# ROWING: Sanita Puspure had a great start and battled hard in the toughest quarter-final of the single scull at the Olympic Regatta. However, a fourth-place finish left her one place outside the mix for the A/B semi-finals.
Puspure actually led off the start. Mirka Knapkova, the reigning World Champion, had taken over by 500 metres, but Puspure was tucked into third, with Frida Svensson (the World Champion of 2010) in second. Genevra Stone could only manage fifth at this stage, but the American was outstanding through the rest of the race: she pushed Puspure into fourth by halfway, and by the finish she had taken over second from Svensson. The Swede held off Puspure’s late efforts to take third.
Interestingly, the Olympic Qualification Regatta in May – the last chance to get to the Games – provided three A/B Semi-Finalists. Kim Crow of Australia and Fie Udby Erichsen of Denmark actually won their quarter-finals, and Stone finished second in hers with Puspure finishing in a time which would have put her in the top three in each of the other quarter-finals.
The Ireland athlete is now set to compete in the C/D Semi-Finals on Thursday.
Olympic Games – Rowing – Women’s Single Sculls Quarter-Final Two (Three to A/B Semi-Finals; rest to C/D Semi-Finals): 1 Czech Republic (M Knapkova) 7:35.35, 2 United States (G Stone) 7:39.67, 3 Sweden (F Svensson) 7:40.64; 4 Ireland (S Puspure) 7:44.19, 5 Cuba (Y Cobas Garcia) 7:56.89, 6 El Salvador (C Vargas Palomo) 8:07.67.
