Familiar rowers, many in different boats, and some perhaps surprisingly positive results for the Irish crews on day two of the World Rowing Championships in Belgrade.
Chief among those were Zoe Hyde and Alison Bergin, winning their opening heat of the women’s double, with the promise it seems of more to come.
Conditions at the Ada Ciganlija regatta course on Sava Lake, in the heart of the Serbian capital, were much less appealing than Sunday; the entire schedule was brought forward and tightened due to a gloomy afternoon forecast.
Seven Irish boats took to the water in all, four finishing with their desired results, with Hyde and Bergin the only ones to come out on top. Last year, Hyde partnered Sanita Puspure in the double that won a bronze medal, with Bergin, still only 21, coming in this time.
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Despite their relative lack of experience, the passed pre-race favourites Lithuania in the last quarter, winning in 6:59.39. Lithuania held on for second in 7:02.26, only on this display Hyde and Bergin will certainly be thinking about progressing straight from their semi-final too.
In the women’s lightweight double sculls, Aoife Casey and Margaret Cremen held on for second in their heat, just beaten on the line by the Romania crew, just .38 of a second the difference there.
Puspure, now 41, has found herself in the women’s four for these Championships, and she didn’t disappoint either: though Eimear Lambe is the only member of the Tokyo 2020 crew which won Olympic bronze, Puspure, Imogen Magner and Natalie Long held on the for third, and also progress straight to the semi-finals.
Great Britain were convincing winners again, in 6:39.50, ahead of Australia (6:43.52), before the Irish crew finishing in 6:47.99. With only seven Paris Olympic quota spots on offer in Belgrade, that task won’t get any easier from here.
After a somewhat disappointing show on Sunday, Jake McCarthy, twin brother of Fintan, won his repechage of the lightweight single, with over fourth seconds to spare on Finlay Hamill from New Zealand, and he’s own next in the quarter-finals.
Fiona Murtagh and Aifric Keogh, formerly of that women’s four, are also headed for the repechage of the women’s pair. With only the winners going straight through, Veronique Meester and Ymkje Clevering of the Netherlandstaking control early, they had to be content with second.
The men’s four and quadruple, two of the development crews, will also go again in the repechage.
The men’s four John Kearney (University College Cork RC), Jack Dorney (Shandon BC), Adam Murphy (University College Cork RC), Fionnan McQuillan-Tolan (University of Galway BC) took sixth, as did the men’s quadruple, Brian Colsh (University of Galway BC); Andrew Sheehan (University College Cork BC); Ronan Byrne (Shandon BC); Konan Pazzaia (Queen’s University Belfast BC)
There are four Irish boats in action on day three: the Para-2 Mixed Double in heat one (Steven McGowan, Katie O’Brien); the women’s pair repechage (Aifric Keogh, Fiona Murtagh); the men’s four repechage (F McQuillan-Tolan, A Murphy, J Dorney, J Kearney); and the men’s quadruple repechage (K Pazzaia, R Byrne, A Sheehan, B Colsh).
