Fiona Murtagh claims silver, Fintan McCarthy and Konan Pazzaia bronze at World Rowing Cup
Fiona Murtagh claimed silver for Ireland in the women's single sculls at the World Rowing Cup in Lucerne on Sunday while Fintan McCarthy and Konan Pazzaia took bronze in the men's double sculls. It took Ireland's medal haul from the regatta to three, adding to the bronze which Tiarnán O'Donnell and Sadhbh Ní Laoighre won on Saturday.
Galway rower Murtagh finished in 7:18.63, just over three seconds behind winner and favourite, Lauren Henry of Great Britain. It was a close race throughout. Henry was slow out at the start with Canadian Katie Clark taking the lead. As they reached halfway, Henry started to move, taking the advantage, though Murtagh was following closely. With 500m to go, Henry had extended her lead over Murtagh to 1.57 seconds. Denmark's Frida Sanggaard Nielsen claimed bronze in 7:20.19.
The men's double sculls final was a tight finish with just 1.17 seconds separating first from third. McCarthy and Pazzaia - who also claimed bronze in the heavyweight event at the European Championships last month - finished in 6:11.65, just 0.12 behind silver medallists New Zealand. Serbia took the gold in 6:10.48.
McCarthy's fellow Olympic lightweight double sculls gold medal winner Paul O'Donovan finished fifth, rowing 6:16.18 in a boat which also featured Olympic double sculls bronze medallist Daire Lynch.
McCarthy and Pazzaia went out fast, leading at 500m, halfway, and with 500m to go. However, the surging Serbian boat of Martin Mackovic and Nikolaj Pimenov seized the win in the final 200m by 0.05 seconds from New Zealanders Finlay Hamill and Benjamin Mason. O'Donovan and Lynch were in sixth with 500m to row but a strong sprint finish in the final stretch saw them overtake the Individual Neutral Athletes crew to claim fifth.
O'Donnell and Ní Laoighre took bronze in the PR3 mixed double sculls final. They finished third in 8:48.89, behind silver medallists Australia (7:11.87) and winners Germany (7:09.41).
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Irish Sun
8 hours ago
- The Irish Sun
Man City ready to cash in on England U21 captain James McAtee after £25million star led Three Lions to Euros glory
MANCHESTER CITY are ready to dump European Championship-winning England u21's captain James McAtee. The midfielder led the Advertisement 3 James McAtee will leave Man City this summer Credit: AP 3 He captained the Three Lions to glory at the Under-21s Euros Credit: Reuters However he is unlikely to find a way back into Pep Guardiola's squad when he returns from a break later in the summer. So a permanent exit looks to be on the cards – although it would need a bid in excess of £25million to persuade them to sell. Ironically – after leading Advertisement READ MORE IN FOOTBALL Borussia Dortmund have registered an interest and have money to spend after allowing another ex-City youngster Bayer Leverkusen have previously watched him while RB Leipzig, Stuttgart and Eintracht Frankfurt are also monitoring his situation. However several Premier League clubs will also have been alerted by his performances at Euros over the last three weeks. Last summer, McAtee decided he wanted to stay with his boyhood club for the season even if it meant he did not play much. Advertisement Most read in Football Breaking Exclusive Breaking JOIN SUN VEGAS: GET £50 BONUS 3 He was given just nine starts in all competitions – with 18 more sub appearances – despite a difficult season for the fallen champions. And he is likely to find opportunities even harder to come by if he decides to try to stay and fight for his place once again. Advertisement England u21s star looks worse for wear after wild celebrations onboard 3 30am flight for winning European Championships Pep has spent more than £125million on reinforcing the centre of his midfield since the turn of the year – bringing in Nico Gonzalez, Tijjani Reijnders and Ballon d'Or winner Rodri is also fit again after missing almost all the season with a cruciate ligament problem – making the competition for midfield places even more competitive. Guardiola has spoken before about his admiration for Speaking in April, Pep said: 'At his age I would like him to stay but I understand, the players want more minutes. Advertisement 'He's an academy player, he knows the patterns, he's a lovely guy. He trains really good, plays in different positions. I like him but with the squad, it's how we finish and we will see.' Guardiola said last week he will have to let players go as he prefers to work with a smaller squad. City are certain to ask for a sell-on clause in any agreement over McAtee as there are no doubts about his ability. Meanwhile the Etihad club will not get anything from the deal which takes Gittens to Stamford Bridge as they only received compensation rather than a fee when he moved to Germany. Advertisement
Irish Examiner
8 hours ago
- Irish Examiner
In the Arena: Serena Williams review – there is just no one in the world that matches up to her (and her sister)
Serena Williams, holder of 39 grand slam titles and four Olympic gold medals, who spent 319 weeks as tennis's world No 1 and became the highest-earning female athlete in history, never thought she was that good when she was a young player. That was because she was always training against her older sister, Venus ('she was the prodigy of prodigies'), the only person in the world who could really challenge her. A year younger, Serena remembers being shorter and weaker and resorting to cheating on line calls at practice so she could occasionally beat her. In the Arena: Serena Williams (the title comes from President Roosevelt's 1910 speech to the Sorbonne – 'It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena' - is an eight-part docuseries that covers Serena's rise and rise over her 27-year tennis career before she retired three years ago. Since then, incidentally, she has been busy with her venture capital firm, production company, body care and pain relief startup, beauty line and raising two children. Honestly, it's like looking in a mirror, is it not? In the Arena was executive produced by Serena and is clearly meant to be the definitive version of events. It would be too strong to call it hagiographic, but it is a full-blooded celebration of her achievements. It is not the place to come if you want, for example, an interrogation of the techniques used by the sisters' astonishing father and coach, Richard Williams, to mould two champions. 