THURSDAY’S ugly storm clouds passed and sunshine returned to Shunyi Park yesterday but it proved another grey, miserable day for Irish rowing.

The Irish lightweight four crashed out of the medal running this morning.

Several Irish athletes are in action in a range of events at the Beijing Olympics today.

AROUND the time Eoin Rheinisch prepared himself for his Olympic final, the Irish lightweights four moved a step closer to making theirs.

Ireland's men’s lightweight four team have qualified for the Olympic semi-finals on Thursday after winning their repechage this morning.

THE Irish lightweight fours are in confident mood ahead of their second bid for an Olympic semi-final in today’s repechage at the Shunyi Park (9.40am, Irish time).

THIS wasn’t in the script. Ireland’s lightweight rowers were supposed to sail through to the Olympic semi-finals on Thursday with their heavier brethren set for the roundabout repechage route.

ANOTHER piece of the Irish Olympic jigsaw was put in place for Beijing yesterday with confirmation of the composition of the two rowing crews.

IRELAND has secured a second boat at the Olympics as the Irish men’s lightweight four (LM4-) put in an impressive performance in the final qualifying regatta in Poznan, Poland yesterday to confirm their place in Beijing.

The Irish men's lightweight four of Paul Griffin, Richard Archibald, Gearoid Towey and Cathal Moynihan has qualified for this summer's Olympic Games.

At the final Olympic qualifying regatta in Poznan, Poland this morning the Irish men's lightweight four (LM4-) of Paul Griffin, Richard Archibald, Gearoid Towey and Cathal Moynihan won their heat to advance directly to Wednesday's final.

The Irish lightweight four of Paul Griffin, Richard Archibald, Gearoid Towey, and Eugene Coakley finished sixth in today's final at the Rowing World Cup in Lucerne.

An Irish rowing team of seven boats has been announced to compete in the opening regatta of the FISA World Cup series next week at the 1972 Olympic regatta course in Munich, Germany.

IRISH rowing received a multi-million euro boost yesterday when the National Rowing Centre was officially opened at Farran Wood in Inniscarra, Co Cork.

SEAN KELLY has dismissed as a “fallacy” the notion that the recent upsurge in sports funding and facilities will mean that all Irish athletes will soon train full-time in this country.

THE ship came in for a voluntary group working with drug users and homeless people yesterday.

ALTHOUGH they won a bronze medal at the World Rowing Championships at Dorney Lake, Eton, yesterday, the Irish men’s lightweight four were left ruing the loss of a potential second consecutive silver after being pipped on the line by France.

The Irish men's lightweight four of Gearoid Towey Eugene Coakley Richard Archibald and Paul Griffin took Bronze in the World Championship final at Eton.

The Irish men's lightweight four (LM4) of Gearoid Towey (Fermoy), Eugene Coakley (Skibbereen), Richard Archibald (Lady Victoria BC), and Paul Griffin (Muckross) take on the elite of International rowing in this afternoon's world championship final at 2.15pm.

ALTHOUGH not quite in the circumstances they might have expected, the Irish men’s lightweight four of Gearoid Towey, Eugene Coakley, Richard Archibald and Paul Griffin have earned themselves a place in tomorrow’s World Championship final.

The Irish men's lightweight four (LM4-) of Gearóid Towey, Eugene Coakley, Richard Archibald and Paul Griffin have earned themselves a place in the World Championship final by taking third in today's semi-final.

THREE Irish crews have qualified for the semi-finals at the Rowing World Championships at Dorney Lake, Eton.

THE Irish men’s lightweight four of Gearoid Towey, Eugene Coakley, Richard Archibald and Paul Griffin will have to take the repechage route in order to qualify for the semi-finals at the Rowing World Championships after they were unexpectedly defeated by the Chinese four in yesterday’s heat.

The lightweight four of Gearóid Towey, Eugene Coakley, Richard Archibald and Paul Griffin yesterday made history.

The men's light four of Gearóid Towey, Eugene Coakley, Richard Archibald and Paul Griffin have become the first Irish crew ever to win the Rowing World Cup outright.

IRELAND’s lightweight four are targeting World Championship glory after their gold medal success on Saturday.

The Irish men’s lightweight four of Gearoid Towey, Eugene Coakley, Richard Archibald and Paul Griffin won their heat at the second leg of Rowing World Cup in Poznan, Poland this morning, to qualify directly for Saturday’s final.

Alan Campbell has secured victory in the single scull event at the Rowing World Cup in Munich.

The Irish men’s lightweight four of Gearoid Towey, Eugene Coakley, Richard Archibald and Paul Griffin have comfortably won their heat on the opening day of the Rowing World Cup in Munich, and progress directly to tomorrow’s semi-final (provisionally set for 4.20pm Irish time).

TODAY, the Irish Examiner unveils a new generation of Irish sporting stars. Remember their names - the chances are if you haven’t already heard of them, you will before too long.

An Irish rower and his Canadian girlfriend today completed one of the world’s toughest maritime challenges.

EVER wondered what it is like to dive over 200 metres beneath the waves on a single breath?

Two more rowers have had to be rescued from the ocean after getting into difficulties while approaching the finishing line in the Atlantic Rowing Race.

TWO Irish rowers who nearly died when their boat capsized in a transatlantic race have not ruled out another attempt at the challenge.

The two Irish rowers rescued from the mid-Atlantic after their boat capsized last Sunday are finally back home in Ireland.

Two Irish rowers, whose boat capsized during an Atlantic rowing race, are returning home today.

TWO Irish rowers who cheated death after a wave reduced their boat to smithereens are due back in Ireland tomorrow.

TWO Irish rowers who cheated death after being capsized mid-Atlantic described how a massive wave pulverised their boat to “matchsticks.”

Two Irish sportsmen have been rescued from a liferaft after their boat capsized midway through the Atlantic Rowing Race yesterday.

Fears were raised for the safety of two Irish men taking part in a gruelling transatlantic rowing race tonight after they sent out distress signals.

The middle of the Atlantic Ocean in a 22 foot rowing boat may not be the most comfortable place in the world, but for Gearoid Towey and Ciaran Lewis, the support they’re getting from home is making it worthwhile, as Declan Colley discovered.

Two Irish rowers are preparing to contest an epic race across the Atlantic to raise money for charity.

An Irish Olympic rower is making his final preparations for an epic journey across 3,000 miles of open seas in a bid to become the fastest man to row across the Atlantic.