Two more Irish rowing crews have joined the four already qualified for the Tokyo Olympics this summer after this morning’s (Sunday 16 May) races in Lucerne, as The Irish Times reports.
The women’s four of Emily Hegarty, Eimear Lambe, Aifric Keogh and Fiona Murtagh led the charge in their A Final ahead of China, where as previously reported on Afloat.ie only the top two were guaranteed Olympic places.
Meanwhile, the lightweight women’s double pairing of Aoife Casey and Margaret Cremen finished third behind the US and home team Switzerland to confirm their spot in Tokyo.
Elsewhere, Daire Lynch missed out on the men’s single scull final after he finished fourth in his A/B semi.
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The Irish Times has more on the story HERE.
Rowing Ireland adds:
The Irish Rowing Team qualified an additional two boats for the Olympics. There will now be six boats representing Ireland in Tokyo this summer.
The Irish crews led by High-Performance Director Antonio Maurogiovanni and Coaches Dominic Casey and Giuseppe De Vita all had strong performances over the two days. They secured the two extra Olympic boats on Sunday morning.
The Women’s Four of Emily Hegarty, Eimear Lambe, Aifric Keogh and Fiona Murtagh qualified their boat by winning the Women’s Four Final and taking one of the two available slots. The Irish crew beat crews from China, Italy, Russia, Ukraine and the Czech Republic. Emily, Eimear, Aifric and Fiona dominate the race, and they finished with a time of 06:31.99. The Women’s Four will now compete in the Tokyo Olympics later this summer.
Aoife Casey and Margaret Cremen secured the Lightweight Women’s Double for the Olympics by finishing third in the Final. They fought hard throughout the race and caught the Chinese boat in the final 600 meters, and took the last Olympic Spot. Aoife and Margaret finished with a time of 07:09.22 to secure their spot for Tokyo.
Earlier in the morning, Aoife and Margaret finished second in their Semi-Final and qualified for the Final. They beat crews from China, Denmark, Greece and Brazil and finished behind the boat from the United States. Aoife and Margaret finished with a time of 07:21:23 and progressed to the Final.
Daire Lynch finished fourth in the Men’s Single Scull Semi-Final this morning. Daire faced tough competitors from Poland, Canada, Romania, Chile and Austria. Daire narrowly missed out on a place in the Final, the Romanian sculler who finished less than half a second ahead. Daire finished with a racing time of 07:05.46 after a strong performance throughout the two days.
Rowing Ireland’s High-Performance Director, Antonio Maurogiovanni, said, “We are very proud of all of the performances from our athletes this weekend, and all seven athletes gave a brave and spirited effort in each of their races over the two days.
We are delighted that the Women’s Four and Lightweight Women’s Double qualified their boats for the Olympics this summer. All of the team performed strongly this weekend. Daire narrowly missed out on the Final and gained invaluable experience this weekend that will benefit him for Paris 2024. Margaret and Aoife have continued to grow and develop in the double, and we are delighted that they qualified for the Olympics. Congratulations to Aifric, Eimear, Fiona and Emily for qualifying the Women’s Four Boat with a strong performance in their Heat and the Final
We have six boats confirmed and qualified for Tokyo, and we continue to train and prepare for the upcoming Olympics. Having these six crews qualified at the next Tokyo Olympic Games has put Ireland in a very challenging and exciting position not just for Tokyo but also for Paris 2024. As we all know, this is also year 1 of the 2024 cycle and the current Rowing Ireland squad, if well supported, has everything to keep the fantastic momentum going.
Behind these results, there is a huge amount of systematic work of athletes, coaches, and administrators that need to be reinforced and more supported to consolidate the current level.
I want to thank all of the athletes, coaches, support staff and their clubs and families for their continued support as we continue to move forward in Irish Rowing and look forward to competing again next weekend.”
Irish Results
M1x – Daire Lynch – 4th – A/B Semi-Final
W4- Emily Hegarty, Eimear Lambe, Aifric Keogh & Fiona Murtagh – 1st -Final
LW2x – Aoife Casey & Margaret Cremen – 3rd – Final
Six Irish Boats Qualified For the Tokyo Olympics
Women’s Single Scull (W1x) – Qualified by Sanita Puspure
Lightweight Men’s Double (LM2x) – Qualified by Paul O’Donovan and Fintan McCarthy
Men’s Double (M2x) – Qualified by Ronan Byrne and Philip Doyle
Women’s Pair (W2-) – Qualified by Monika Dukarska and Aileen Crowley
Women’s Four (W4-) – Qualified by Aifric Keogh, Eimear Lambe, Emily Hegarty and Fiona Murtagh
Lightweight Women’s Double (LW2x) – Qualified by Margaret Cremen and Aoife Casey
