Casey ready for task ahead

ROWING:SEÁN CASEY arrived in Poznan in Poland for the World Championships yesterday and was out on the water training with the Swiss team last evening.

Ireland lead coach Adrian Cassidy reported that the single sculler had “definitely improved” since the World Cup in Lucerne, where he finished ninth.

“We’ll only know for certain when he has his heat on Sunday,” Cassidy added.

Ireland’s two adaptive crews have also been going well. “They seemed to have picked up a bit in the last few weeks,” said coach James Mangan.

The legs, trunk and arms mixed coxed four took a bronze medal at the World Cup in Munich in June, but Mangan said the aim in Poznan was first of all to reach the A final (top six), and take it from there.

The cox of the crew in Munich was Laura Purdy, a Canadian who is not eligible for the World Championships, and Amy Judge has taken over.

This crew, and the trunk and arms mixed double of Vincent Culhane and Karen Cromie, are set to begin their campaign on Monday, with repechages on Tuesday and the A final set for Saturday. The B final is set for the previous day.

Should Casey make it through the heats on Sunday, he is set to have a quarter-final on Tuesday. If the number of competitors falls below 24 – the entry is 26 – this day will be set aside for repechages. The aim in either case would be to reach the all important A/B semi-finals on Thursday. Both the A and B finals are on Saturday.

Although Mangan is not coaching Casey in Poznan, a good result for the Kerryman would be a feather in his cap – he taught Casey to scull.

Both were based in the United States, where Mangan had founded the Saugatuck club in Connecticut.

Casey, fresh from the university system in the United States spent the three years from 2000 to 2003 with Mangan, who talks of a man who expects a lot of himself. “He’s a good athlete. He works very hard,” said Mangan yesterday.

Off the water, this year’s annual general meeting of the Irish Amateur Rowing Union, set for three weeks’ time (Saturday, September 12th) is set to be a momentous one. The shape of the domestic calendar will be chosen, and the accounts of the IARU will also be closely scrutinised.

The All-Ireland Coastal Rowing Championships will be staged at Waterville in Kerry this weekend. The official opening takes place this evening, with heats and a small number of finals tomorrow and a bumper set of 21 finals set for Sunday. Racing will be on Lough Currane.

With over 400 crews talking part and about 1,800 competitors, this is a big event. Mick O’Dwyer is the special guest at the opening, while Mick O’Connell will fire the shot which will start the first race.

Medal presentations will be by Paul Griffin, the rower who represented Ireland at the Olympics in Athens and Beijing.

Coastal rowing has a strong club base and draws big crowds. The boats generally have fixed seats, which distinguishes them from the sliding-seat craft used in the Olympic version of the sport.