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Displaying items by tag: Duisburg

#Canoeing: Jenny Egan finished seventh in her K1 200m final at the canoe sprint European Olympic Qualifier in Duisburg in Germany today. Germany and Sweden secured the top two spots, and with them places at the Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro. Egan was in the middle of the group from third to ninth who were covered by less than a second. The Irishwoman was competing in her second final of the day.

Tom Brennan finished ninth in his final of the K1 200, with the top two of  Spain and Hungary qualifying for Rio de Janeiro.

Canoe Sprint European Olympic Qualifier, Duisburg, Germany (Selected Results, Irish interest)

Men

K1 1,000 – Final: 1 Hungary (B Dombvári) 3 min 35.307, 2 Russia (R Anoshkin) 3:35.695; 4 M Fitzsimon 3:38.727.

K1 200 – Final: 1 Spain (S Craviotto) 34.615, 2 Hungary (Be Horváth) 35.077; 9 T Brennan 36.773.

Women

K1 500 – Final: 1 Germany (S Hering) 1 min 55.378, 2 Slovakia (M Kohlová) 1:55.677; 8 J Egan 2:00.270.

K1 200 – Final: 1 Germany (S Volz) 41.470, 2 Sweden (L Stensils) 41.509; 7 J Egan 42.874.  

Paracanoe World Championships, Duisburg

Men - KL3 200 – B Final (Places 10-18): 1 P O’Leary 42.882 seconds.

Published in Canoeing

#Canoeing: Michael Fitzsimon finished fourth in the final of the K1 1,000 at the canoe sprint European Olympic Qualifier in Duisburg in Germany this morning. The perfomance was another step up for the man who has been competing as an under-23 paddler, but it was outside the places which would have qualified him for the Olympic Games.

Canoe Sprint European Olympic Qualifier, Duisburg, Germany (Selected Results, Irish interest)

Men

K1 1,000 – Final: 1 Hungary (B Dombvári) 3 min 35.307, 2 Russia (R Anoshkin) 3:35.695; 4 M Fitzsimon 3:38.727.

Women

K1 500 – Final: 1 Germany (S Hering) 1 min 55.378, 2 Slovakia (M Kohlová) 1:55.677; 8 J Egan 2:00.270.

Published in Canoeing

#Canoeing: Jenny Egan finished eighth in the final of the K1 500 at the canoe sprint European Olympic Qualifier at Duisburg this morning, outside the places which would have qualified her for a place at the Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro in this class. She has also qualified for the K1 200 final, which takes place later in the day.

Canoe Sprint European Olympic Qualifier, Duisburg, Germany (Selected Results, Irish interest)

Women

K1 500 – Final: 1 Germany (S Hering) 1 min 55.378, 2 Slovakia (M Kohlová) 1:55.677; 8 J Egan 2:00.270.

Published in Canoeing

#Canoeing: Ireland brought their tally of finals reached to four at the canoe sprint European Olympic Qualifier in Duisburg today. Jenny Egan made her way to a second final – the K1 200 – and Tom Brennan for the men’s equivalent in the afternoon session. They will qualify for Rio if they finish in the top two in their finals. 

Canoe Sprint European Olympic Qualifier, Duisburg, Germany (Selected Results, Irish interest)

Men

K1 1,000 – Heat One (Winner to A Final; 2-7 to semi-final; rest out): 4 M Fitzsimon 3:31.693. Semi-Final: 1 Fitzsimon 3:31.453.

K1 200 – Heat Two (Winner to Final; 2-7 to semi-final; rest out): 4 T Brennan 35.85. Semi-Final (Three to Final; rest out): 3 Brennan 35.938.

K2 200 – Heat One (First Three to A Final; 4-7 to semi-final): 6 T Brennan, B Watkins 34.350. Semi-Final (First Three to A Final; rest out): 5 Brennan, Watkins 34.249.

Women

K1 500 – Heat One (Three to Final; 4-7 to Semi-Final): 5 J Egan 1:55.428. Semi-Final (Three to A Final): 3 Egan 1:52.823.

K1 200 – Heat One (Three to Final; 4-7 to Semi-Final): 3 J Egan 41.515.

Paracanoe World Championships, Duisburg

Men - KL3 200- Heat Four (First Seven to Semi-Final): 2 P O’Leary 42.061. Semi-Final One (First Two and next best time to A Final; 3rd, 4th to B Final): 3 O’Leary 41.722.

 

Published in Canoeing

#Canoeing: Jenny Egan qualified for the A Final of her top event, the K1 500 metres, at the canoe sprint European Olympic Qualifier in Duisburg in Germany today. She finished third in her semi-final. A top-two place in the final would qualify her for the Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro.

Canoe Sprint European Olympic Qualifier, Duisburg, Germany (Selected Results, Irish interest)

Men

K1 1,000 – Heat One (Winner to A Final; 2-7 to semi-final; rest out): 4 M Fitzsimon 3:31.693.

