Sam Lynch this year confirmed his status as the best lightweight single sculler in the world. Basing himself in Spain for some of the year, the Limerick rower won the World Cup events in Seville and Munich and recorded two crucial victories over Michal Vabrousek, the Czech who beat him to gold in the World Championship in Zagreb in 2000.

But this year the biggest championship would not escape the Irish medical student on an August weekend when Ireland won a further two gold medals at Lucerne..

Lynch's progress to gold was majestic. He won his heat and semi-final convincingly and with remarkable coolness, took command in the final which directly followed Sinead Jennings' breakthrough win in the women's lighweight sculls.