Paul O’Donovan, the renowned Skibbereen rower, has impressively forced his way to the semi-finals of the men’s single sculls at the European Rowing Championships held in Szeged, Hungary. This compelling event took place on day two of the championship. O’Donovan faced off against greats in the rowing world for the first time and strode into the lead after the initial 500 meters, eventually rampaging past Emil Neykov of Bulgaria by five seconds. Neykov, the offspring of the famous sculler, Rumyana Neykov, fought hard but fell short.
The championship saw the Skibbereen rower battling against ideal conditions, including a vigorous crosswind. O’Donovan completed the course in 7:18.66, putting him in a competitive position to enter Sunday’s final. The semi-finals were scheduled for the following Saturday morning (Irish local time 10.44).
Post-race, O’Donovan seemed satisfied, observing that the stronger competitors had advanced the previous day and he was left racing against the less proficient ‘good’ participants. He found the overall experience to be enjoyable, and mentioned that it was an instructive experience to compete against some familiar faces at these regattas.
O’Donovan initially intended to participate in both the men’s singles and the lightweight doubles, alongside fellow Skibbereen rower Fintan McCarthy. However, McCarthy was unable to regain his full strength after a recent illness and had to step down.
O’Donovan is now expressly focussed on the men’s singles, marking his first stint at this championship, not as a lightweight crew member but with the mustered might of the heavyweights. The lightweight crews, a category with a weight limit of 72.5kg per person, will not be part of the Olympic programme following this summer’s Olympic events in Paris. Consequently, O’Donovan, who recently turned 30, is considering the switch to heavyweights.
The formidable journey to the final features some serious competition, including Germany’s reigning World champion Oliver Zeidler, Greece’s Olympic gold medallist Stefanos Ntouskos, and Damir Martin from Croatia, who was a bronze medal winner in Tokyo.
In the women’s doubles event, Alison Bergin of Fermoy RC and Zoe Hyde from Traley RC clinched the second place in their repechage, thereby securing their berths for Sunday’s finals. The victory went to the formidable Romanian team, who are the champions at the Olympics, World and European stages. The British team, however, was not so fortunate, finishing behind teams from Ireland, Switzerland, and the Czech Republic.
Jake McCarthy, Fintan’s twin, had managed to book his spot in the lightweight men’s singles finals on Sunday, after emerging victorious in his heat on Thursday. Margaret Cremen from the University College Cork RC was also a participant in the lightweight women’s singles on Thursday. She finished second in her preliminary race and this determined the race lanes for the forthcoming Sunday final.
As for the European Championships, it doesn’t provide any more opportunities for Irish crews to qualify for Paris. Opportunities are limited for nations that have yet to qualify a single boat or less for Paris. Ireland, however, is ahead with six boats already qualified. The Lucerne regatta, scheduled for May 19th to 21st, serves as the last chance for any additional Irish boat to qualify.
The Irish contingent secured qualifications for the six boat categories last September at the World Championships held in Belgrade. The men’s and women’s pair, men’s and women’s double sculls, and men’s and women’s lightweight double sculls composed the accomplished lineup.
However, none of this distracts O’Donovan from his objective in the lightweight doubles in Paris. He aspires to earn the honour of being the first Irish athlete to fetch a medal in three consecutive Olympics. He’s stepping up his game after his success in Rio, where he won silver (alongside his elder brother Gary), and in Tokyo, where he obtained gold (partnering with McCarthy).