Heavweight four fight for Beijing berths

ROWING/WORLD CUP REGATTA:IRELAND'S HEAVYWEIGHT four and lightweight single sculler Sinéad Jennings will be firmly in the spotlight at the final World Cup Regatta in Poznan in Poland this weekend.

The pressure on James Wall, Cormac Folan, Alan Martin and Seán O'Neill comes not just from their opposition from today until Sunday, but also because they are effectively fighting for their seats to Beijing. This boat pre-qualified last year, but the personnel do not have to be named until next month.

Jonno Devlin and Seán Casey, who failed to qualify a pair for Beijing at the Olympic Qualification regatta this week, wait in the wings.

O'Neill has been swapped into the stroke seat for this regatta, with long-time stroke Alan Martin moving into the three seat.

Jennings, who is being given leave from medical exams at Trinity College to compete this weekend, now has her gaze fixed on the World Championships for non-Olympic events in Linz, Austria, next month, and the chance to take her second World Championship as a lightweight single sculler. She won her first in 2001 in Lucerne.

The qualification for men's single scullers yielded an uplifting story yesterday when Greece's Ioannis Christou was given the very last place for Beijing after China allowed Liang Zhiang, who has qualified in both the single and double scull, to double up. Christou was less than a fifth of a second off qualification on Wednesday.

Seán Jaco was initially aimed at the heavyweight single scull, which yielded some surprise results. Jacob, who has left Commercial for Old Collegians, will compete in the Diamond Sculls at Henley Royal Regatta which begins on Wednesday week. Caroline Ryan is entered in the women's equivalent, the Princess Grace, where she will be joined by Helen Walshe.

Henley Royal has a relatively big Irish entry this year. Trinity and UCD go in the Temple Cup, NUIG in the Visitors' and Commercial in the Wyfolds.

While Monkstown and Lee regattas are being held tomorrow and Sunday respectively, nearly all the clubs with Henley ambitions have have been launching early raids on the neighbouring island to prepare their crews, and the trend continues this weekend.

There is a green tint to Marlow regatta - UCD, who won the senior one eights at Reading last weekend, are entered in the same category here, as are Commercial, while NUIG and Commercial go in the senior one coxless four. Commercial won the senior eights at Athlone regatta last weekend.

This weekend's Women's Henley has also drawn the Irish, with Walshe and Ryan competing in the elite single sculls. Tom Sullivan's UCD crew are also entered in Henley Royal, in the Remenham Cup.