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Displaying items by tag: Denise Walsh

#Rowing: Ireland's lightweight double of Aoife Casey and Denise Walsh took fifth in their C Final, 17th overall at the World Rowing Championships in Linz-Ottensheim this morning. China were strong winners. Ireland came from sixth to fifth in the second half of the race. They had the fastest final 500 metres but were held out of fourth by Germany - by .68 of a second.

World Rowing Championshiops, Linz-Ottensheim, Day Seven (Irish interest)

Women

Lightweight Double Sculls - C Final (Places 13 to 18) 1 China 7:00.82; 5 Ireland (A Casey, D Walsh) 7:10.52.

Published in Rowing

#Rowing: Aoife Casey and Denise Walsh finished third in their C/D Semi-Final at the World Championships and qualified for the C Final. China, Germany and Ireland held that order through the great bulk of the race, but Ireland closed hard on Germany coming to the line, missing out on catching them by just .18 of a second.

World Rowing Championships, Linz-Ottensheim, Austria - Day Five (Irish interest)

Men

Lightweight Double Sculls - A/B Semi-Final Two (First Three to A Final; rest to B Final): 1 Ireland (F McCarthy, P O'Donovan) 6:13.46, 2 Germany 6:13.59, 3 Norway 6:14.15.

Lightweight Single Sculls A/B Semi-Final One (First Three to A Final; rest to B Final): 6 Ireland (G O'Donovan) 7:34.01.

Women

Four A/B Semi-Final Two (First Three to A Final; rest to B Final): 1 Australia 6:25.34, 2 Denmark 6:28.58, 3 Romania 6:30.96; 4 Ireland (T Hanlon, E Lambe, A Keogh, E Hegarty) 6:32.37.

Pair - A/B Semi-Final One (First Three to A Final; rest to B Final): 1 New Zealand 6:57.92, 2 United States 7:01.78, 3 Italy 7:01.80; 4 Ireland (A Crowley, M Dukarska) 7:03.05.

Lightweight Double Sculls - C/D Semi-Final One (First Three to C Final; rest to D Final): 3 Ireland (A Casey, D Walsh) 7:01.68.

Lightweight Single Sculls A/B Semi-Final One (First Three to A Final; rest to B Final): 6 Ireland (L Heaphy) 7:42.23.

Published in Rowing

#Rowing: Aoife Casey and Denise Walsh finished fourth in their heat and qualified for the quarter-finals of the lightweight double sculls at the World Rowing Championships in Linz, Austria. The top three in the race will all have ambitions of taking a medal come next weekend: France won from South Africa and China. Walsh and Casey did enough to stay clear of Thailand and nab the final qualification spot.

World Rowing Championships, Linz, Austria, Day One (Irish interest)

Men

Pair – Heat One (First Four to Quarter-Finals; rest to Repechage): 6 Ireland (M O’Donovan, S O’Driscoll) 6:50.51.

Lightweight Double Sculls – Heat Three (First Three to Quarter-Finals; rest to Repechage): 1 Ireland (F McCarthy, P O’Donovan) 6:28.02

Women

Pair – Heat Four (First Four to Quarter-Finals; rest to Repechage): 2 Ireland (A Crowley, M Dukarska) 7:13.30

Lightweight Double Sculls – Heat Four (First Four to Quarter-Finals; rest to Repechage): 4 Ireland (A Casey, D Walsh) 7:25.62.

Published in Rowing

#Rowing: Ireland's Aileen Crowley and Monika Dukarska took sixth in the A Final of the women's pairs at the World Cup Regatta in Rotterdam. Ireland featured well in the early stages, but Australia and New Zealand moved away. They would finish in that order after a good battle. Britain took the bronze. Ireland and Spain battled for fifth, with Spain taking it by 1.63 seconds.

 Lydia Heaphy and Denise Walsh finished sixth in their B Final of the lightweight double sculls, to take 12th overall.

World Cup Regatta, Rotterdam, Day Three (Irish interest)

Women

Pair - A Final: 1 Australia 7:26.15, 2 New Zealand 7:27.57, 3 Britain 7:40.51; Ireland (A Crowley, M Dukarska) 7:50.08.

