Despite a strong headwind in the first 1000 metres of racing, Irish crews had a strong showing on day one of World Cup II. Four crews have qualified for tomorrow\u2019s semi-finals, while the PR3 Mixed Double Sculls and Siobh\u00e1n McCrohan in the Lightweight Women\u2019s Single Sculls will race in their respective A Finals. Alison Bergin will start Saturday\u2019s racing in the D Final of the Women\u2019s Single Sculls. On Sunday, the Women\u2019s Four and the Men\u2019s Quadruple Sculls will race in their respective B Finals. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
W1x | Alison Bergin<\/strong> <\/p>\n\n\n\n In the same heat as Fiona Murtagh, but racing from the less favourable lane six, Alison Bergin finished sixth with a time of 8:03.22. She will now compete in the D Final of the Women\u2019s Single Sculls tomorrow. <\/p>\n\n\n\n D Final: Saturday, 28th<\/sup> June \u2013 7:45am IST (Lane 2) <\/p>\n\n\n\n W2x | Mags Cremen & Zoe Hyde<\/strong> <\/p>\n\n\n\n Zoe and Mags narrowly missed out on second place in the Women\u2019s Double Scull. The Greek crew produced a strong sprint in the final 250 metres to overtake both Ireland and Great Britain, after Ireland had been bow ball to bow ball with them through the middle 1000 metres. Mags and Zoe finished third with a time of 7:01.29, qualifying for tomorrow\u2019s semi-final. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Semi Final 1: Saturday, 28th<\/sup> June \u2013 9:55am IST (Lane 6) <\/p>\n\n\n\n M2x | Fintan McCarthy & Konan Pazzaia<\/strong> <\/p>\n\n\n\n The first heat of the Men\u2019s Double Sculls saw a fast start. Konan Pazzaia and Fintan McCarthy held second place throughout the race, finishing behind New Zealand with a time of 6:21.89 to qualify for tomorrow\u2019s semi-final. They will face the second Irish double and the strong New Zealand crew again. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Semi Final 2: Saturday, 28th<\/sup> June \u2013 10:10am IST (Lane 2) <\/p>\n\n\n\n M2x | Paul O\u2019Donovan & Daire Lynch<\/strong> <\/p>\n\n\n\n The final heat of the Men\u2019s Double Sculls was a close and thrilling race. Paul O\u2019Donovan and Daire Lynch were in third place at the 1000 metre mark, with just one second separating the top three crews. They pushed through in the second half to overtake the Greek crew and finish in second place, less than a second behind the first-place Individual Neutral Athletes. They now race in tomorrow’s semi-final with the other Irish double. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Semi Final 2: Saturday, 28th<\/sup> June \u2013 10:10am IST (Lane 5) <\/p>\n\n\n\n W1x | Fiona Murtagh<\/strong> <\/p>\n\n\n\n Fiona Murtagh won her heat in the Women\u2019s Single Sculls to directly qualify for tomorrow\u2019s semi-final. She was in second place at the 500-metre mark and had a great battle with the home favourite from Switzerland, moving into the lead by the halfway point. Fiona finished in a time of 7:38.04, just under a second behind the fastest overall time, set by Lauren Henry of Great Britain. She will now race in tomorrow\u2019s semi-final where she will face strong competition from Frida Nielsen of Denmark. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Semi Final 2: Saturday, 28th<\/sup> June \u2013 10:30am IST (Lane 4) <\/p>\n\n\n\n PR3 Mix2x | Tiarn\u00e1n O\u2019Donnell & Sadhbh N\u00ed Laoighre<\/strong> <\/p>\n\n\n\n Tiarn\u00e1n and Sadhbh finished fourth in the PR3 Mixed Double Sculls with a time of 9:04.84. They will race in the A Final tomorrow. The duo are competing in the PR3 category in Lucerne, as the PR2 event is not being held due to a lack of entries. <\/p>\n\n\n\n A Final: Saturday, 28th<\/sup> June \u2013 11.55am IST (Lane 4) <\/p>\n\n\n\n LW1x | Siobh\u00e1n McCrohan<\/strong> <\/p>\n\n\n\n Siobh\u00e1n McCrohan had an impressive win in her heat of the Lightweight Women\u2019s Single Sculls. She was in fifth place at the 500-metre mark but made a strong push to move into second by the 1500 metre mark. A powerful sprint finish saw her cross the line in first place, securing her place in this afternoon\u2019s semi-finals. <\/p>\n\n\n\n In the semis, Siobh\u00e1n faced the European Champion from Norway. She was level with the Netherlands in second place at the 1500-metre mark but ultimately finished third with a time of 7:45.40, just 0.1 seconds behind second place, to qualify for tomorrow\u2019s A Final. <\/p>\n\n\n\n A Final: Saturday, 28th<\/sup> June \u2013 12:07pm IST (Lane 6) <\/p>\n\n\n\n W4- | Claire Feerick, Aisling Hayes, Imogen Magner & Natalie Long<\/strong> <\/p>\n\n\n\n The Women\u2019s Four finished fifth in their heat with a time of 6:41.54. Despite a strong sprint finish, it was not enough to secure a place in the A Final. The crew will now race in the B Final on Sunday. <\/p>\n\n\n\n B Final: Sunday, 29th<\/sup> June \u2013 8:50am IST (Lane 4) <\/p>\n\n\n\n M4x | Ronan Byrne, Brian Colsh, Adam Murphy & Andrew Sheehan<\/strong> <\/p>\n\n\n\n The final heat of the Men\u2019s Quadruple Sculls was extremely close. Ireland sat in fourth place at the 1000 metre mark, just two seconds behind the leaders, Great Britain. Through the middle of the race, they pushed hard to challenge Germany for third, but a strong finish from Germany and China saw Ireland cross the line in fifth with a time of 5:51.65. It was a tightly contested race, with all crews finishing within two lengths of each other. Ireland will now race in Sunday\u2019s B Final. <\/p>\n\n\n\n B Final: Sunday, 29th<\/sup> June \u2013 9:10am IST (Lane 3) <\/p>\n\n\n\n World Rowing Cup II Programme<\/mark><\/a>\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n Saturday Start List Summary<\/mark><\/a>\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n Friday Results Summary<\/mark><\/a>\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n Day 2 Audio Commentary<\/a>\u00a0<\/mark><\/p>\n\n\n\n