In the face of both challenging conditions and stiff competition, Margaret Cremen claimed the silver medal in the lightweight women’s single at the European Rowing Championships held in Szeged, Hungary. The talented rower from Cork demonstrated her adaptability by transitioning to the singles category following her teammate Aoife Casey’s withdrawal due to illness. Despite facing a difficult headwind, Cremen exhibited an impressive performance, clinching a noteworthy second place with a 8:42.96 timing, surpassed only by the seasoned Belarusian rower, Alena Furman, who achieved her latest European title in 8:32.17.
The 25-year-old member of the UCC rowing club, securing her second Olympic qualification along with Casey, demonstrates promising prospects for the upcoming Paris Olympics, despite the absence of some of the top-ranking lightweight crews during this event.
Jake McCarthy, another hopeful medal contender in the men’s lightweight single final, experienced some difficulty due to the unfavourable conditions and finished in sixth place with a time of 8:12.56. Niels Torre from Italy emerged victorious with a winning time of 7:41.72. McCarthy’s twin brother, Fintan, had to withdraw from the lightweight doubles event with Paul O’Donovan due to illness. Consequently, O’Donovan moved to the men’s heavyweight single category and managed to procure a second place in his B Final after earning a fifth place in the semi-final.
O’Donovan, having recently celebrated his 30th birthday, has hinted at his future plans, particularly regarding his shift from lightweight crews which won’t be part of Olympics post the Paris event. Despite an initial setback where his boat capsized just before the beginning of the semi-finals on Saturday, he effectively utilised the racing experience, shifting focus towards lightweight doubles for Paris.
The European Championships did not provide additional opportunities for other Irish crews to qualify for the Paris Olympic event. This opportunity is only afforded to countries with either no boat or one boat that has already qualified for Paris – an eligibility criterion Rowing Ireland already exceeds with its six qualified boats. Further chances for Irish boats to qualify will be provided at the Lucerne regatta scheduled from 19th to 21st May.
In the previous World Championships held in Belgrade last September, Ireland qualified six boats for Paris – the men’s and women’s pair, men’s and women’s double sculls, and men’s and women’s lightweight double sculls.
In Paris, O’Donovan wishes to make history as the first Irish athlete across all sports to win a medal in three consecutive Olympics. His previous victories include a silver medal in Rio, a victory he shared with his elder brother Gary, and a gold in Tokyo, won alongside McCarthy.