Mixed fortunes for Irish rowers

Rowing:   There were mixed emotions for two Coleraine rowers at the World Rowing Championships in Munich today as Richard Chambers…

Rowing:  There were mixed emotions for two Coleraine rowers at the World Rowing Championships in Munich today as Richard Chambers won gold with British the men's lightweight fours but Richard Archibald and his Irish crew came sixth in the B final to miss out on a place at the Beijing Olympics.

Chambers, Paul Mattick, James Clarke and James Lindsey-Fynn are in their first season as a crew and overcame defending champions China who had to settle for silver in Germany.
 
In the same (LM4-) discipline the Irish boat, including Archibald (Lady Victoria), Paul Griffin (Muckross), Eugene Coakley (Skibbereen) and Cathal Moynihan (Neptune), finished sixth in today's B-final, to finish 12th overall, and miss out on automatic qualification for Beijing as only the top 11 crews qualify.

The Irish crew will get another opportunity to make next year's Games from a qualifying regatta in Lucerne next June.

Yesterday Coleraine's Alan Campbell finished fourth in the final of the single sculls.

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The Irish men's heavyweight four of Alan Martin, Sean Casey, Cormac Folan and Sean O'Neill qualified for Beijing after finishing fourth in the B final.

On Friday the Irish boat of Sinead Jennings and Niamh NiCheilleachair also finished fourth in the C final of the women's lightweight double.