Galway duo Aifric Keogh and Fiona Murtagh have been named in the 17-person Ireland rowing squad for this summer’s Olympics in Paris.
The Tokyo bronze medalists are on their own this time, in the Women’s Pairs, and will begin their heats on Sunday, 28th July.
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The Olympic Federation of Ireland has officially selected the rowing team that will compete at the Olympic Games in Paris this summer.
A record number of crews has qualified for Team Ireland at these Games, with sixteen athletes to compete across seven boats. The rowing events occur in Vaires-sur-Marne Nautical Stadium, to the southeast of the city, and run from the 27 July until the 2 August.
The Team Ireland rowing team includes nine Tokyo Olympians and six rowers with Olympic medals. The qualification process for rowing at the Olympics involved crews winning quota spots for the nation at the World Championships last year, for the pairs and the doubles, and at the Final Olympic Qualification Regatta in Lucerne this year for the fours.
While the crews that will compete in Paris contain the same athletes that qualified those boats, the standard of rowing within Ireland ensured that the competition for selection for the crews was hard-fraught.
Thursday, 20 June, is the official team day for the Team Ireland rowers, which will see the athletes receiving their kit, and being honoured in front of their families and friends. Following this team day, the lightweight crews will continue on to Banyoles, Spain, where they finalise their training, and the rest of the team will train in Varese, Italy, before meeting in Paris in July.
Speaking on the official selection, Tokyo Olympic Champion, Fintan McCarthy, said,
“It’s been a great Olympic cycle for the whole team, and we are excited to just get out there in Paris and perform to our best. These opportunities don’t come around too often, so I’m looking forward to putting in the final touches over the coming weeks and enjoying it. In Paris, the atmosphere will be something else and a very different experience to Tokyo, and that’s something we are also excited about.”
Olympic Federation of Ireland Chef de Mission for Paris 2024, Gavin Noble said,
“In Ireland, we have such a strong tradition in rowing, and in Olympic rowing. In our centenary year, we should be entering a team of this calibre. The qualification of seven boats demonstrates the success of the high-performance rowing programme at the National Rowing Centre in Cork.
“We are looking forward to supporting the entire team, and their ambition, as they approach the Olympic regatta in Paris next month.”
Antonio Maurogiovanni, Rowing Performance Director said,
“We are delighted to be able to officially announce the team of rowers that will represent Ireland at this years Olympic Games. This event only comes around every four years, and showcases the pinnacle of rowing, with only a select few of the best crews in the world getting the opportunity to compete.
This is the largest rowing team that Ireland has ever sent to a games with 16 athletes set to race on the Olympic course. The focus remains on the preparation over the next five weeks, but today is a very exciting day for all athletes, coaches, families and support staff.
This brings to forty-eight the official number of athletes who have so far been selected to represent Team Ireland at Paris 2024, a Games that will see us celebrate our centenary competing as a nation at the Olympic Games. The team announcements for each sport will follow over the coming weeks, with the final team announcement scheduled for the beginning of July. The Olympic Games in Paris will run from the 24th July to the 11th August 2024, with the Opening Ceremony taking place on the 26th July.
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TEAM IRELAND PARIS ROWING ANNOUNCEMENT:
Men’s Lightweight Double Scull:
Paul O’Donovan (Skibbereen, Co. Cork)
Fintan McCarthy (Skibbereen, Co. Cork)
Women’s Lightweight Double Scull:
Margaret Cremen (Rochestown, Cork)
Aoife Casey (Skibbereen, Co. Cork)
Men’s Double Scull:
Philip Doyle (Banbridge, Co. Down)
Daire Lynch (Clonmel, Co. Tipperary)
Women’s Double Scull:
Zoe Hyde (Killorglin, Co. Kerry)
Alison Bergin (Kildinan, Co. Cork)
Men’s Pair:
Ross Corrigan (Enniskillen, Co. Fermanagh)
Nathan Timoney (Enniskillen, Co. Fermanagh)
Women’s Pair:
Aifric Keogh (Na Forbacha, Co. Galway)
Fiona Murtagh (Moycullen, Co. Galway)
Women’s Four:
Emily Hegarty (Skibbereen, Co. Cork)
Natalie Long (Cobh, Co. Cork/Johannesburg, South Africa)
Eimear Lambe (Cabra, Dublin)
Imogen Magner (Killavullen, Co. Cork/Cambridge, England)
Holly Davis (Ballincollig, Cork) (reserve)
