Super Sunday for Irish rowers with double gold at World Championships

Brilliant Irish climax in Shanghai as Fiona Murtagh claims gold in women's Single Sculls and then, 30 minutes later, Mags Cremen and Fintan McCarthy added a second gold in the Mixed Double Sculls

SUPER SUNDAY: Ireland's Mags Cremen and Fintan McCarthy celebrate winning gold in the Mixed Double Scull final at the World Rowing Championships in Shanghai, China. Pic: Benedict Tufnell/Sportsfile

Rowing Ireland celebrated a historic golden final day at the World Rowing Championships in Shanghai, claiming two gold medals in thrilling style. Fiona Murtagh stormed to victory in the Women’s Single Sculls, while just two races later Mags Cremen and Fintan McCarthy added a second gold in the Mixed Double Sculls.

Galway's Murtagh delivered a sensational performance to win gold in the Women’s Single Sculls. Leading from the early stages, she maintained a two-second advantage over the field for much of the race. In a dramatic finish, Great Britain’s Lauren Henry mounted a late challenge, but a photo finish confirmed Fiona as World Champion in a time of 07:12.27 — just 0.03 seconds ahead.

"I'm lost for words," Murtagh reacted, "I knew it was going to be a really difficult race, and I knew I had to put as much in between (Lauren Henry) in the middle of the race as I could, because she's a phenomenal athlete and she's got a really good sprint.

"Then I hit the red buoys and I caught a bit of a wobble and I was like 'oh no, have I lost it?' But I dug deep and crossed the line and we were right beside each other, I really didn't know who'd won it until I looked at the screen and saw my name. I've never won a major regatta. This is huge and I'm in shock."

Fintan McCarthy picked up his second medal of the championships with Mags Cremen as they added a second gold for Ireland in the Mixed Double Sculls. After winning their heat earlier in the day, the pair produced a powerful performance in the final. They seized the lead at the halfway mark and held off a strong challenge from the Netherlands to claim victory in 06:24.22. Mags and Fintan are the first ever world champions in this event.

"It was a great race, so much fun," McCarthy said. "We always train against each other, the girls in the double and I'm in the single, in some capacity, and they're always kicking my ass, so it was nice to have my ass kicked in the same boat."

Reflected Dominic Casey, Rowing Ireland High Performance Lead coach: “These championships have been very rewarding for our athletes, coaches and support staff. Our team delivered strong performances showing real promise with lots of new crew combinations. We are determined to build on these results over the next three years as we prepare for the 2028 Olympics. We have a fantastic team overall. I would like to say thanks to Sport Ireland and the Sport Institute for their help and support throughout the year, it is a huge help to our team. Well done to all.”