Ireland’s lightweight quadruple scull qualified for the A Final of the Under-23 World Championships in Brest in Belarus early this morning. France set the early pace, but Ireland passed them before 1500 metres and won the race from Britain, with France holding off a late charge by Switzerland to take third and secure a place in tomorrow’s final.
The Ireland women’s lightweight double scull had a dramatic semi-final, but not in the way they would have liked. Claire Lambe and Sarah Dolan were, according to race commentary, given a yellow card and the race had to be delayed. When it finally was run, Ireland got stuck in fourth and Greece, New Zealand and Britain took the A Final places.
The Ireland lightweight pair also finished fourth in their semi-final. They held third at 1500 metres, behind France and Italy. In the final quarter Hungary ousted the Irish from a qualification spot, and finished so quickly they finished second behind France, with Italy third.
Lisa Dilleen is also set to compete in the B Final tomorrow. By half way the Galway woman, who had come through an energy-sapping repechage, was off the pace of a semi-final won by Norway’s Tale Gjoertz. Dilleen finished sixth.
Under-23 World Championships, Brest, Belarus. Day Three (Irish interest):
Men
Lightweight Pair (First Three to A Final; rest to B Final): 1 France 6:45.08, 2 Hungary 6:46.38, 3 Italy 6:47.47; 4 Ireland (P Hanily, A English) 6:49.48, 5 Brazil 7:00.44, 6 Canada 7:04.54.
Lightweight Quadruple (First Three to A Final; rest to B Final): 1 Ireland (N Kenny, M Maher, M O’Donovan, J Ryan) 6:02.23, 2 Britain 6:02.96, 3 France 6:03.46; 4 Switzerland 6:03.62, 5 Netherlands 6:06.88, 6 Poland 6:09.73.
Lightweight Single Scull (First Three to A Final; rest to B Final): 1 Britain (P Chambers) 7:00.72, 2 France 7:01.93, 3 Belarus 7:02.67.
Women
Single Scull (First Three to A Final; rest to B Final): 1 Norway 7:41.12, 2 United States 7:41.86, 3 Belarus 7:44.70; 4 Czech Republic 7:52.44, 5 Netherlands 7:53.78, 6 Ireland (L Dilleen) 8:07.63.
Lightweight Double Scull (First Three to A Final; rest to B Final): 1 Greece 7:05.68, 2 New Zealand 7:05.69, 3 Britain 7:16.50; 4 Ireland (C Lambe, S Dolan) 7:18.29, 5 United States 7:18.31, 6 Denmark 7:26.26.
