#Rowing: Shane O’Driscoll and Mark O’Donovan finished fast but could not nail down a place in the top three in their heat of the men’s pair at the World Cup Regatta in Belgrade this morning. The Ireland lightweight pair competed in this more difficult event to up their competitive programme. Three crews of the four qualified directly for the semi-finals and Ireland stayed close to the top three for much of the race. Coming up to the line Britain, the Netherlands and Spain had the places collared, despite a good sprint by O’Driscoll and O’Donovan.
World Cup Regatta, Belgrade Serbia, Day One (Selected Results; Irish interest)
Men
Pair – Heat Two (First Three to A/B Semi-Finals; rest to Repechage): 1 Britain 6:42.81, Netherlands 6:46.34, 3 Spain 6:50.69; 4 Ireland (M O’Donovan, S O’Driscoll) 6:53.50.
Women
Lightweight Single Sculls – Heat Two (First Two to A Final; rest to Repechage): 1 Ireland (D Walsh) 8:07.51, 2 Poland (J Dorociak) 8:08.22;
3 Switzerland Two 8:11.65