Rowing Ireland has entered in 11
crews to compete at the World Rowing Championships in Linz, Austria. The team
with an average age of 24.5 years was finalised last weekend following final
trials that led to their selection.
Olympic Qualification possible for seven of the boats competing
throughout the week;
The W2- crew of Monika Dukarska
(Killorglin) and Aileen Crowley (OCBC), will require a top 11 finish to qualify
the W2- boat for Tokyo. Monika and Aileen finished 6th in A Final at the World
Cup III in July and 5th in the B Final in the World Cup II as part of the Irish
Women’s Four crew.
The M2- crew of Mark O’Donovan and
Shane O’Driscoll (Skibbereen Rowing Club) will also need to finish in the top
11 to qualify the M2- boat for Tokyo. The pair have had success at LM2- and won
Gold in the 2017 World Rowing Championships that was held in Sarasota, Florida
The M2x crew of Philp Doyle (Queen’s
University) and Ronan Byrne (UCC) need a top 11 ranking also to qualify the
boat for the Olympics next year. After a slow Winter start due to commitments
from Phil to finish his medical career, they took home the Silver Medal at the
World Cup III in July.
The newly formed Women's four of
Aifric Keogh (UCC), Eimear Lambe (UCD), Tara Hanlon (UCC) and Emily Hegarty
(UCC) need to finish in a top 8 position to bring this boat to Tokyo. Eimear,
Tara and Emily competed in the World Rowing U23 Championship recently and
brought home a formidable Silver Medal. Aifric Keogh returns to competition
following a short period of illness. Aifric finished 6th in the 2018 World
Rowing Championships in the women’s pair with her partner Emily Hegarty.
Reigning World and European Champion
Sanita Puspure (Old Collegians) will be competing in the W1x boat and she will
need to finish in the top ninth to qualify her Olympic boat.
The lightweight double crew
(LW2x) of Denise Walsh (Skibbereen) and Aoife Casey (UCC) need a top seventh
finish to qualify the LW2x boat. Denise and Aoife previously finished 1st in
the C Final in the World Rowing Championships 2018.
The lightweight double of Paul O’Donovan (UCC) and Fintan McCarthy (Skibbereen) will need to finish seventh to qualify what is the last of the lightweight rowing event left in the sport of rowing. Fintan and Paul recently took home Silver at the World Rowing Cup III in Rotterdam. Fintan finished 5th in this same category with Jake McCarthy at the European Championships this year. Paul won gold with his 2018 partner Gary O’Donovan at the 2018 World Championships in the Lightweight Men’s Double and the pair also won Silver in the 2016 Olympics in Rio.
Lydia Heaphy (Skibbereen Rowing Club)
will be representing Ireland. Lydia has competed at the U23 World Championships
last year, finishing 5th in the LW2x B Final with Margaret Cremen. Lydia also
competed with Denise Walsh at the European Championships and World Cup III this
year finishing 6th in the B Final
Gary O’Donovan (Skibbereen Rowing
Club) will be competing in the LM1x category. Gary took home a Bronze Medal in
the LM1x category at the World Cup III in July. Gary won Gold at the 2018 World
Championships in Bulgaria, Silver at the 2018 European Championships with his
brother Paul and a Silver Medal in the 2016 Rio Olympics.
Hugh Sutton (UCC), Ryan Ballantine
(Portora/Newcastle), Miles Taylor (Queen’s University) and Jake
McCarthy(Skibbereen) are competing in the LM4x boat. Ryan, Miles and Hugh
won Bronze in the World Rowing U23 Championships in Sarasota last month. Jake
competed at the European Championships in Lucerne in May and finished 5th in
the A Final with his brother Fintan. Jake and Ryan competed in the JM4x
category at the 2018 World Rowing Championships and finished 5th in the A
Final.
Katie O’Brien (Galway Rowing Club/UCD) is representing Ireland in the PR2 (Paralympic) W1x category. Katie previously finished 6th in the A Final in World Rowing Cup 2013 in Eton. Katie won a Gold medal at the Henley Women’s Regatta and the Home International Regatta.
Claire Feerick (Neptune) and Natalie Long
(Skibbereen) will be attending as the Irish Alternatives for the World Rowing
Championships.
CEO of Rowing Ireland, Michelle
Carpenter said “We are delighted to send our biggest team to this key event in
the International Rowing calendar. These athletes and coaching team led by our
High-Performance Director Antonio Maurogiovanni, have dedicated their lives
over the last years to our sport. We together with their clubs and our
stakeholders and sponsors look forward to cheering them on the World stage as
they compete and represent Rowing Ireland so well."
The draw for the heats on Saturday
24th at 2 pm (GMT +1).
Racing begins on Sunday 25th August,
W2-, M2-, LM2x, LW2x, W4-, LM1x, LW1x, W1x and M2x crews will all have their
heats on Sunday. LM4x will race their heat on Monday and the PR2 W1x Irish boat
will have their first race on Wednesday.
RTE will be covering the
final two days of racing live on RTE 2 on Saturday and Sunday.
Live Commentary and Video will be
available on World Rowing’s website.
Confirmed List:
W2-
Aileen Crowley (OC BC)
Monika Dukarska (Kilorglin)
M2-
Mark O’Donovan (Skibbereen)
Shane O’Driscoll (Skibbereen)
M2x
Philip Doyle (QUBBC)
Ronan Byrne (UCC)
W4-
Aifric Keogh (UCC)
Eimear Lambe (UCD)
Tara Hanlon (UCC)
Emily Hegarty (UCC)
W1x
Sanita Puspure (OC BC)
LW2x
Aoife Casey (UCC)
Denise Walsh (Skibbereen)
LM2x
Fintan McCarthy (Skibbereen)
Paul O’Donovan (UCC)
LW1x
Lydia Heaphy (Skibbereen)
LM1x
Gary O’Donovan (Skibbereen)
LM4x
Hugh Sutton (UCC)
Ryan Ballantine (Newcastle)
Miles Taylor (QUBBC)
Jake McCarthy (Skibbereen)
PR2 W1x
Katie O’Brien (Galway Rowing Club/UCD)
Alternates
Claire Feerick (Neptune)
Natalie Long (Skibbereen)
