Irish rowers secure impressive medal haul at World Cup II in Poznan

Six out of the eight Irish crews will be back on our shores with medals, as Ireland ranked fourth in terms of medal hauls in Poznan.

Sun, 19 Jun, 2022 - 15:38

Shane Donovan

The Irish contingent at the Rowing World Cup II are arriving home after a very successful stint in Poznan, Poland.

Six out of the eight Irish crews will be back on our shores with medals, as Ireland ranked fourth in terms of medal hauls in Poznan.

In the PR2 Mix2x, Katie O'Brien and Steven McGowan kicked off the A Finals. The new Irish crew finished fourth in the final against stiff competition. With O'Brien's dominant triumph in the PR2 W1x on Saturday and the calm rowing shown in the mixed 2x, this Galway crew has a lot more to offer.

With a bronze medal in their final, the W2- team of Emily Hegarty and Fiona Murtagh were the first to secure podium places. As the crew approached the midway point, they were bow ball to bow ball with the Czech crew. They swapped places with each stroke, but it was the NUIG and UCC rowers who hung on and took home the medals.

Sanita Puspure and Zoe Hyde took their turn on the podium not long after. The crew started in the medal places and finished where they intended to.

Despite the Chinese team's best efforts, the Irish crew crossed the finish line first and won silver.

Margaret Cremen of UCC and Lydia Heaphy of Skibbereen RC won bronze in the LW2x, which was also one of the more exciting races of the day. As the race progressed, the USA and Australia began to draw away, while the rest of the teams were separated by nothing. It came down to a photo finish between the Irish and the Chinese crews, but it was the Irish who crossed first and won bronze with only 0.3 seconds to spare.

The W4- of Eimear Lambe (Old Collegians BC), Tara Hanlon (UCC), Aifric Keogh (DULBC), and Natalie Long (Killorglin RC) finished World Cup II on a high note, earning the bronze medal and bringing Ireland's medal count to six.

The team jumped from fifth to third place in the final 500m thanks to a strong closing effort.

Rowing Ireland’s High-Performance Director, Antonio Maurogiovanni, said: "We are all very happy and delighted with the results from this weekend's racing. We have gathered the information that we needed for our internal assessment.

"We know where we are and where we need to go for the rest of the season. This was the first big international competition post Tokyo and the whole team raced at their best.

"Taking home six medals across para, lightweight and heavyweight rowing is a difficult feat. The coaches and all the individual crews will go through a deep review and prepare the next phase which will see the selection of the European Championships. Congratulations to all the Irish athletes, staff and coaches on their medal wins and strong performances."

Irish Results