The four Irish female rowers, namely Imogen Magner, Eimear Lambe, Natalie Long, and Emily Hegarty, are set to appear in the Paris Olympics after clinching victory in the final Qualifying Regatta in Lucerne, Switzerland on Tuesday. They came from behind, surpassing the Danish crew in the final stretch to secure second position, just .79 seconds ahead of them, and substantially clearing the Spanish team who finished third, trailing a distant 12.34 seconds.
This crowning victory came despite Denmark’s triumph in the preliminary race over the weekend and rebuffed any doubts about the Irish team’s commitment to win. The four-woman team, which includes new members Long and Magner, replacing Aifric Keogh and Fiona Murtagh since Tokyo, is expected to replicate their previous feats, as they had also qualified at the final regatta before going on to win bronze medals in Tokyo.
As the first-choice selection for Rowing Ireland, the current four rowers qualified this boat in Lucerne. Keogh and Murtagh had already ensured a place for an Irish boat in the women’s pair, having emerged victorious in the World Championships in Belgrade the preceding September.
Further qualifications are anticipated, with eyes on Sanita Puspure, who is nearing her fourth Olympic qualification in the women’s single. As a former World Champion twice in the singles, she is highly favoured to win despite three spots being open for potential qualifiers. There’s also expectation on Konan Pazzaia, the Swiss-born rower representing Ireland, in the men’s single finals.
With six boats qualified for the Paris Olympics from the World Rowing Championships held last September in Belgrade, Ireland had matched their qualifications for Tokyo 2020.
The boats have advanced to the next stage, regardless of which rowers will be chosen for the Paris event. These include: Margaret Cremen’s lightweight women’s double from University College Cork RC, slotted with Aoife Casey from Skibbereen RC. The men’s lightweight double features Paul O’Donovan, also from University College Cork RC, and Fintan McCarthy of Skibbereen RC. The women’s pair are from University of Galway BC and Dublin University Ladies BC, Fiona Murtagh and Aifric Keogh, respectively. Also progressing are the women’s double, Alison Bergin from Fermoy RC and Zoe Hyde of Killorglin RC; Nathan Timoney and Ross Corrigan, the men’s pair from Queen’s University Belfast BC and Portora BC; and the men’s double are Philip Doyle from Portora BC and Daire Lynch from Clonmel RC.
In the upcoming Paris stop, all eyes will be on O’Donovan, who is poised to make Irish sporting history by becoming the first in any discipline to procure medals in three sequential Olympics. He previously won silver in Rio, along with his elder brother Gary, followed by a gold in Tokyo with Fintan McCarthy.