K2 200 – Heat One (First Three to A Final; 4-7 to semi-final): 6 T Brennan, B Watkins 34.350.

Women

K1 500 – Heat One (Three to Final; 4-7 to Semi-Final): 5 J Egan 1:55.428. Semi-Final (Three to A Final): 3 Egan 1:52.823.

Paracanoe World Championships, Duisburg

Men - KL3 200- Heat Four (First Seven to Semi-Final): 2 P O’Leary 42.061. Semi-Final One (First Two and next best time to A Final; 3rd, 4th to B Final): 3 O’Leary 41.722.

Published in Canoeing

#Canoeing: Patrick O’Leary set a new personal best for the second sucessive day, but just missed out on a place in the A Final at the Paracanoe World Championships in Duisburg in Germany this morning. The 43-year-old Irishman finished third in his semi-final of the KL3 200 metres. The top two from the semi-finals and the fastest third place finisher would go through – and O’Leary was pipped by less than seven tenths of a second by France’s Martin Farineaux for this place. Farineaux finished third in the fourth of the four semi-finals. O’Leary qualifies for the B Final.   

 In the canoe sprint European Olympic Qualifier, Ireland crews qualified for semi-finals through their heats. Michael Fitzsimon finished 4th in the K1 1,000, Jenny Egan fifth in the K1 500 and the K2 200 crew of Tom Brennan and Barry Watkins were sixth.  

Paracanoe World Championships, Duisburg (Selected Results; Irish interest):

Men - KL3 200- Heat Four (First Seven to Semi-Final): 2 P O’Leary 42.061. Semi-Final One (First Two and next best time to A Final; 3rd, 4th to B Final): 3 O’Leary 41.722.

Canoe Sprint European Olympic Qualifier, Duisburg, Germany

Men

K1 1,000 – Heat One (Winner to A Final; 2-7 to semi-final; rest out): 4 M Fitzsimon 3:31.693.

K2 200 – Heat One (First Three to A Final; 4-7 to semi-final): 6 T Brennan, B Watkins 34.350.

Women

K1 500 – Heat One (Three to Final; 4-7 to Semi-Final): 5 J Egan 1:55.428.  

Published in Canoeing

#CANOEING: Jenny Egan finished seventh in the K1 5,000 metres at the Canoe Sprint World Cup in Duisburg in Germany today. The race was won by Lani Belcher of Britain, and Britain also took bronze through Louisa Sawers, with Serbian Kristina Bedec second. Egan took a bronze medal at the European Championships in this event, but she was over half a minute behind Sawers today

Canoe Sprint World Cup, Duisburg, Germany (Irish interest)

Men

Paracanoeing: KL3 200 – Final: 1 Germany (T Kierey) 41.305, 2 Russia (A Voronkov) 42.247, 3 Britain (T Lodge) 42.891; 4 Ireland (T O’Leary) 43.486.

Women

K1 5,000m: 7 J Egan 22 min 24.634.

Published in Canoeing

#CANOEING: Ireland’s Pat O’Leary had to settle for fourth at the Canoe Sprint World Cup in Duisburg, Germany today. The paracanoeist qualified for the final of the KL3 on Thursday. Germany’s Tom Kierey won, from Artem Voronkov of Russia and Britain’s Timothy Lodge – who was just .595 of a second ahead of O’Leary, who had also finished fourth at the European Championships earlier this month. 

Canoe Sprint World Cup, Duisburg, Germany (Irish interest)

Men

Paracanoeing: KL3 200 – Final: 1 Germany (T Kierey) 41.305, 2 Russia (A Voronkov) 42.247, 3 Britain (T Lodge) 42.891; 4 Ireland (T O’Leary) 43.486.

Published in Canoeing

#CANOEING: Ireland’s Tom Brennan and Jenny Egan failed to make it through their semi-finals at the Canoe Sprint World Cup in Duisburg, Germany today. Egan finished eighth and Brennan ninth in their K1 200 races. Egan goes in the K1 5,000 metres on Sunday. and paracanoeist Pat O’Leary competes in the A Final of the KL3 200 metres.

Canoe Sprint World Cup, Duisburg, Germany (Irish interest)

Men,

K1 200m – Semi-Final Four: 9 T Brennan 38.361

Women

K1 200 – Semi-Final Two: 8 J Egan 44.124.

Published in Canoeing

#CANOEING: Jenny Egan qualified for the semi-final of the K1 200 metres by finishing fourth in her heat this evening at the Canoe Sprint World Cup in Duisburg. Egan also qualified for semi-finals of the K1 500m, but finished seventh and takes a place in the the C Final (places 19 to 27). Barry Watkins and Michael Fitzsimons, in the K2 1,000, also qualified for the semi-finals, but their ninth-place finish meant they missed out on the C Final. Tom Brennan qualified for the semi-final of the K1 200m. Ireland will have at least one finalist, as paracanoeist Pat O’Leary took second in his heat of the KL3 200 metres.

