Latest news with #Pazzaia
Irish Daily Mirror
3 days ago
- Sport
- Irish Daily Mirror
Irish double Olympic champ claims first international medal since major change
Double Olympic gold medallist Fintan McCarthy has won his first international medal in an openweight boat after joining forces with Konan Pazzaia to claim bronze in the European Rowing Championships. McCarthy and Paul O'Donovan topped the podium in the lightweight double sculls in the Tokyo and Paris Olympics but that category no longer exists as an Olympic sport. With O'Donovan continuing his medical studies, McCarthy has teamed up with Pazzaia and together they have claimed Ireland's first medal at the Europeans in Plovdiv in the men's double sculls. Under dry conditions and a strong tailwind, they remained in medal contention throughout the race, exchanging positions with Italy and withstanding a late surge from Romania. Crossing the line in third place, it marked McCarthy's first international medal in an openweight boat and a first senior championship medal for Pazzaia of Queen's University. McCarthy's brother Jake finished fourth in the lightweight men's single sculls, finishing fourth with the fastest final 500 metres of the race and in a time of 7:01.45. Meanwhile, Ross Corrigan and Daire Lynch placed third in the B final of the men's pair with a time of 6:26.50 in a tightly contested field. In the lightweight women's single sculls, Izzy Clements impressed on her senior international debut, finishing fourth in the A final. Clements held second for much of the race before being overtaken in the sprint finish. In the women's double sculls, Mags Cremin and Zoe Hyde also secured a fourth-place finish in a fast-paced A final, narrowly missing out on the podium in one of the closest races of the day. Rowing Ireland CEO Michelle Carpenter said: "This really feels like the start of a new chapter for Rowing Ireland. "We're building a strong team and a solid programme for the years ahead, and it's great to see that coming to life on the water. "I'm absolutely delighted with all of the athletes' performances today, but to come away with a podium finish on the first day of finals is very special. Huge credit to the athletes, coaches and support staff for the work that's gone in behind the scenes.' Women's fours bronze medallist Fiona Murtagh competes in the women's single sculls final on Sunday. Also in action are the women's quadruple sculls team of Alison Bergin, Aisling Hayes, Natalie Long and Claire Feerick in the B final, the men's quadruple sculls - Philip Doyle, Ronan Byrne, Adam Murphy and Andrew Sheehan – in the B final.
Irish Daily Mirror
3 days ago
- Sport
- Irish Daily Mirror
Olympic champion wins medal with new partner at European Rowing Championship
Fintan McCarthy and Konan Pazzaia have won bronze for Ireland in the men's double sculls at the European Rowing Championships in Bulgaria. It's a first medal at heavyweight for Skibereen legend McCarthy, while for Queens University star Pazzaia, it's a first major medal. McCarthy has famously won gold medals for Ireland at Olympic Games alongside longtime rowing partner Paul O'Donovan, but with O'Donovan unavailable, Pazzaia stepped in and helped get the job done. Miroslaw Zietarski and Mateusz Biskup of Poland took home gold in Plovdiv, while Ireland's duo had to settle for third place in a time of 6.05.48 as they took home the bronze medal. For McCarthy, it is a first medal in the heavyweight class after years dominating the lightweight division with O'Donovan. The pair won gold in the lightweight double sculls at the 2024 and 2021 Olympic Games, and the duo also have three World and two European golds at lightweight.
Irish Examiner
3 days ago
- Sport
- Irish Examiner
Fintan McCarthy and Konan Pazzaia win bronze for Ireland at European Rowing Championships
Fintan McCarthy and Konan Pazzaia have won bronze for Ireland in the men's double sculls at the European Rowing Championships on Saturday morning. The duo took to the water in Plovdiv, Bulgaria and following an excellent display McCarthy and Pazzaia finished in third, with the Skibbereen rower claiming his first major medal at heavyweight. Pazzaia was stepping in for the absent Paul O'Donovan, who is currently concentrating on his medical studies, and he helped the Irish boat to come home in a time of 6:05.48. In the end Ireland finished just behind the Romanians while the Polish crew of Miroslaw Zietarski and Mateusz Biskup raced clear to the gold medal. Earlier in the day, Mags Cremin and Zoe Hyde finished fourth place in the final of the women's double scull, crossing the finish line in a time of 6:55.73. . Izzy Clements also came in fourth in the women's lightweight single sculls in what was an impressive performance on her senior Irish debut. Finally and there was also a fourth placed finish in the lightweight men's single sculls for Jake McCarthy, the brother of Fintan, who just missed out on a medal after recording a time of 7:01.45.
