In an unprecedented achievement, Team Ireland has secured spots in four rowing finals at the Olympic Games, setting a new record. Among the highlights are the Men\u2019s Pair (M2-), the Lightweight Men\u2019s Double Sculls (LM2x), and the Lightweight Women\u2019s Double Sculls (LW2x), all of which will compete in their respective finals on August 2nd.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Men\u2019s Pair (M2-) Makes History<\/strong> Reflecting on their race, Timoney expressed the intensity and strategy involved: \u201cThat was epic, epic racing! Definitely a replication from last year\u2019s World Champs final. I think it was necessary. We definitely had to go out a little harder than we did in the heats . A lesson learnt. We knew we\u2019d definitely suffered for it a little bit for it in the second half and obviously in the last 250m the Kiwis were coming back at us quite swiftly, kudos to them but to be in front, you\u2019re in control of the race and if we could see them coming we could kind of react. I think we did that pretty well. We were just holding on for dear life in the last 150<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cIn the middle of it it\u2019s hard to know sometimes where you are. The way I race is I try to be as internal as possible. Sometimes Ross would make the call and let me know where we are but I like to be internal and certainly, in the last 250 you realise you\u2019re in for a dog-fight and that\u2019s where the body wakes up and you\u2019re like \u2018right, let\u2019s make a move<\/em>\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Corrigan, whose cousin – golfer Leona Maguire is also on the Irish team, added: \u201cWe had a plan up until 1500m and then we were leaving it in God\u2019s hands. We knew we\u2019d move when we needed to move and I called it a bit earlier today, in the last 300 the Kiwis were coming back at us but we knew in the heat that we had enough to come back at them so we knew we could keep pushing on and then the last 100 you\u2019re just holding on and trying not to slow the boat down more than anything. Just make no mistakes<\/em>!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Reigning Champions Shine in Lightweight Men\u2019s Double Sculls (LM2x)<\/strong> O\u2019Donovan noted their strong performance and the anticipation for the final: \u201cWe felt good with the performance. The legs are feeling strong, I was feeling that way on camp on our training camp, we were moving the boat well and we had a lot of fatigue in the legs then, but freshening up a little bit now and starting to improve the technique a little bit since we\u2019ve been here so we\u2019re very much looking forward to Friday<\/em>.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n McCarthy added: \u201cIt was just to feel good racing again and I don\u2019t think we\u2019ve been that sort of in with the pack as early on (in the season) as recent times so it was nice to kind of be back, and be back commanding races, and we\u2019ll see how we get on, on Friday<\/em>.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n The duo will face Italy, Greece, and Norway, among others, in what promises to be a fiercely contested race. Lightweight Women\u2019s Double Sculls (LW2x) Reach Their First Final<\/strong> Casey described the race as a grueling yet exhilarating experience: \u201cYou\u2019re in the pain cave out there, in the pain cave definitely but you don\u2019t even have time to think about it, it comes so fast! I think it was pretty flat to be honest (conditions).Our focus is just to try and get out of the start strong, get into a race pace and then you\u2019re just kind of thinking of one split faster, one second faster. You\u2019re just trying to kind of do as much as you can in the race to put yourself in the right position for the sprint, and I think we did that<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n You know we were alongside the French, we\u2019re always alongside the French in the big races, but we were kind of like just tracking everyone, feeling good and making sure that our approach was counted so I think when we got to the nitty gritty in that last quarter we just wanted to empty the tank. I think we did so really delighted that we were on the right side of the margin this time because last year we were on the wrong side of it you know. So I think it\u2019s just the learnings, we\u2019re through all the up and downs, and we\u2019re really excited to have I suppose achieved our goal of the final, so super excited for Friday to see what we can leave on the water<\/em>.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Women\u2019s Pair (W2-) Show Strength Despite Setback<\/strong> Looking Ahead<\/strong> Men’s Double Sculls Compete for Medal<\/strong> The lineup for the Final includes: Women’s Double Sculls Final B: Alison Bergin & Zoe Hyde<\/strong> The competitors in this B Final are: Women’s Four Final B: Emily Hegarty, Eimear Lambe, Natalie Long, and Imogen Magner<\/strong> The other two B finalists in this race are: Supporting Our Athletes<\/strong> In an unprecedented achievement, Team Ireland has secured spots in four rowing finals at the Olympic Games, setting a new record<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":74,"featured_media":26761,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[103],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-26750","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-2024-olympic-games"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rowingireland.ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26750","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rowingireland.ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rowingireland.ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rowingireland.ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/74"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rowingireland.ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=26750"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rowingireland.ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26750\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rowingireland.ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/26761"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rowingireland.ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=26750"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rowingireland.ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=26750"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rowingireland.ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=26750"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
Nathan Timoney (23) and Ross Corrigan (25) made history by becoming the first Irish Men\u2019s Pair to reach an Olympic final. The Fermanagh duo finished third in their semi-final, following a strong start and maintaining their position against formidable competitors. The reigning World Champions, Great Britain, and the European silver medallists, Romania, edged out Timoney and Corrigan by just over half a second. This achievement surpasses the previous best finish by Pat Gannon and Willie Ryan, who placed seventh at the 1980 Moscow Games.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Olympic and World Champions Paul O\u2019Donovan and Fintan McCarthy showcased their dominance by winning their semi-final in the Lightweight Men\u2019s Double Sculls. The Cork double, trailing initially, surged ahead at the halfway mark, leaving their competitors behind. They secured a clear victory over the Swiss team, who had previously beaten them at World Cup II.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Looking ahead to that race O\u2019Donovan gave his view; \u201cI think it\u2019ll be a tough race; Italy are fast starters, Greece are fast starters, the Swiss are fast off the start and they hold it a long ways out. The Czechs can go off very quick, you know, Norway quick off the start, quick sprint finish as well if they get going so I think it\u2019ll really be kind of hang in there in the first 1000m for us, and once you\u2019re in the pack then I think the race will kind of start again there, and people will start to make a move again, and hopefully we\u2019ll be able to respond and take it up ourselves.<\/em>\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Margaret Cremen and Aoife Casey have progressed to their first Olympic final in the Lightweight Women\u2019s Double Sculls, marking a significant improvement from their eighth-place finish in Tokyo. The Cork duo delivered a stellar performance, securing third place in a tight race against Greece and Romania.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In contrast, the Women\u2019s Pair (W2-) of Fiona Murtagh and Aifric Keogh demonstrated resilience, finishing sixth in their semi-final. Despite not qualifying for the A Final, the Galway rowers will compete in the B Final on Friday, August 2, 2024, at 09:54 AM IST, showing their determination and skill.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Ireland\u2019s rowers are gearing up for an exciting day of competition on Thursday, August 1st, with multiple teams competing in both A and B finals. Fans can look forward to witnessing the impressive skills and determination of these athletes as they take to the water, showcasing their hard work and dedication.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
After a series of strong performances, Doyle and Lynch are set to compete for a medal, aiming to add to Ireland’s illustrious rowing achievements. Their journey to the final has been marked by exceptional teamwork and perseverance, making them strong contenders in this highly anticipated race.
<\/b><\/span>Men’s Double Sculls Final A: <\/strong>Phillip Doyle & Daire Lynch
Lane 3 | Time: 10:30 am IST \/ 11:30 am CET<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Lane 1: Romania
Lane 2: Spain
Lane 4: Netherlands
Lane 5: USA
Lane 6: New Zealand<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Lane 2 | Time: 9:30 am IST \/ 10:30 am CET<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Lane 1: Italy
Lane 3: Czech Republic
Lane 4: Australia
Lane 5: USA
Lane 6: China<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Lane 1 | Time: 9:54 am IST \/ 10:54 am CET<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Lane 2: Denmark
Lane 3: Australia<\/p>\n\n\n\n
As these talented rowers prepare for their respective finals, the support from fans and the entire country will be crucial. Each of these athletes has shown exceptional dedication and has made Ireland proud with their performances.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"