Ireland will have at least six boats rowing at the Tokyo Olympics after two more teams qualified today.
The women's four team of Emily Hegarty, Eimear Lambe, Aifric Keogh and Fiona Murtagh won their final in great style at the Olympic qualification regatta in Lucerne this morning.
Finishing clear of crews from China and Italy, the quartet were delighted to book their ticket.
"We're absolutely relieved," Lambe told World Rowing's official website. "It's been a long time coming. Although on paper we were probably one of the favourites, anything can happen on the water. We are so happy."
Shortly afterwards the lightweight women's double of Aoife Casey and Margaret Cremen came third in their final to become the sixth Irish boat to qualify for the Games.
Casey said after the race: "It's so surreal because I feel like we’ve worked so hard the past two to three years.
"We came in as underdogs. It just shows what you can do. We came from behind and all we wanted to do was do our best and we are so happy."
But there was disappointment for Clonmel man Daire Lynch who finished fourth in his A/B single scull semi-final to miss out on the final.
Rowing Ireland's high performance director Antonio Maurogiovanni said: "We are very proud of all of the performances from our athletes this weekend, and all seven athletes gave a brave and spirited effort in each of their races over the two days.
"We are delighted that the Women’s Four and Lightweight Women’s Double qualified their boats for the Olympics this summer.
"All of the team performed strongly this weekend. Daire narrowly missed out on the final and gained invaluable experience this weekend that will benefit him for Paris 2024.
"We have six boats confirmed and qualified for Tokyo, and we continue to train and prepare for the upcoming Olympics. Having these six crews qualified at the next Tokyo Olympic Games has put Ireland in a very challenging and exciting position not just for Tokyo but also for Paris.
"As we all know, this is also year 1 of the 2024 cycle and the current Rowing Ireland squad, if well supported, has everything to keep the fantastic momentum going."
