Pressure on Irish Olympic-class rowing hopefuls

There are just two weeks to go before the penultimate Ireland trial, and the pressure is on hopefuls to prove they are up to the standard to make the six Olympic-class boats which should backbone the team this season.

Competition for places in the lightweight women’s double is keen. At the Irish Indoor Rowing Championships last weekend in Limerick, Ireland coach Don McLachlan said that “three or four” contenders would go from the February trial to the training camp in Varese in Italy.

Trendsetter

Sinéad Jennings has been the trendsetter so far and in Limerick she set a world-class mark of 272 on the Wattbike (she is carrying an injury which made an ergometer test inadvisable). Siobhán McCrohan beat Denise Walsh and Claire Lambe on the ergometer, while Emma Desmond proved her worth in the previous trial. More than one crew could go on Ireland’s first regatta in Piediluco in April.

The women’s single scull and pair look set to be as-you-were from last season. Single sculler Sanita Puspure has a rib injury but was stunningly good on the Wattbike (a mark of 302), while the ergometer performances of Lisa Dilleen (who beat US Olympian Genevra Stone into second) and Leonora Kennedy (third) were satisfactory.

In the double, Monika Dukarskas hit her mark on the Wattbike, but Helen Hannigan is recovering from a long-term injury. Orla Finnegan of UCD won the under-23 section and had the fourth-fastest time overall.

Gary O’Donovan has been campaigning with his brother Paul in the lightweight double, but Paul – who finished fourth at the World Championships in the lightweight single – had a superior record.

Last weekend Gary set a new personal best time of six minutes 16.4 seconds, just .8 of a second behind class winner Justin Ryan – and faster than Paul (6:17.2). The O’Donovans will go to Varese as the lightweight double. The final boat of the six, the men’s lightweight four, looks the least certain.