Paul O'Donovan was among the medals again as Ireland's rowers delivered on the big stage on the final day of the 2021 European Rowing Championships in Varese.
The Lightweight Men’s Double team of O'Donovan and Fintan Lynch won gold and the Women’s Four took home the silver of the six crew competing in A finals, with Paul's brother Gary finishing just outside the medals in fourth in the Lightweight Men's Single Scull A final.
Paul O’Donovan and McCarthy beat crews from Germany, Italy, Czech Republic, Switzerland and Ukraine with a time of 06:18.14 to win a competitive final to underline their Olympic credentials.
“It was a decent race, it’s good to be back,” said O’Donovan.
“I was off last season so Fintan raced in the single last year. Fintan is just dragging me along in the double.
"We need bigger biceps. We’re gonna work on some curls which will see us through to the end of the summer.”
The Women’s Four of Emily Hegarty, Eimear Lambe, Aifric Keogh and Fiona Murtagh raced brilliantly and were in medal contention from the start. The quartet almost caught the crew from the Netherlands in the last 200 metres and finished ahead of the boat from Great Britain to take second with a time of 06:27.96.
Lydia Heaphy finished sixth with a time of 07:58.75 in the Lightweight Women’s Single Scull A Final after taking the lead early on in a very competitive race.
Alena Furman from Belarus won gold by beating crews from Romania, France Netherlands, Great Britain and the Irish boat. Aileen Crowley and Monika Dukarska finished sixth in a tough Women’s Pair A final with a time of 07:11.830, while the Lightweight Women’s Double of Aoife Casey and Margaret Cremen finished fifth in their A final with a time of 07:07.42.
Daire Lynch kicked off the racing this morning with an impressive second place finish in the Men’s Single Scull C final.
Lynch faced competitors from Russia, Cyprus, Lithuania, Czech Republic and Hungary and he finished behind the Russian sculler with the Czech Republic boat taking third.
The Irish Men’s Double of Philip Doyle and Ronan Byrne won the B final after they caught the Italian crew in the last 500 meters and finished strongly in first.
They beat boats from Italy, Germany, Romania and Czech Republic in a time of 06:21.470.
Rowing Ireland’s High-Performance Director Antonio Maurogiovanni said, “We are delighted that we are taking home two medals, one gold and one silver.
"I want to congratulate Paul and Fintan for becoming European Champions after a challenging year. I would also like to congratulate the Women’s Four for claiming the silver after winning the bronze in 2020.
"I am happy with our team’s performance and out of eight crews entered, six reached the A final in their category, and two achieved first and second in the B and C finals.
"On the last day, all our crews raced at their best showing a great attitude.
"We are grateful for the opportunity to compete in tournaments given the current global pandemic, and we thank World Rowing for organising this event.
"I want to thank our athletes, coaches, support staff and all the clubs for their continuous hard work, dedication and support.
"This is the start of our season and we will continue to prepare for months ahead. we look forward to the next World Cup and Olympic Qualifier in May. “
Race Results
M1x – Daire Lynch – C FINAL – 2nd Place
M2x - Phil Doyle & Ronan Byrne – B FINAL – 1st Place
LW1 Lydia Heaphy – A FINAL – 6th Place
LM1x – Gary O’Donovan – A FINAL – 4th Place
W2- Monika Dukarska & Aileen Crowley – A FINAL – 6th Place
W4- Emily Hegarty, Eimear Lambe, Aifric Keogh & Fiona Murtagh – A FINAL – 2nd Place –Silver Medallists
LW2x – Aoife Casey & Margaret Cremen – A FINAL – 5th Place
LM2x – Paul O’Donovan & Fintan McCarthy – A FINAL – 1st Place – Gold Medallists
