The European Rowing Championships on Lake Bled, Slovenia are over, and Ireland won't be coming home with any medals.
Brian Colsh showed his strength in the middle of the C Final of the Men's Scull. Passing the first 500m mark in sixth place, Colsh gained three positions by the last 500m. Winding it up for his sprint, Brian finished it out by taking Bahman Nasiri of Azerbaijan and finishing in second place behind Poland.
The Men's Four of John Kearney, Ross Corrigan, Nathan Timoney and Fionnán McQuillan-Tolan narrowly missed out on a third place finish in the B Final. Fighting with Ukraine to the line, Ireland just missed out by .7 of a second, to finish in fourth. Overall it was a very tight race with only two seconds separating first place from fourth place.
Long and Magner put on a stellar performance this morning, winning the B Final of the Women's Pair. In their third 500m, they put on a push and moved from third place to first. They held this lead right to the finish, beating the Czech Republic, Italy, France and Poland. This crew has made their mark on the international stage this weekend, a superb debut for Imogen Magner.
Just outside of the medals, Tribesmen's Siobhan McCrohan finished fourth in the Lightweight Women's Scull. Sitting in sixth place for the middle 1k, Siobhán flipped a switch for the last 500m to challenge Kristyna Neuhortova of the Czech Republic for the bronze medal. Leaving her sprint slightly too late, McCrohan finished just .27 behind to take fourth.
PR2 Mixed Double of Katie O'Brien and Steven McGowan had their best race yet finishing in a competitive fifth place in the A Final. Through the middle of the race there was nothing separating Poland, Ukraine and Ireland for third place. Closing the gap again to the 2022 World Medallists, Katie and Steven continue to go from strength to strength.
Zoe Hyde and Sanita Puspure had a tough race in the A Final of the Women's double and struggled to get going from the start. In a very competitive field Ireland placed 6th, with France, Lithuania and Romania finishing in Gold, Silver and Bronze.
It was Philip Doyle and Daire Lynch who finished out the European Championships for Ireland in the A Final of the Men's Double. In another extremely close finish for the medals, Doyle and Lynch were just .6 of a second shy from taking the bronze medals from Olympic Silver Medallists, the Netherlands. In slightly bouncier conditions than previous days it made it that little bit more difficult to wind it up at the finish. This weekend is a great starting point for the new crew as they look towards the remainder of the racing season.
Ireland Results at 2023 European Rowing Championships
M2x - 4th A Final
LW1x - 4th A Final
W4- - 5th A Final
LW2x - 5th A Final
PR2 Mix2x - 5th A Final
LM2x - 6th A Final
W2x - 6th A Final
W2- - 1st B Final
M4- - 4th B Final
M1x - 2nd C Final
