Lightweight four progress to final

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.

The Irish quartet, who won silver at the first leg of the World Cup in Munich last month, led from start to finish, and crossed the line almost three seconds ahead of runners-up Australia, with China third, in what Irish head coach Harald Jahrling described as "a smooth professional performance".

The final will get underway at 10.48pm Irish time on Saturday morning and will be televised live on Eurosport, and also streamed live on their website www.eurosport.com

Muckross clubman Paul Griffin said: "We’re pleased with how we rowed today, the race went to plan; we got a good start and kept an even steady rhythm throughout.

"A win is the best possible start so we can concentrate solely on the final now without having to race in the semi-finals. We’re looking forward to Saturday."