The European Championships is an exciting new multi-sport event bringing together some of the continent’s leading sports including the existing European Championships for Athletics, Aquatics, Cycling, Gymnastics, Rowing and Triathlon with a new Golf Team Championships.
To be staged every four years following the inaugural event this August 2018, the European Championships will be a new highlight on the global sporting calendar, elevating the status of European Champions during an 11-day celebration of world-class sport and a packed 10-day broadcast schedule.
The European Championships will be co-hosted by Glasgow and Berlin, with Athletics taking place in the German capital, while the European Rowing Championships will take place in Strathclyde Park, Glasgow over four days from Thursday August 2nd – Sunday August 5th.
A small but strong team of six athletes will represent Rowing Ireland on the international stage at the European Rowing Championships this weekend under the guidance of coach, Dominic Casey. Recently appointed CEO, Michelle Carpenter and Team Manager, Susan Dunlea, will also be in attendance.
Olympic silver medallists and World Rowing Cup III gold medal winners, Gary and Paul O’Donovan will race in the lightweight men’s double sculls against 19 boats from 17 nations. All eyes will be on the O’Donovan brothers, who themselves will be watching the crews from Italy, Belgium and Norway, who are all hot medal contenders at the European Championships.
Reigning World Champions in the lightweight men’s pair event, Mark O’Donovan and Shane O’Driscoll will compete for Ireland in the men’s (heavyweight) pair category. This is a tough field for the Irish pair who are still in the process of transitioning to heavyweight. However, having placed ninth in this category at World Cup III in Lucerne, the pair plans to continue their campaign at the European Championships with the long term goal of qualifying for the 2020 Olympics.
2016 European Silver medallist in the lightweight women’s sculls category, Denise Walsh, will race with her club mate Aoife Casey (daughter of coach, Dominic Casey) in the lightweight women’s double sculls category in Glasgow. This is a relatively new boat combination that is still being tested but which also recently won the women’s senior double sculls at the 2018 Irish Rowing Championships in July. Aoife Casey, aged just 19 years old, who only completed her Leaving Certificate in June, also won Silver at the European Junior Rowing Championships in May 2016. Competing at senior European level will be a big step up for her but she will have the support of her more experienced crew mate and of course, her coach and father.
Irish crews and race times at the 2018 European Rowing Championships
Heats - Thursday August 1st:
9.54am: M2- (men’s pair) – Mark O’Donovan & Shane O’Driscoll
12.34pm: LW2x (lightweight women’s double sculls) – Denise Walsh & Aoife Casey
12.58pm: LM2x (lightweight men’s double sculls) – Gary O’Donovan, Paul O’Donovan