Lightweight Double Sculls - B Final (places 7 to 12): 6 Ireland (L Heaphy, D Walsh) 7:45.98.

Published in Rowing

#Rowing: Paul O'Donovan and Fintan McCarthy brought the tally of Ireland A Finalists at the World Cup Regatta in Rotterdam to four with a second-placed finish in their semi-final. Germany's Jason Osborne and Jonathan Rommelmann, racing in the favoured lane one were the dominant crew, but the new Ireland lightweight double finished fast, coming to just about a length on the line.

The Ireland women's lightweight double were out in lane six in the revised lane draw in their semi and finished sixth. Lydia Heaphy and Denise Walsh are set for a B Final.

World Cup Regatta, Rotterdam, Day Two (Irish interest; morning session)

Men

Double Sculls - Semi-Final Two (First Three to A Final; rest to B Final): 1 Ireland (P Doyle, R Byrne) 6:33.47, 2 Germany 6:36.17, 3 Australia One 6:38.62

Lightweight Double Sculls - Semi-Final Two (First Three to A Final; rest to B Final): 1 Germany One 6:42.04, 2 Ireland (F McCarthy, P O'Donovan) 6:43.70, 3 Australia 6:50.80.

Lightweight Single Sculls - Semi-Final Two (First Three to A Final; rest to B Final): 1 Slovenia 7:22.30, 2 3 Ireland One (G O'Donovan) 7:25.89, 3 Switzerland 7:27.70; 4 Ireland Two (J McCarthy) 7:34.79.

Women

Pair - Semi-Final One (First Three to A Final; rest to B Final): 1 Romania One 7:34.61, 2 Ireland (A Crowley, M Dukarska) 7:37.87, 3 Spain 7:39.49.

Lightweight Double Sculls - Semi-Final Two (First Three to A Final; rest to B Final): 6 Ireland (L Heaphy, D Walsh) 7:49.87.

Published in Rowing

#Rowing: Ireland’s Philip Doyle and Ronan Byrne finished fourth in their B Final, tenth overall, at the European Rowing Championships in Lucerne this morning. In a good race with an exciting finish, Germany led off as if they intended to dominate. Ireland headed a pack of three who were closest to them. Lithuania were fastest through the last 700 metres and almost caught Germany on the line, while Ireland were pushed out of third by Italy by 17 hundredths of a second.

 Lydia Heaphy and Denise Walsh took sixth in their B Final, 12th overall. The Netherlands were impressive winners.

European Championships, Lucerne, Day Three (Irish interest)

Men

Double Sculls – B Final (Places 7 to 12): 1 Germany 6:19.30, 2 Lithuania 6:19.44, 3 Italy 6:22.64, 4 Ireland (P Doyle, R Byrne) 6:22.81

Women

Lightweight Double Sculls – B Final (Places 7 to 12): 1 Netherlands 7:05.12; 6 Ireland (D Walsh, L Heaphy) 7:22.38.

 

Published in Rowing

#Rowing: The McCarthy twins, Jake and Fintan, took their place in the A Final of the lightweight double sculls at the European Rowing Championships in Lucerne today. They slotted into third place in their semi-final, almost level with Spain after both crews had chased the winners, Germany. The Czech Republic missed out in fourth.

 The Ireland women’s lightweight double of Lydia Heaphy and Denise Walsh took sixth in their semi-final and go the the B Final.  

European Championships, Lucerne, Day Two (Irish interest)

Men

Double Sculls – Semi-Final One (First Three to A Final; rest to B Final): 1 Netherlands 6:11.71, 2 Britain 6:12.61, 3 France 6:13.81; 4 Ireland (P Doyle, R Byrne) 6:14.37.

Lightweight Double Sculls - Semi-Final One (First Three to A Final; rest to B Final): 1 Germany 6:16.29, 2 Spain 6:17.83, 3 Ireland (F McCarthy, J McCarthy) 6:17.97; 4 Czech Republic 6:18.78.

Lightweight Single Sculls – C Final (Places 13 to 17): 1 Austria (R Kepplinger) 7:09.42; 4 Ireland (G O’Donovan) 7:18.11.