'My dad was a marketing genius,' says Serena of his marshalling of press attention round his children in the early years, regardless, some might say and have said, of the psychological impact. Serena with her father Richard Williams after winning Wimbledon in 2012. File picture:'There's a very thin line between parent and coach … But I would say at the end it was all worth it,' is as far as Serena goes here in acknowledging the criticism Richard has faced for his intense focus on their professional success. Then it's on to the good stuff. The sisters turning pro – Venus flying from the start, Serena stumbling slightly before she too took off. The beating of rivals and established stars ('I was determined, determined to take her down … I'm coming for you. I'm coming for everyone') and their swift domination of a game that had hitherto been almost solely the preserve of a white, moneyed elite. 'Little sisters from Compton. Can't really take that too seriously, right?' Inevitably, of course, they begin to meet in grand slam finals. The footage – the grace, the power of them – is astonishing. Almost as astonishing, if in a gradually emerging way, is the grace with which they handle the competition between them, the wins and the losses. Serena talks about benefiting from Venus going first in everything, from turning pro, to handling good and bad press, to playing individuals Serena will later face in tournaments. They talk with sincerity about being pleased for each other's wins even as they mourn and analyse their own losses. And they talk about the bifurcation between life as sisters and life as absolutely dedicated competitors and not letting either one infect the other. They warmed up together before their first joint grand slam final, the 2001 US Open. Venus won. 'I can't say I enjoyed it. I did what I had to do.' 'I wasn't happy,' adds Serena. 'But I was OK. She was the phenom. It was never me.' Venus Williams Her turn would come. She learned to pretend she was playing someone else when it was Venus on the other side of the net. By the time Wimbledon rolled round a year later, she was ready to be No 1. 'I gotta have it,' Serena grins, remembering. 'That's what I need in my life. Because it's just an extension of who I was. As Thanos says: I was inevitable. I couldn't stop the roll.' Nor could anyone – including the haters behind the racial and misogynist abuse she dealt with – or anything, including the difficult birth of her first child, in 2017, which nearly killed her. She retired in 2022, and plunged straight into what is already a highly successful and lucrative second act. It would be fascinating to compare and contrast another pair of sisters or – perhaps even more fascinatingly – a pair of brothers who followed the same trajectory. Would they have stayed so close, maintained the same boundaries between love and work, or would they have disappeared under the pressure of competition? Would they have spurred each other on to greater heights in the same way, or destroyed each other? Would they remain such generous supporters of each other, or have combusted by now? What makes the mind not just of a champion – but of a champion who survives the ride intact? Maybe one day we'll find out. But there is as yet nothing to compare to Serena or to Venus separately, let alone together. *In the Arena: Serena Williams airs on BBC One and is on iPlayer now Guardian
The 42
9 hours ago
- The 42
Silver medal for Murtagh while McCarthy and Pazzaia earn bronze at World Rowing Cup
IRELAND HAVE WON a silver and two bronze medals at the World Rowing Cup in Lucerne, Switzerland. The final day of racing saw strong performances from Irish crews across both A and B Finals. Highlights included Fiona Murtagh's silver in the Women's Single Sculls and a bronze for Fintan McCarthy and Konan Pazzaia in the Men's Double Sculls, adding to the bronze medal won by Sadhbh Ní Laoighre and Tiarnán O'Donnell in Saturday's PR3 Mixed Double Sculls. Advertisement Fiona Murtagh (University of Galway Boat Club) claimed the silver medal in the Women's Single Sculls with a time of 07:18.63. Murtagh held second place throughout the race, consistently pushing the pace. At the 1000 metre mark, she trailed race favourite Lauren Henry of Great Britain by just 0.3 seconds and kept the pressure on to the finish. Olympic gold medallist Fintan McCarthy (Skibbereen Rowing Club) and Konan Pazzaia (Queen's University Belfast Boat Club) secured a bronze medal in the Men's Double Sculls, finishing third with a time of 06:11.65. Just one second separated the top three crews in a thrilling A Final. The Irish double set a strong pace from the start and led the race up until the final 250 metres. Powerful sprint finishes from New Zealand and Serbia saw them take first and second place. Paul O'Donovan (Skibbereen Rowing Club) and Daire Lynch (UCD Boat Club) finished fifth in the Men's Double Sculls with a time of 06:16.18. The crew were in sixth place with 500 metres to go in a very tight race. A strong sprint finish in the final stretch saw them overtake the Individual Neutral Athletes crew to claim fifth overall. Mags Cremen (UCC Boat Club) and Zoe Hyde (Tralee RC) finished sixth in the B Final of the Women's Double Sculls with a time of 07:01.76. It was a closely contested race from the start, with less than two seconds separating Ireland from the leading crew at the 1500-metre mark. Switzerland, the home favourites, went on to take the win in the B Final. The Women's Four of Claire Feerick (Neptune Rowing Club / Oxford Brookes), Natalie Long (Lee Valley Rowing Club), Aisling Hayes (Skibbereen Rowing Club), and Imogen Magner (Lee Valley Rowing Club) finished third in the B Final with a time of 06:41.23. In the final 200 metres, the crew made a strong push, closing the gap on Canada to less than a second at the line. The Men's Quadruple Sculls crew of Andrew Sheehan (UCC Rowing Club), Adam Murphy (UCC Rowing Club), Ronan Byrne (Shandon Boat Club), and Brian Colsh (University of Galway Boat Club) finished second in the B Final with a time of 05:50.78. Ireland sat in third at the 1000-metre mark but moved past home favourites Switzerland by 1500 metres to take second place. A sprint finish brought them within just 0.3 seconds of the winning crew from Czechia.
