Irish men’s lightweight four in world championship final

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.

The Irish crew are no strangers to this level of competition, three of them having won silver at last year's world championships in Japan. Gearoid Towey replaced an injured Tim Harnedy in the boat this season.

They qualified through the repechage route for the semi-final at these championships, meaning they raced three times already this week.

Head coach Harald Jahrling believes the extra race may have been a blessing in disguise.

"Four days break between racing is not always good at a championships; these guys are used to racing over a much tighter timeframe," he said. "The extra race hasn't done them any harm; I know that. They have improved with every race so far, so I think if they can improve again they have a chance."