Rowing Ireland crews began their campaign at the Coupe de la Jeunesse with calm but hot conditions in the morning. The afternoon brought wet weather, but that did not dampen the excitement on the water. Spectators were treated to thrilling races, with photo finishes and sprints to the line from the Rowing Ireland crews. By the end of the day’s racing, four crews competed in the A Finals and five in the B Finals.
JM4- | Donaghy, Topping, Bailey and Cassidy
The Men’s Four from Enniskillen Royal Boat Club finished sixth in the B Final, showing clear improvement on their earlier performance in the heats. They earned their place in the final after finishing fifth in their heat earlier in the day. In the race, the crew put in a strong effort during the middle 1000 metres, closing in on Austria, but could not move past them. They crossed the line in 6 minutes 37 seconds, which was six seconds faster than their heat time.
Sunday Heat (crew of Waters, Villing, Curran & O’Connaire): 7:20am IST (Lane 6)
JM2- | Dominick Cunningham and Darragh Collins
The Men’s Pair from Athlone Boat Club finished sixth in the A Final. In the opening 1000 metres, the Rowing Ireland crew battled with Denmark for fifth place but could not move ahead. They completed the race in 7 minutes 24 seconds.
Sunday Heat: 7:35am IST (Lane 1)
JM1x | Sam Wheeler O’Brien
Sam finished sixth in the A Final of the Men’s Single Sculls. He qualified for the final after taking third place in a tight heat. In the final, he could not quite match the leading pace and crossed the line in 7 minutes 30 seconds, just two seconds behind fifth-placed Czechia.
Sunday Heat: 7:45am IST (Lane 2)
JM2x | Cian Scannell & Colin Creedon
The Men’s Double Scull finished fourth in the A Final. They had narrowly missed out on second place in their heat earlier in the day. In the final, they reached the 1000 metre mark just a canvas behind third place Italy but were unable to pass them for the bronze medal.
Sunday Heat: 7:50am IST (Lane 4)
JM4x | Fahy, Gillard, Morris & O’Mahony
The Men’s Quad finished fifth in their B Final. They had qualified after a photo finish with Denmark in their heat, edging ahead to take fourth place. The B Final was closely contested, with crews from Ireland, Norway and Switzerland battling for fifth. The crew from Ireland made a strong push to move past Norway and secure fifth.
Sunday Heat: 8:05am IST (Lane 5)
JW4x | Guiney, O’Brien, O’Sullivan & O’Flaherty
The Women’s Quad finished first in the B Final. They had placed second in their heat earlier in the day but missed out on qualification for the A Final. In the B Final, they dominated the race, winning by a length from Denmark with a time of 6 minutes 57 seconds.
Sunday Heat: 8:35am IST (Lane 2)
JW2- | Aida Hehir & Naomi Robertson
The Women’s Pair finished first in the B Final. The pair led from the start and by the 1000 metre mark had a length advantage over the crew from the Netherlands. The Dutch closed the gap in the final 500 metres, but the crew from Ireland held them off to take the win.
Sunday Heat: 8:55am IST (Lane 4)
JW4- | McEvoy, McNamara, Bates, Fowler
The Women’s Four finished second in the B Final. It was a close race between Ireland and the Netherlands, with Ireland holding a slight lead past the 1000 metre mark. In the final 250 metres, the Netherlands made a push to overtake, leaving Ireland to take second place.
Sunday Heat: 9:00am IST (Lane 5)
JM8+ | Wilson (cox), Donaghy, Topping, Bailey, Cassidy, Waters, Villing, Curran & O’Connaire
The Men’s Eight finished sixth in the A Final. They qualified by battling with Spain for third place in their heat, securing a spot in the A Final. In the final, Great Britain dominated from the start, while the rest of the field remained closely matched. Ireland were unable to keep the pace and crossed the line in sixth place.
Sunday Heat: 9:15am IST (Lane 1)
Well done to all crews on a competitive day of racing, and a special thank you to their coaches for their hard work and support. We look forward to another exciting day on the water tomorrow.
