Lightweight four off to perfect start

Rowing/World Championships: Job done. Ireland's lightweight four won their heat at the World Championships in Gifu, Japan, yesterday to qualify for Friday's semi-finals.

"They did what we wanted to do in the race," said coach Harald Jahrling. "We planned what we wanted to do and they did it exactly as we planned."

The lightweight women's double of Sinéad Jennings and Heather Boyle also move directly on to the penultimate stage with their third-place finish in their heat yesterday.

The lightweight four were favourites to win yesterday, with neither Spain nor Russia, who filled the other qualification spots, likely to be in the final shake-up for medals come Sunday. However, the Spanish, in particular, kept in touch and finished a good second, although Jahrling saw nothing of significance in this. "It wasn't really a challenge," he said.

Ireland's first 500 metres was bettered only by serious contenders France, who won their heat. But Jahrling was also impressed by Italy, who finished second to Germany in the first, and fastest, heat of the day. "Italy look better than their placing suggests. I think they will prove that later in this regatta," Jahrling said.

Ireland's lightweight women's double negotiated a winding road to Japan. Jennings, who had an injury-hit season, was originally targeted for the lightweight single before being drafted into the double for this championships. Their steady performance yesterday, when they tucked into the third qualification spot behind hot favourites Germany and unknown quantity the United States, was a good day at the office.

"It was a boost for the confidence of a crew that came together late," agreed Jahrling. "It wasn't always a good build-up, with Sinéad's injuries and so on."

The Irish did not need to give everything at the end, and the coach is hopeful if they put it together in Friday's semi-finals they need not fear any crew. "What it looks like is that there is no crew that stands out. There is no crew that is like the Chinese in Lucerne. That is good for us."

At the World Cup regatta in Lucerne last month, China's Haixia Chen and Meiyun Tan had over five seconds to spare over Germany's Daniela Reimer and Marie-Louse Draeger. However, China has opted out of this World Championships. Their decision has deprived them of the chance of setting some new world best times. The women's lightweight quadruple scull and the men's lightweight pair - benefiting from what seemed to be a flow on the river for the earlier races - both set records yesterday.

Ireland's newly-minted lightweight pair of Siaghal Mac Colgain and Richard Coakley, who are reserves for the men's crews, thus got a chance to be part of some rowing history - with another Irish angle.

The young Irishmen finished fifth in their heat and go on to today's repechages - but the race was a notable one which began a remarkable sequence.

Italy won the heat in six minutes 27.11 seconds, a new world best according to official records which noted the time set by Christian Yantani Garces and Miguel Cerda Silva of Chile in Seville in 2002 (6:29.97) as the previous best. In fact, Ireland's Tony O'Connor and Neville Maxwell had been more than three seconds faster than that in Paris in 1994.

The Danes, Bo Helleberg and Thomas Ebert soon made the dispute history. They erased both times with their stunning 6:24.75 in the very next heat. Ebert was one of the legendary Denmark four which became the gold standard of rowing in the 1990s and won gold at the Athens Olympics last year.

Ireland's winning four yesterday have set out to do their best to emulate that Denmark crew. A big task - but the next few days will tell a lot as to whether they can take the first steps.

MEN'S - Lightweight Four: Heat Two (three direct to semi-final A/B): 1 Ireland (T Harnedy, E Coakley, R Archibald, P Griffin) 6:00.15, 2 Spain 6:02.73, 3 Russia 6:02.78. Lightweight Pair: Heat One (Three direct to Semi-Final A/B): 1 Italy 6:27.11, 2 Serbia and Montenegro 6:21.77, 3 Britain (P Mattick, D Harte) 6:29.06, 4 Australia 6:37.98, 5 Ireland (S Mac Colgain, R Coakley) 6:40.24.

WOMEN'S - Lightweight Double Scull: Heat Three (three direct to semi-final A/B): 1 Germany (D Reimer, M-L Draeger) 6:55.84, 2 United States (R Hykel, J Nichols) 6:57.25, 3 Ireland (S Jennings, H Boyle) 6:57.95, 4 Spain 7:13.36, 5 Japan 7:20.43.