Rowing Ireland’s High-Performance Director, Antonio Maurogiovanni, has announced the athletes that will represent Ireland at World Cup II, and he has also reviewed this week's Final Olympic Qualification Regatta which saw Ireland's women's four qualify for Paris 2024.
"The Final Olympic Qualification Regatta is notoriously challenging, especially since only two crews in most boat classes secure Olympic spots, creating a high-pressure environment for athletes.
Despite these challenges, our team performed admirably over the past few days. We managed to make the A Finals in all three events we entered and successfully qualified the Women’s Four for the Paris Olympics," Maurogiovanni said.
Rowing Ireland’s High-Performance Director, Antonio Maurogiovanni
"The team's strong performance can be attributed to the rigorous preparation conducted both in Cork and during our camp in Varese. This thorough preparation undoubtedly contributed to our success", he noted.
"Rowing Ireland had one crew in 2012 and three crews in 2016 to qualifying six crews in 2020 and eight (including a Para crew) in 2024"
"With the addition of the Women’s Four, we have now qualified a record number of seven boats for the Olympics, along with one boat for the Paralympics. This brings our total of eight boats qualified, with 18 athletes set to compete in Paris this summer, making it the largest team we have ever sent to the Olympics", Maurogiovanni added.
"Notably, Konan Pazzaia, who was part of our U23 Men’s squad last year and won a gold medal in the Men’s Double at the U23 World Championships, finished an impressive 6th out of 32 scullers. His near qualification at such a young age highlights his immense potential for the future", he said.
"Unfortunately, Sanita did not achieve the result she deserved despite convincingly winning her heat and semifinal" he commented.
The strongest of 57 National Olympic Committee (NOC) teams will be Romania and the United States (12 boats), Great Britain and the Netherlands (10 boats), Australia and New Zealand (9 boats), Italy (8 boats), Ireland and Germany (7 boats) and finally Switzerland (6 boats).
Rowing Ireland went from having one crew in 2012 and three crews in 2016 to qualifying six crews in 2020 and eight (including a Para crew) in 2024.
"Our coaches team, medical staff, and team managers have been instrumental in this success, dedicating significant effort to training the crews and providing invaluable assistance throughout the training camp and the racing week" he said.
"We will review the overall situation and soon finalise the official Olympic team and prepare it for the Games" he said.
"As we shift our focus to the Olympic Games in July, we are preparing for our next challenge at World Cup II in Lucerne this coming weekend. We aim to get as much information as possible and achieve positive results there to bolster our preparations for Paris", Maurogiovanni concluded.
Racing will take place from the 24th May – 26th May in Lucerne, Switzerland.
Selected Irish Crews for Rowing World Cup II
Women’s Pair
Fiona Murtagh (University of Galway BC)
Aifric Keogh (Grainne Mhaol)
Men’s Pair
John Kearney (University College Cork RC)
Ross Corrigan (Portora BC)
Women’s Double
Alison Bergin (Fermoy RC)
Zoe Hyde (Tralee RC)
Men’s Double
Brian Colsh (University of Galway BC)
Andrew Sheehan (University College Cork RC)
Lightweight Women’s Double
Margaret Cremen (University College Cork RC)
Aoife Casey (Skibbereen RC)
Lightweight Men’s Double
Paul O'Donovan (Skibbereen RC)
Fintan McCarthy (Skibbereen RC)
Lightweight Women’s Single
Siobhán McCrohan (Tribesmen RC)
PR2 Men’s Singles
Steven McGowan (Galway RC)
Tiarnán O'Donnell (Lee RC)
Coaching Team
Antonio Maurogiovanni - High Performance Director
Dominic Casey - Head Lightweight Coach
Giuseppe DeVita - Head Women's Coach
Ashlee Rowe - Women's Coach
Nicolo Maurogiovanni - Men's Coach
David Breen - Paralympic Coach
Support Staff
Michael O'Rourke - Team Manager
Heather O'Brien - Team Physio
