Removal of Lightweight Four From Olympics a Blow For Irish Rowing

11th February 2017

#Rowing: The men’s lightweight four will be removed from the Olympic programme. Ninety-four votes at the Fisa Extraordinary Congress in Tokyo went to the proposal to replace the lightweight four with the women’s four in an attempt to create gender balance in rowing at the Games. A counter proposal to achieve gender balance by introducing a women’s lightweight four received 67 votes.

The lightweight four has been one of the most successful of Irish boats, with crews finishing fourth at the Atlanta Games in 1996 and sixth at the Athens Games in 2004.

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About The Author

Liam Gorman

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Liam Gorman is a writer and reporter. He is the co-author of Little Lady, One Man, Big Ocean, published in the United States and Canada as Crossing the Swell. He is the rowing correspondent of the Irish Times.

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