaia - GOLD
BM1x - Andrew Sheehan - SILVER
BW1x - Alison Bergin - SILVER
BLM2x - Ciaran Purdy, Rory O'Neill - 4th

Ireland has four chances of medals at the World Under-23 Rowing Championships in Bulgaria this morning (Sunday).

Saturday was a clean sweep for Ireland, with all crews winning their semi-finals and qualifying for their respective A Finals.

After a win in Thursday's heat, Brian Colsh and Konan Pazzaia sailed through their semi-final this morning, putting another win under the belt. Going off the blocks with a rate of 48 strokes per minute, the Irish double was not stopping from the get-go. With a podium finish in last year's championships, Colsh and Pazzaia won't be looking for anything less in tomorrow's A Final where they face France, Lithuania, Uruguay, Poland and Germany.

Next up was the Men's Lightweight Double of Queen's University Belfast's Ciaran Purdy and University of Limerick's Rory O'Neill. Both athletes have a host of race experience, with Purdy winning silver at the 2022 U23 World Championships and O'Neill finishing in fourth place in the 2021 World Championships. Holding a steady pace, Ireland crossed the first marker in fourth position but pushed forward a place through each 500m to finish in first place.

Andrew Sheehan of the University of Cork RC safely secured his place in the A Final with a win in the Men's Scull semi-final. The sculler from Italy took the early lead, getting clear water between the rest of the scullers by the 250m mark. Spain dropped off in the early stages, but Ireland, Switzerland and Portugal stayed in the mix in the second pack. Holding a steady speed, Sheehan broke away from the scullers in third and fourth position and edged closer and closer to the Italian. Coming into the finish, Andrew was increasing his speed, and Italy couldn't keep up. He crossed the line in the first position with clear water over the rest of the field.

Alison Bergin impresses yet again in the semi-final stage of the U23 World Championships. Last year Alison set the current U23 Championship best time in a commanding race, and she did not disappoint this year either. Similarly to the Irish crews that raced before her, Bergin had a solid start, sitting in the middle of the group. Winding it up, coming through the halfway point, she did not stop as she headed towards the line, overtaking the leading sculler from the Czech Republic and finishing about three lengths clear from the rest of the scullers.

Sunday is a big day for Ireland, with four crews in four A Finals in the space of an hour and a half. 

Saturday Results
BM2x A/B Semi 1st -> A Final
BLM2x A/B Semi 1st -> A Final
BM1x A/B Semi 1st -> A Final
BW1x A/B Semi 1st -> A Final

Sunday Schedule (IST)
8:44am - BM2x A Final
9:44am - BLM2x A Final
10:08am - BM1x A Final
10:20am - BW1x A Final