FIVE IRISH BOATS are still in contention for a qualification place for the Tokyo Olympics next summer after Wednesday’s action at the World Championships in Linz-Ottensheim, Austria, with seven Team Ireland crews having reached A/B semi-finals.
Galway’s Katie O’Brien represented Ireland in the PR2 W1x preliminary race, finishing third behind boats from Australia and the Netherlands. O’Brien will now race in the A Final on Friday.
The W2- Kerry duo of Polish-born Monika Dukarska and Aileen Crowley finished second in their quarter-final on Wednesday morning. In a race won by Australia, the Irish crew were neck and neck with their Italian counterparts but pipped them to take second at the death. Dukarska and Crowley will race in the A/B semi on Thursday.
The LM2x crew of Fintan McCarthy and Paul O’Donovan — both products of the Skibbereen club — finished 1st in their quarter-final. The UCC pair saw off the efforts of Spain, Poland, Britain, France and Turkey to lead the field home, and will also compete in their A/B semi-final on Thursday.
Another Skib pairing — this time Aoife Casey and Denise Walsh — represented Ireland in the quarters of the LW2x, but they’ll have to settle for a spot in the C/D semis after a fourth-placed finish, four seconds behind the Italians in third.
The M2x Crew of Cork’s Ronan Byrne and Banbridge’s Philip Doyle finished second in their quarter-final. The Polish boat finished less than two seconds ahead of the Irish crew, and the Munster-Ulster combination will on Friday take part in their A/B semi.
Sanita Puspure was suitably dominant in her outing, finishing first in the quarters of the W1x. A powerful final stretch saw Puspure beat off competitors from the Czech Republic, Ukraine and Trinidad and Tobago. Like Byrne and Doyle, women’s single cull world champion Puspure will compete in a semi-final on Friday.
Gary O’Donovan represented Ireland in the lightweight men’s single scull quarter, a late sprint in a ferocious race taking him from fifth to third place. The older O’Donovan brother narrowly edged out Serbia, Germany and New Zealand to book himself an A/B semi on Thursday.
