Philip Doyle and Daire Lynch get Ireland’s rowers off to strong start at Olympics

“That’s probably the most nervous race of the whole regatta because you don’t know where everyone is and it’s nice to come out with one of the faster times. The race went exactly as we thought. We were able to ease up at the end and enjoy the last 500 metres.”

STRONG START: Philip Doyle, left, and Daire Lynch in action during the men’s double scull heats. Pic: Brendan Moran/Sportsfile

Philip Doyle and Daire Lynch got Ireland’s rowers off to a strong start at the Olympics by taking a comfortable win in the heats of the men’s double sculls at the Vaires-sur-Marne Nautical Stadium in Paris this morning.

The Irish had a conservative start, passing 500m in third but by halfway they had moved up to second, just behind the leaders Spain. But the Irish duo cranked up the effort in the third quarter, pulling clear of the field and they hit the finish in 6:13.24 to claim one of the three automatic spots in Tuesday’s semi-finals, almost three seconds clear of Spain.