After a few miserable days in the lead-up to Rowing World Cup racing in Lago di Varese, Italy -, the sun finally shone on Lago di Varese as day two of the World Rowing Cup II got underway. The regatta saw four crews from Ireland compete for medals in the A Finals.
In the Men's Double, Philip Doyle and Daire Lynch dominated their repechage, leading the race from the start line to the finish. The Belfast and Clonmel rowers will go into tomorrow's A final with the quickest time out of the two repechages that raced today. They will be going head to head with the reigning World Champions, Stefan Broenink and Melvin Twellaar of the Netherlands, in a race not to be missed.
Philip Doyle and Daire Lynch dominated their repechage in the Men's Double
Sanita Puspure of Old Collegians BC is back racing for medals in the Women's Single after qualifying today for the A Final. The top three crews from the A/B Semi would move through to the race for medals, and Puspure did what she had to do, finishing in second place behind the Norwegian sculler. With a conservative start, Sanita began closer to the back of the pack and made her way up through the field as the race progressed. Crews to watch in tomorrow's final are the undefeated two-time World Champion Karolien Florijn of the Netherlands and 2022 U23 World Champion Alexandra Foester of Germany.
The Men's Four of John Kearney, Andrew Sheehan, Jack Dorney, and Ronan Byrne finished fourth in their repechage, sending them through to tomorrow's B Final. Going out with a stronger start than yesterday's heat, Ireland passed the first marker in second position and the halfway mark in third. This move definitely played to their advantage, putting them in a better position coming into the final stretch.
The Men's Four of John Kearney, Andrew Sheehan, Jack Dorney, and Ronan Byrne
Nathan Timoney of Enniskillen Royal BC and Ross Corrigan of Portora BC missed out on the Men's Pair A Final by just over three seconds. Finishing third behind Denmark and Italy in their repechage wasn't enough to see them through to the race for medals, as just two crews were to progress. Ireland stuck with the top group in the race, not drifting more than the three-second gap from the leading pairs. They will be up in the first race of the day tomorrow against Sweden, Italy, and two German crews.
Brian Colsh wrapped up his World Cup this morning in the C Final of the Men's Single. The Men's single scull is one of the most competitive events and attracted the largest number of entries at this regatta with 30 scullers on the start list. Through the second quarter of his race, Colsh squeezed ahead of the scullers from Monaco and Egypt and moved into second position. Winding it up into the finish, Brian was able to hold off Abdelkhalek Elbanna of Egypt in his late sprint for the line. Colsh leaves Italy 14th out of the 30 athletes.
Queen's University Belfast BC rower, Konan Pazzaia, finished fourth in the A/B Semi of the Men's Single, which sends him through to the B Final. Pazzaia went out hard to put himself in the three qualifying positions and managed to hold this right through to the third 500. George Bourne of Great Britain made his move at this point and just got ahead of the sculler from Ireland. Pazzaia didn't let him go easy, staying on his stern and finishing just two and a half seconds behind. He will be up against Portugal, Ukraine, Brazil, Spain, and Switzerland tomorrow morning in the B Final.
Saturday Results
Men's Double Repechage 1st -> A Final
Women's Single A/B Semi 2nd -> A Final
Men's Pair Repechage 3rd -> B Final
Men's Four Repechage 4th -> B Final
Men's Single (Pazzaia) A/B Semi 4th -> B Final
Men's Single (Colsh) C Final -> 2nd
Sunday Schedule (IST)
8:30am - Men's Pair B Final
8:48am - Men's Four B Final
9:00am - Men's Single (Pazzaia) B Final
10:05am - Women's Pair A Final
10:45am - Men's Double A Final
11:30am - Women's Four A Final
13:00pm - Women's Single A Final
