Puspure takes bronze for Ireland

Irish Olympian Sanita Puspure won a bronze medal in a thrilling women’s single sculls final at the European Rowing Championships in Belgrade, Serbia yesterday.

Latvian native Puspure, who missed most of last season through illness, was well in contention from the start as the race developed into a three-way battle between her, Mirka Knapkova and Chantal Achterberg.

In a sensational final 50 metres, Olympic champion Knapkova (Czech Republic) held out for victory while Achterberg (The Netherlands) produced a storming surge to pip Puspure on the line by two hundredths of a second.

Meanwhile Lisa Dilleen and Leonora Kennedy — a newly formed crew for the 2014 season — finished fourth in the women’s pair while Eimear Moran and Monika Dukarska were 9th in the ultra competitive women’s double sculls. Paul O’Donovan, a European U23 bronze medallist last year, came home 14th overall in the men’s lightweight single scull having finished second in Saturday’s C final.

Rowing Ireland chief executive officer Hamish Adams said last night: “These performances are incredible and huge credit must go to our High Performance team led by Morten Espersen and Don McLachlan.

“This is a huge statement of intent. We want medals. Rowing Ireland has had to wait too long for international success.”