The Irish lightweight coxless four are through to Friday's semi-finals after qualifying in third position in the repechage earlier this morning.
After a disastrous start in heat one, the Irish were forced to readjust their Olympic plans and qualify through this session. They finished third, behind Denmark and Russia in a time of six minutes 13 seconds, a considerable improvement on their performance in the heats.
However, it appears they still have considerable distance to make up over the coming days if they are to qualify for the final at the weekend. Ireland trailed behind Denmark by 4.37 seconds and were almost three seconds adrift of Russia. In the end they qualified comfortably, with over two seconds to spare on the Chileans and Japanese, the first two teams eliminated from this section.
Given their form, however, the Irish will not be favoured to progress from Friday's races. Awaiting them are the highly-fancied French team along with Australia and the Netherlands.
RESULT: Denmark 6.08.63; Russia 6.10.35; Ireland 6.13.0, Chile 6.15.49; Japan 6.18.86.
Boxing: Roche bows out
Nicholas Cruz, the national boxing coach, preached the gospel of change after watching Michael Roche crash to an emphatic points defeat at the hands of the Turkish light middleweight Firat Karagollu. Roche, Ireland's only representative in the boxing championships, was comprehensively beaten in every aspect of an undistinguished bout, eventually losing 17-4. By the end of the first round the Turk had opened up a 7-1 lead and, lacking the weight of punch needed to drop his opponent, Roche was merely trying to salvage his respectability thereafter.
Afterwards, Cruz was emphatic that things must change if Ireland is to again become a force in the sport. "We still have a lot of talent in Ireland but as things stand, we are not in a position to develop it in full-time training camps as most of the countries in these Games do," he said.
"Although this is an amateur sport, the reality is that the boxers we meet are all professionals in the sense that they train twice a day, five days a week. At the moment, we are not in a position to match that.
"We need to be with the big boxing nations like Cuba, Russia, France and Turkey, working and training with them for a week or even a weekend, to see how the sport is progressing.
"We were unfortunate to have only one boxer here but we have learned a lesson, admittedly, not a nice one, to take home. If we heed it, I think we can have three or four boxers at the next Olympics."
A disappointed Roche said afterwards: "I just didn't box as I should have - he was the better man on the day. Going into the fight, I was full of confidence but it simply didn't happen for me."
Swimming: Gibney off-form
Despite high hopes, Chantal Gibney could only finish seventh and second last in the third heat of the 100 metres freestyle early this morning. Her time of 58.79 seconds was outside her personal best.
However the Games ended with some sense of satisfaction for Andrew Bree. He
improved on his personal best time for the 200-metre breaststroke to two minutes 18.14 seconds, finishing 27th out of 40.
Irish at a glance
Sailing - Maria Coleman - Europe class (23.00-7.00)
Equestrian Austin O'Connor, Trevor Smith - Three-day individual (00.00-4.30)
