Three World Championship finals, three chances of gold for Ireland. There is a nervousness among the Irish here of tempting fate, but this is what will be on the minds of the sizeable Irish support at this event when lightweight scullers Sam Lynch and Sinead Jennings take to the water today, and the men's lightweight pair of Tony O'Connor and Gear≤id Towey tomorrow.
More importantly it is what will be on the athletes' minds, and that of the team management.
"All the boats are going out this weekend to win gold medals, not defend silver or bronze," said team manager Mick O'Callaghan yesterday. Later he adds, off the cuff: "We have enough bronze and silver medals." However, he makes his point more succinctly by saying: "If they chase gold and don't get it I won't be disappointed."
While Ireland may get no medals at all this weekend all three Irish crews have done enough to suggest they can win their finals.
Lynch (25), won silver at this stage last year but has beaten the gold medallist, Michal Vabrousek, this year, and won both World Cup regattas he entered. His wins in the heat and semi-final here were also impressive, and he has a calm and determined air this week.
Jennings (24), won bronze, gold and silver at her three World Cups, but the woman who beat her in Munich in the last of these, reigning world champion Laila Finska-Bezerra, has had to pull out due to illness. The Donegal woman's two main rivals, Pia Vogel of Switzerland and Miriam Ter Beek of Holland, have both had to give way to her, in Munich and Essen this year.
"I would expect them (Vogel and Ter Beek) to take an early lead," says Hamish Burrell, the Donegal woman's Scottish coach. "I said to Sinead to row through them. It is much easier to row at an even pace."
Fighting words, particularly for a woman only rowing for two years, but as Burrell points out, she has never been more than three seconds off the winner in big finals.
The pair came into these finals on the back of a gold medal at Munich and a silver at Seville in World Cup events. Formed after the disappointing performance of the lightweight four in Sydney, of which they were both part, this is the chance for both to show they are among the world's best.
Towey (24), from Fermoy has a World Championship bronze from the lightweight quadruple scull in 1999, O'Connor (32), has silver (1996, 1997) and bronze (1994, 1997) in pairs with Neville Maxwell. Both would dearly love to stand on the top of the podium here. For O'Connor there could be a little extra pressure of a different kind if Jennings wins today. The two became engaged to be married earlier this year.
In a way this is the year for Irish rowers to blossom in non-Olympic events before the big pressure comes on to form boats for Athens 2004. And winning three medals, particularly three of the best, would be quite a blossoming.
The lightweight quadruple scull could have given Ireland an exceptional fourth A finalist yesterday, but a fourth-place finish in their semi-final was one place too far back.
In the early stages of yesterday's race the Irish crew of Owen and Neal Byrne, Derek Holland and Noel Monahan did look good, and held second place, ahead of Spain and behind Denmark, who looked strongest of all, at 500 metres. The big surprise was Germany's fourth-placing at both 500 and 1,000 metres, but they were just playing a waiting game: they came through strongly from the middle stages, whereas Ireland faded from their third place at 1,000 metres.
The top three, of Spain, Germany and Denmark finished almost in a line, with the Irish almost five seconds behind the Danes. Along with Lithuania and Argentina, who came in behind them yesterday, Ireland will face the Netherlands - who were sorely disappointed to finish fourth in the second semi-final - the US and Chile in tomorrow morning's B final.
Details: Irish interest: Men, Lightweight Quadruple Sculls - Semi-finals (first three to A final, remainder to B Final): First Semi-final: 1; Spain 5:53.02, 2; Germany 5:53.20, 3; Denmark 5.54.21, 4; Ireland (O Byrne, N Byrne, D Holland, N Monahan) 5:58.90, 5; Argentina 6:03.98, 6; Lithuania 6:11.58. Second Semi-final: 1; Italy 5.48.58, 2; Greece 5:51.97, 3; Japan 5:53.98, 4; Netherlands 5:56.57, 5; US 6:04.66, 6; China 6:05.34.
