Olympic crunch time in Lucerne

ROWING NEWS: It is the most terrifying of regattas. Finish in the top two or three and a place on an Olympic podium could be yours within weeks, further back and your dreams of Athens are torn away.

Three Irish crews go into the Olympic Qualifying Regatta in Lucerne on Sunday knowing what they have to do to join the men's lightweight four and lightweight double in Athens.

The lightweight women's double scull of Sinéad Jennings and Heather Boyle feel they have every chance of gaining the top-two placing they need. Speaking from Oslo yesterday, as they travelled with the men's pair and single sculler Seán Casey from their training camp in Stromstad in Sweden to Lucerne, Jennings was in upbeat form.

"Everything has gone really well," said the Donegal woman.

The crews have been working with head coach Thor Nilsen, and the canny Norwegian has them well prepared, Jennings says. "The five of us have had Thor to ourselves. It's been great."

The lightweight double hope a new boat will give them an edge as they take on main rivals Poland, Denmark and Finland.

Casey's path to Lucerne has been tortuous. Only two years ago the Kerryman was gaining respectable results rowing in the US and bemoaning the non-existent programme for heavyweight rowing in Ireland.

Since then, a heavyweight programme has been instituted, and Casey returned to Ireland and threw himself into the fray. After a faltering start, Ireland's heavyweights showed they were not just also-rans when Casey was placed eighth at the World Cup Regatta in Munich.

If he reproduces that form, the Muckross man could be among the top three in the qualifier, which has an entry of 12, and thus become Ireland's first Olympic standard bearer in the men's single since the great Seán Drea in the 1970s.

Ireland's men's pair is made up of the lightweight crew of Derek Holland and Neil Casey, who finished a respectable fifth in last year's World Championship final in the lightweight event.

If they qualify by making the top two in Lucerne they would give Ireland good cover for the lightweight events in Athens.

Back in Ireland, the focus has been on next month's World Championships for non-Olympic events. After an exhaustive trial for the men's lightweight quadruple sculls, Brian Young, Diarmaid MacColgain, Kenny McDonald and Herbie Griffin landed the places.