Here they come again. Five Irish crews, two days of finals, and the only question around medals at the climax of the World Rowing Championships this weekend is who will get to show them off first.
Katie O’Brien has already showed off hers, winning gold in the Para women’s single sculls on Friday morning, setting up a likely Irish medal rush in Recice on the outskirts of Prague, at least one more gold surely among them.
It’s hard to recall the last time Irish rowing came away from these championships without a gold medal, at least since Paul O’Donovan has been involved.
The-28 year-old from Lisheen came to Recice looking to further extend his status one of the most decorated sportsman in Irish sporting history: Olympic gold and Olympic silver, four World Championship titles, three European Championship gold and two silver.
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A fifth world gold now beckons, O’Donovan and Fintan McCarthy looking imperious all week as they rowed their way to the final of the men’s lightweight double sculls, which goes off today, Saturday, at 1.23pm Irish time.
They may not have it all their own way, still it will take a seismic upset for them to lose. They got the better of the young Swiss crew in their semi-final, third behind O’Donovan and McCarthy at last month’s European Championships in Munich, the local Czech crew winning the other semi-final ahead of Italy, the silver medal winners in Munich.
The three podium places will likely be decided between these four, everything about the measured unfussed efforts of the Irish crew this week suggesting they will win.
Just before that in the women’s lightweight doubles (1.07pm), Margaret Cremen and Aoife Casey also go after a podium position, everything about their progress this week also suggesting it’s perfectly within reach. Their semi-final was dominated by the Great British crew, Cremen and Casey with the experience now to make their effort count.
Reunited again after their Olympic bronze medal win in Tokyo, the Irish women’s four also go into their final (1.39) looking well capable of making the podium.
Emily Hegarty, Fiona Murtagh, Eimear Lambe and Aifric Keogh finished second to title favourites Great Britain in their semi-final, but won’t fear that challenge either. The Dutch crew will likely have some say too, the well-fancied Australians only third in their semi-final; it promises to be close.
O’Brien won gold in one of the nine para-rowing boat classes in Recice, her victory utterly convincing too as she took control of the four-boat final from the start, winning by 10 seconds ahead of the Australian Kathryn Ross, the fastest qualifier.
Adding to the bronze medal she won at the last World Championships in Linz back in 2019, the 26-year-old from Clarinbridge is out again on Saturday in another final, joining Steven McGowen in the Para mixed double (12.05pm).
On Sunday (12.54), Zoe Hyde and Sanita Puspure round off the Irish interest in the women’s double sculls, the now 40 year-old Puspure seemingly back to her best, as they qualified second in their semi-final to the Dutch crew. There’s clearly a medal there too for the taking, and the last to be shown off for now.