Women

Lightweight Double Sculls – Semi-Final Two (First Three to A Final; rest to B Final): 1 Switzerland 6:55.47, 2 Italy 6:55.92, 3 Romania 6:56.25; 6 Ireland (D Walsh, L Heaphy) 7:18.75.

Published in Rowing

#Rowing: Jake and Fintan McCarthy produced a brilliant final sprint to take a place in the semi-finals of the lightweight double sculls at the European Rowing Championships in Lucerne today. Just two crews would go through, and Italy led the way. The world silver medallists stayed ahead of a tight pack of challengers, with Ukraine closest as they came to the line. But the McCarthy twins upped their rate and pushed Ukraine out of a qualifying spot by a quarter of a second.

 Lydia Heaphy and Denise Walsh, a new crew, did very well to qualify directly for their semi-final. They took the third and final qualifying spot in their heat. Switzerland and Britain fought it out at the head of the field, with Ireland holding off Spain and Sweden.

European Championships, Lucerne, Day One (Irish interest)

Men

Double Sculls – Heat One (First Two to A/B Semi-Finals; rest to Repechages): 1 Ireland (P Doyle, R Byrne) 6:26.53, 2 Romania 6:29.62.

Lightweight Double Sculls – Heat Two (First Two to A/B Semi-Finals; rest to Repechages): 1 Italy (S Oppo, P Ruta) 6:14.73, 2 Ireland (J McCarthy, F McCarthy) 6:16.07; 3 Ukraine 6:16.32.

Lightweight Single Sculls – Heat One (First Two to A/B Semi-Finals; rest to Repechages): 1 Italy (M Goretti) 7:05.54, 2 Switzerland (J Schaeuble) 7:06.73; 6 Ireland (G O’Donovan) 7:34.73.

Women

Single Sculls – Heat Three (First Two to A/B Semi-Finals; rest to Repechages): 1 Ireland (S Puspure) 7:30.65, Britain (V Thornley) 7:35.35

Lightweight Double Sculls – Heat Three (First Three to A/B Semi-Finals; rest to Repechages): 1 Switzerland 6:57.58, 2 Britain 6:58.61,  Ireland (D Walsh, L Heaphy) 7:14.55.

Published in Rowing

#Rowing: Ireland’s Aoife Casey and Denise Walsh showed the Skibbereen skill for sprinting to good effect as they worn their C Final of the women’s lightweight double sculls at the World Championships in Plovdiv. They were fourth at 500 metres, but they sped up the rankings through the middle 1,000 and led with 500 metres to go. They took it home from there, with Austria second and Germany third. Ireland placed 13th in the World because of this result.

Shane O’Driscoll and Mark O’Donovan took fourth in their C Final, 16th overall, in the men’s pair. The race was won by Australia’s Andrew Judge and Joseph O’Brien, while O’Donovan and O’Driscoll produced a remarkable change of pace to challenge the leaders, but Poland and the United States had pushed in between them and the leaders on the line.

World Rowing Championships, Plovdiv, Bulgaria, Day Seven (Irish interest):

Men

Pair – C Final (places 13 to 18): 1 Australia 6:23.81; 4 Ireland (M O’Donovan, S O’Driscoll) 6:29.19.

Lightweight Double Sculls – A Final: 1 Ireland (G O’Donovan, P O’Donovan) 6:06.81, 2 Italy 6:08.31, 3 Belgium 6:11.25.

Women

Pair – A Final: 1 Canada 6:50.67, 2 New Zealand 6:52.96, 3 Spain 7:04.60; 6 Ireland (A Keogh, E Hegarty) 7:15.70.

Lightweight Double Sculls – C Final (places 13 to 18): 1 Ireland (A Casey, D Walsh) 7:05.77, 2 Austria 7:08.29, 3 Germany 7:09.12.

Published in Rowing

#Rowing: Aoife Casey and Denise Walsh won their C/D Semi-Final and qualfied for the C Final at the World Rowing Championships in Plovdiv today. The first two would go to the C Final, and it was clear early in the race that these would be Spain and Ireland. Thailand trailed this two. Spain led and looked set to win – but Casey and Walsh won the battle at the head of the field with Spain.

