Rowing: O’Donovan and McCarthy get off the mark

On a day when all the Ireland crews made it directly to semi-finals, Paul O’Donovan and Fintan McCarthy won their first race together as the new Ireland lightweight double. The heats at the World Cup Regatta in Rotterdam were run as time trials because of storms.

Philip Doyle and Ronan Byrne also posted the best time in their heat of the openweight doubles, while Aileen Crowley and Monika Dukarska were second in their pairs’ heat. Jake McCarthy (second) and Gary O’Donovan (third) both qualified from in the lightweight single sculls. The lightweight women’s double of Lydia Heaphy and Denise Walsh took fourth, but qualified as a fastest loser.

At the Irish Championships, Crowley’s brother Fionnan defended his senior single’s title, and UCD were the top men’s four. NUIG won the senior women’s four – one of their four wins – and Enniskillen won the men’s junior eight and women’s junior four.

Kenmare’s Tom Kelly made history by winning the first title for Kenmare (the junior single) and the women’s junior double was carried off by Carlow’s Ciara Egan and Sadhbh Scully.