Irish beat Danes to take World Cup regatta silver

IRELAND’S lightweight men’s four took second place and a silver medal at the World Cup regatta in Munich on Saturday.

Richard Archibald, Eugene Coakley, Niall O’Toole and Paul Griffin, won their second medal in a week when they finished second in the final behind Italy, beating the Danish World Champions in the process.

The four had won gold against lesser opposition in Duisburg last weekend, but in their first major international appearance, they stunned the establishment with their silver-winning performance.

It was their second time beating the Danes in as many days and the performances will not only have given them race experience, but will have boosted confidence considerably.

The Italians made all the running throughout the 2,000 metre event and, when the charge from Denmark failed to materialise, the Irish overhauled Chile for second place

In the women’s lightweight doubles, Sinéad Jennings and Heather Boyle have yet to produce an Olympic qualifying performance.

The pair finished eighth in Munich on Saturday and must now go to Lucerne in two weeks time to try and earn themselves a place at the Athens Olympics.