Canoe Sprint World Cup, Duisburg, Germany (Irish interest)

Men, KL3 200m – Heat Two (First Three Directly to Final; rest to Semi-Final): 1 Germany (T Keirey) 41.870 seconds, 2 Ireland (P O’Leary) 44.245, 3 Russia (V Potanin) 44.658.

K2 1000m – Heat Four: 6 B Watkins, M Fitzsimons 3:21.908. Semi-Final Three: 9 Watkins, Fitzsimons 3:21.699.

K2 200 – Heat One: 9 P Egan, S Dobrovolskis 34.976.

K1 200m – Heat Three: 5 T Brennan 37.462

Women

K1 200 – Heat One: 4 J Egan 44.171 seconds (to Semi-Final).

500m – Heat One: 7 J Egan 1:57.293. Semi-Final Three: 7 Egan 1:55.688.

Published in Canoeing

Sharks in Irish waters

Irish waters are home to 71 species of shark, skates and rays, 58 of which have been studied in detail and listed on the Ireland Red List of Cartilaginous fish. Irish sharks range from small Sleeper sharks, Dogfish and Catsharks, to larger species like Frilled, Mackerel and Cow sharks, all the way to the second largest shark in the world, the Basking shark. 

Irish waters provide a refuge for an array of shark species. Tralee Bay, Co. Kerry provides a habitat for several rare and endangered sharks and their relatives, including the migratory tope shark, angel shark and undulate ray. This area is also the last European refuge for the extremely rare white skate. Through a European Maritime and Fisheries Fund (EMFF) project, Marine Institute scientists have been working with fishermen to assess the distribution, diversity, and monthly relative abundance of skates and rays in Tralee, Brandon and Dingle Bays.

“These areas off the southwest coast of Ireland are important internationally as they hold some of the last remaining refuges for angel shark and white skate,” said Dr Maurice Clarke of the Marine Institute. “This EMFF project has provided data confirming the critically endangered status of some species and provides up-to-date information for the development of fishery measures to eliminate by-catch.” 

Irish waters are also home to the Black Mouthed Catshark, Galeus melastomus, one of Ireland’s smallest shark species which can be found in the deep sea along the continental shelf. In 2018, Irish scientists discovered a very rare shark-nursery 200 nautical miles off the west coast by the Marine Institute’s ROV Holland 1 on a shelf sloping to 750 metres deep. 

There are two ways that sharks are born, either as live young or from egg casings. In the ‘case’ of Black Mouthed Catsharks, the nursery discovered in 2018, was notable by the abundance of egg casings or ‘mermaid’s purses’. Many sharks, rays and skate lay eggs, the cases of which often wash ashore. If you find an egg casing along the seashore, take a photo for Purse Search Ireland, a citizen science project focusing on monitoring the shark, ray and skate species around Ireland.

Another species also found by Irish scientists using the ROV Holland 1 in 2018 was a very rare type of dogfish, the Sail Fin Rough Shark, Oxynotus paradoxus. These sharks are named after their long fins which resemble the trailing sails of a boat, and live in the deep sea in waters up to 750m deep. Like all sharks, skates and rays, they have no bones. Their skeleton is composed of cartilage, much like what our noses and ears are made from! This material is much more flexible and lighter than bone which is perfect for these animals living without the weight of gravity.

Throughout history sharks have been portrayed as the monsters of the sea, a concept that science is continuously debunking. Basking sharks were named in 1765 as Cetorhinus maximus, roughly translated to the ‘big-nosed sea monster’. Basking sharks are filter feeders, often swimming with their mouths agape, they filter plankton from the water.

They are very slow moving and like to bask in the sun in shallow water and are often seen in Irish waters around Spring and early Summer. To help understand the migration of these animals to be better able to understand and conserve these species, the Irish Basking Shark Group have tagged and mapped their travels.

Remarkably, many sharks like the Angel Shark, Squatina squatina have the ability to sense electricity. They do this via small pores in their skin called the ‘Ampullae of Lorenzini’ which are able to detect the tiny electrical impulses of a fish breathing, moving or even its heartbeat from distances of over a kilometre! Angel sharks, often referred to as Monkfish have a distinctively angelic shape, with flattened, large fins appearing like the wings of an angel. They live on the seafloor in the coastal waters of Ireland and much like a cat are nocturnal, primarily active at night.

The intricate complexity of shark adaptations is particularly noticeable in the texture of their skin. Composed of miniscule, perfectly shaped overlapping scales, the skin of shark provides them with protection. Often shark scales have been compared to teeth due to their hard enamel structure. They are strong, but also due to their intricate shape, these scales reduce drag and allow water to glide past them so that the shark can swim more effortlessly and silently. This natural flawless design has been used as inspiration for new neoprene fabric designs to help swimmers glide through the water. Although all sharks have this feature, the Leafscale Gulper Shark, Centrophorus squamosus, found in Ireland are specifically named due to the ornate leaf-shape of their scales.