Rowing Round-up: Paul Griffin, who stroked the Ireland lightweight four which reached the Olympic final in Athens, will miss the first national selection regatta which starts today at the National Rowing Centre in Cork.
The 25-year-old from Killarney, who has remarkable scores in the ergometer (rowing machine) tests and was to compete this weekend in a lightweight pair with Niall O'Toole, has been forced out by a stress fracture of the ribs which also caused him to miss the national time trials last month.
"It's recovered quite a bit, but I'm not ready for racing," Griffin said yesterday. His hopes of international selection now rest solely on the final trial in four weeks.
As a recent Olympian, Griffin will be given this chance by national coach Harald Jahrling, but some competitors will be cut from the process this weekend.
"There will be a narrowing of the circle," is how Jahrling prefers to put it. "We will set priorities after the regatta. We will see what our strengths and weaknesses are. We will know how many people we have."
There will be a lot to prove for some crews identified by Jahrling as ones to watch: the heavyweight pair of Alan Martin and Cormac Folan; the rising star of lightweight rowing, Richard Coakley, and single scullers Sinead Jennings and Seán Casey.
Jahrling's ultimate priority is to form Olympic crews, and for lightweight women this means a double scull. But he is prepared to cut some slack for Jennings in a lightweight single this year - if she is good enough.
"I believe that to row in World Championships in a single you have to be on top by a big margin at home," says the no-nonsense German.
For Casey to show such superiority this weekend he must best five others, including Eamonn Joyce, who was in the Cambridge second crew which won the Boat Race at the weekend, and John Wholley, who won at the Tribesmen head of the river and has stated that he intends to become the best single sculler in the country.
Off the water, this weekend will see a shortlist drawn up of candidates for the post of assistant coach. Seven people have applied, including, it is understood, Debbie Fox, who is married to Jahrling.
The National Rowing Centre will be busy right until Sunday evening. After the selection regatta has finished, the Skibbereen Head of the River will be run at the venue.