World Rowing Championships, Plovdiv, Bulgaria, Day Five (Irish interest)

Men

Pair – Quarter-Final Four (Three to A/B Semi-Finals; rest to C/D Semi-Finals): 1 Canada 6:26.04, 2 New Zealand 6:30.36, 3 Czech Republic 6:35.01; 5 Ireland (M O’Donovan, S O’Driscoll) 6:44.28.

Double Sculls – Repechage Four (First Two to A/B Semi-Final):

Ireland (P Doyle, R Byrne) 6:16.96, 2 Bulgaria 6:20.15.

Lightweight Double – Semi-Final Two (Three to A Final; rest to B Final): 1 Italy 6:21.94, 2 Belgium 6:22.83, 3 Ireland (G O’Donovan, P O’Donovan) 6:23.78.

Women

Pair – Semi-Final (Three to A Final; rest to B Final): 1 Ireland (A Keogh, E Hegarty) 7:14.67, 2 Italy 7:14.99, 3 Spain 7:15.30.

Lightweight Double Sculls – C/D Semi-Final (First Two to C Final; rest to D Final): 1 Ireland (A Casey, D Walsh) 7:20.51, 2 Spain 7:24.08.

Published in Rowing
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About The Middle Sea Race

The Rolex Middle Sea Race is a highly rated offshore classic, often mentioned in the same breath as the Rolex Fastnet, The Rolex Sydney–Hobart and Newport-Bermuda as a 'must do' race. The Royal Malta Yacht Club and the Royal Ocean Racing Club co-founded the race in 1968 and 2007 was the 28th Edition. Save for a break between 1984 and 1995 the event has been run annually attracting 25–30 yachts. In recent years, the number of entries has rissen sharply to 68 boats thanks to a new Organising Committee who managed to bring Rolex on board as title sponsor for the Middle Sea Race.

The race is a true challenge to skippers and crews who have to be at their very best to cope with the often changeable and demanding conditions. Equally, the race is blessed with unsurpassed scenery with its course, taking competitors close to a number of islands, which form marks of the course. Ted Turner described the MSR as "the most beautiful race course in the world".

Apart from Turner, famous competitors have included Eric Tabarly, Cino Ricci, Herbert von Karajan, Jim Dolan, Sir Chay Blyth and Sir Francis Chichester (fresh from his round the world adventure). High profile boats from the world's top designers take part, most in pursuit of line honours and the record – competing yachts include the extreme Open 60s, Riviera di Rimini and Shining; the maxis, Mistress Quickly, Zephyrus IV and Sagamore; and the pocket rockets such as the 41-foot J-125 Strait Dealer and the DK46, Fidessa Fastwave.

In 2006, Mike Sanderson and Seb Josse on board ABN Amro, winner of the Volvo Ocean Race, the super Maxis; Alfa Romeo and Maximus and the 2006 Rolex Middle Sea Race overall winner, Hasso Platner on board his MaxZ86, Morning Glory.

George David on board Rambler (ex-Alfa Romeo) managed a new course record in 2007 and in 2008, Thierry Bouchard on Spirit of Ad Hoc won the Rolex Middle Sea Race on board a Beneteau 40.7

The largest number of entries was 78 established in 2008.

Middle Sea Race History

IN THE BEGINNING

The Middle Sea Race was conceived as the result of sporting rivalry between great friends, Paul and John Ripard and an Englishman residing in Malta called Jimmy White, all members of the Royal Malta Yacht Club. In the early fifties, it was mainly British servicemen stationed in Malta who competitively raced. Even the boats had a military connection, since they were old German training boats captured by the British during the war. At the time, the RMYC only had a few Maltese members, amongst who were Paul and John Ripard.

So it was in the early sixties that Paul and Jimmy, together with a mutual friend, Alan Green (later to become the Race Director of the Royal Ocean Racing Club), set out to map a course designed to offer an exciting race in different conditions to those prevailing in Maltese coastal waters. They also decided the course would be slightly longer than the RORC's longest race, the Fastnet. The resulting course is the same as used today.

