Patrick Boomer takes gold in Sydney International

Two Skibbereen crews fell agonisingly short in their quest for medals, but Patrick Boomer took gold at the Sydney International Rowing Regatta on Friday.

Boomer (23), a former Methodist College man who represented Ireland as an under-23 rower and at the senior World Championships in 2017, formed an open four with a set of Australian stars. Josh Dunkley-Smith, who recently set a world record on the ergometer (rowing machine), Joshua Booth and Simon Keenan partnered the Irishman in the win.

In the same race, Mark O’Donovan and Shane O’Driscoll were within touching distance of joining Boomer on the podium. They teamed up Australian internationals Ben Coombs and Tim Masters and finished fourth - by 0.15 of a second.

Paul O’Donovan and Gary O’Donovan competed in the Open double sculls. In a very tight race, Alexander Hill, and Olympic medallist, and David Watts took gold. The O’Donovan brothers, Olympic medallists in the lightweight double, were right in the mix through the race but eventually finished fifth.

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Sydney International Rowing Regatta, Day Five (Friday; Irish interest):

Men

Open Four - Final: 1 Melbourne Univ/Mercantile-NTC (P Boomer, S Keenan, J Dunkley-Smith, J Booth) 6:04.8; 4 Skibbereen-NTC (T Masters, B Coombs, M O'Donovan, S O'Driscoll) 6:12.78

Open Double Sculls - A Final: 1 Adelaide/Sydney (A Hill, D Watts) 6:26.08, 2 UTS/Sydney 6:28.34, 3 Sydney University-NTC 6:30.45; 5 Skibbereen (G O'Donovan, P O'Donovan) 6:33.28.