Three Irish rowing crews have qualified for the A and B finals at the World Rowing Championships in Belgrade, Serbia, and secured their spots at the Paris Olympics next summer.
Irish Women's Pair Aifric Keogh and Fiona Murtagh. With a second-place finish, the two Galway rowers are into the A Final. Murtagh and Keogh have shown good speed throughout this Championships and will be leaving it all on the line this Saturday in the hopes of making it on to that podium. at the World Rowing Championships in Belgrade, Serbia
Fiona Murtagh and Aifric Keogh put in an impressive performance to secure a women's pair spot for Ireland. The duo finished second in their semi-final, just behind the Romanian pair of Roxana Anghel and Ioana Vrinceanu.
22 year old Nathan Timoney and 24 year old Ross Corrigan have been on top form this week and have today qualified a men's pair for Ireland at Paris 2024. Timoney and Corrigan grew up rowing together with Enniskillen Royal BC in Fermanagh and are putting themselves up there with the top crews here at the World Championships. Ireland went out hard and held second position right from the start. With South Africa hot on their heels coming into the final sprint, they took it up another gear finishing with the fastest final 500. Their second place result sends them through to Saturday's A Final where they'll race the best of the best.
Nathan Timoney and Ross Corrigan also secured a men's pair spot for Ireland at Paris 2024. The pair came in second in their semi-final, with South Africa hot on their heels in the final sprint.
Reigning Olympic and World Champions Paul O'Donovan and Fintan McCarthy have secured a spot at Paris for the lightweight men's double. Making it look easy, O'Donovan and McCarthy held their composure through the first half of the race, passing the first marker in fifth place and the halfway mark in second place. Relying on their incredible strength and fitness, they were able to focus on their own race and one by one came through the other crews. In the end they finished with clear water ahead of the field with Czechia and Norway coming in behind them to take the remaining two spots to the A Final
Reigning Olympic and World Champions Paul O'Donovan and Fintan McCarthy secured a spot in the lightweight men's double, dominating their semi-final and finishing with clear water ahead of the field.
However, the lightweight women's double of Margaret Cremen and Aoife Casey narrowly missed out on an A final spot and will race in the B final on Saturday.
Eimear Lambe, Sanita Puspure, Imogen Magner, and Natalie Long finished in fifth place in the women's four, sending them through to the B final.
Siobhán McCrohan put in a stellar performance in the lightweight women's scull, winning her A/B semi-final and securing a place in the A final.
Tribesmen's Siobhán McCrohan is into the lightweight women's scull A Final after a win in her A/B Semi. Handling the tough conditions like a pro, McCrohan sailed over the waves and held a consistent speed throughout the race. Moving into the leading position in the third quarter, there was no looking back as she continued to pull away from the other crews. She will race the A Final tomorrow afternoon where she will be looking for a place on the podium.
Siobhán McCrohan in the lightweight women's scull at the World Rowing Championships in Bled, Slovenia
Jake McCarthy will compete in the D final of the lightweight men's scull against New Zealand, Norway, Azerbaijan, Georgia, and Finland.
All six crews have done Ireland proud, and rowing fans will be eagerly anticipating their performances in the A and B finals.
Day 5 Results (Irish interest)
Women's Pair A/B Semi 2nd -> A Final and Olympic Qualification
Men's Pair A/B Semi 2nd -> A Final and Olympic Qualification
Lightweight Men's Double A/B Semi 1st -> A Final and Olympic Qualification
Lightweight Women's Double A/B Semi 4th -> B Final
Women's Four A/B Semi 5th -> B Final
Lightweight Women's Scull A/B Semi 1st -> A Final
Lightweight Men's Scull A/B Semi 6th -> D Final
Friday Schedule (IST)
9:45am - Men's Double A/B Semi
9:55am - Women's Double A/B Semi
12:05pm - Lightweight Men's D Final
13:15pm - Lightweight Women's A Final