Ted Turner, CEO of Turner Communications (CNN) has written that the Middle Sea Race "must be the most beautiful race course in the world. What other event has an active volcano as a mark of the course?"

In all of its editions since it was first run in 1968 – won by Paul Ripard's brother John, the Rolex Middle Sea Race has attracted many prestigious names in yachting. Some of these have gone on to greater things in life and have actually left their imprint on the world at large. Amongst these one finds the late Raul Gardini who won line honours in 1979 on Rumegal, and who spearheaded the 1992 Italian Challenge for the America's Cup with Moro di Venezia.

Another former line honours winner (1971) who has passed away since was Frenchman Eric Tabarly winner of round the world and transatlantic races on Penduik. Before his death, he was in Malta again for the novel Around Europe Open UAP Race involving monohulls, catamarans and trimarans. The guest list for the Middle Sea Race has included VIP's of the likes of Sir Francis Chichester, who in 1966 was the first man to sail around the world single-handedly, making only one stop.

The list of top yachting names includes many Italians. It is, after all a premier race around their largest island. These include Navy Admiral Tino Straulino, Olympic gold medallist in the star class and Cino Ricci, well known yachting TV commentator. And it is also an Italian who in 1999 finally beat the course record set by Mistress Quickly in 1978. Top racing skipper Andrea Scarabelli beat it so resoundingly, he knocked off over six hours from the time that had stood unbeaten for 20 years.

World famous round the world race winners with a Middle Sea Race connection include yachting journalist Sir Robin Knox-Johnston and Les Williams, both from the UK.

The Maxi Class has long had a long and loving relationship with the Middle Sea Race. Right from the early days personalities such as Germany's Herbert Von Karajan, famous orchestra conductor and artistic director of the Berliner Philarmoniker, competing with his maxi Helisara IV. Later came Marvin Greene Jr, CEO of Reeves Communications Corporation and owner of the well known Nirvana (line honours in 1982) and Jim Dolan, CEO of Cablevision, whose Sagamore was back in 1999 to try and emulate the line honours she won in 1997.

THE COURSE RECORD

The course record was held by the San Francisco based, Robert McNeil on board his Maxi Turbo Sled Zephyrus IV when in 2000, he smashed the Course record which now stands at 64 hrs 49 mins 57 secs. Zephyrus IV is a Rechiel-Pugh design. In recent years, various maxis such as Alfa Romeo, Nokia, Maximus and Morning Glory have all tried to break this course record, but the wind Gods have never played along. Even the VOR winner, ABN AMro tried, but all failed in 2006.

However, George David came along on board Rambler in 2007 and demolished the course record established by Zephyrus IV in 2000. This now stands at 1 day, 23 hours, 55 minutes and 3 seconds.

At A Glance - Middle Sea Race 2024

First held: 1968

Organising Authority: Royal Malta Yacht Club

Start

The 45th Rolex Middle Sea Race will start on Saturday, 19 October 2024.

Grand Harbour, Valletta: seven separate starts, at 10-minute intervals, from 11:00 CEST Saturday, 21 October 2024

Start Line: between the Saluting Battery, Upper Barrakka Gardens (Valletta) and Fort St Angelo (Birgu)

Various vantage points all around the Grand Harbour, high up on the bastions or at water level. Harbour access for spectator boats is restricted during the period of the start.

Course

Set in the heart of the Mediterranean and is considered one of the most beautiful in the world. It starts and finishes in Malta, passes two active volcanoes and takes in the deep azure waters surrounding Sicily, and the Aeolian and Egadi Islands, as well as lonelier outposts of Pantelleria and Lampedusa, both closer to the African continent than Europe.

Length: 606 nautical miles (1,122km)

Outright Race Record: 33h 29m 28s, Argo, United States, Jason Carroll

Monohull Race Record: 40h 17m 50s, Comanche, Cayman Is, Mitch Booth

Main Trophies

Rolex Middle Sea Race Trophy – overall race winner under IRC Time Correction

Boccale de Mediterraneo – winner of ORC category

RLR Trophy – winner of monohull line honours

Captain Morgan Trophy – winner of multihull division on corrected time (MOCRA)

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