Irish Independent
5 days ago
- Sport
- Irish Independent
Lightweight Olympic gold medallist Fintan McCarthy makes mark at Europeans after switch to heavyweight
Fiona Murtagh, also an Olympic medallist, won her heat in her new discipline of single sculling in what was generally a good day for day for Ireland crews. McCarthy and Pazzaia took second in their heat, 1.46 seconds behind Poland. On Friday, the semi-final for McCarthy's new crew will be another big test, as they face Romania, who set the fastest time in the heats. Pazzaia, a Swiss who has an Irish mother, has competed successfully for Ireland at underage level. Lightweight rowing is no longer an Olympic discipline, and McCarthy and Paul O'Donovan, who is not competing in Plovdiv, have chosen to compete as heavyweights. Murtagh's initial venture into the world of single sculling was certainly not without dangers. The Galway woman (29) took bronze at Tokyo 2020 in a four and was eighth in a pair at Paris 2024. However, out on her own for the first time, she was up against two talented 'Independent Neutral Athletes' – a Russian and a Belarussian – along with the German Alexandra Foester. Just two would qualify directly for the semi-finals. Foester led early on, but the tall Murtagh powered into the lead coming up to 900 metres and did not relinquish it. It proved a wise move, as Tatisana Klimovich (formerly Belarussia) and Kira Iunchenko (who has competed for Russia), moved past Foester to finish second and third. Dominic Casey, the interim head of Irish international rowing, has experimented across the board with forming new crews. He warned that instant success was unlikely in this first year of the Olympiad. For all that, just one crew – the new women's quadruple – does not remain in the medal hunt in Plovdiv after the first day. Mags Cremen, who, like McCarthy, was stepping up from lightweight rowing, and Zoe Hyde also took a solid second in their heat of the women's double and go directly to Saturday's A Final. The men's pair had to wait on the result of other heats to see whether they had qualified. The new combination of Ross Corrigan and Daire Lynch, a bronze medallist in Paris in the double, finished fourth in the first of three heats. Only the top two from each of three heats qualified directly for semi-finals. Since repechages have been dispensed with by World Rowing, the Irish crew faced dropping into the C Final if they were not amongst the six fastest losers – but they made it. Austria and Turkey missed out. It was a similar story for the Ireland men's quadruple. The combination of Andrew Sheehan, Adam Murphy, Ronan Byrne and Olympic medallist Philip Doyle is novel. Two crews, in this case the Netherlands and Croatia, set the pace, and Ireland could not match it. They finished fourth, but made it through to the semi-finals as one of the fastest which did not qualify directly. However, the new Ireland women's quadruple found the going too tough in their heat. France and Britain fought it out at the head of the field and qualified directly for the A Final. The Ireland crew of Claire Feerick, Natalie Long, Aisling Hayes and Alison Bergin took fifth and will compete in the B Final. The morning had started very well for the Ireland team, with good results in non-Olympic events. Izzy Clements, who comes from Scotland but qualifies for Ireland through her mother, had a fine Ireland debut, taking second in a preliminary race in the lightweight single. Jake McCarthy then matched that placing in the men's lightweight single heat, qualifying directly for the final. Like his twin, Fintan, he can be pleased with his day.
Yahoo
13-05-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Bronze medallist Doyle begins journey to LA 2028
Olympic bronze medallist Philip Doyle will return to international action for the first time since the Paris Games at the European Rowing Championships later this month. The regatta in Plovdiv, Bulgaria begins on 29 May and marks the start of the new Olympic cycle for Ireland's rowers aiming towards Los Angeles 2028. Doyle, who won bronze in Paris last summer with Daire Lynch in the men's double sculls, will move to the quad sculls and compete alongside Ronan Byrne, Adam Murphy and Andrew Sheehan. The Banbridge rower is joined in the squad by two other athletes from Northern Ireland, Ross Corrigan and Konan Pazzaia. Enniskillen's Corrigan, an Olympic finalist in Paris, joins Lynch in the men's pair, while Pazzaia will be partnered by double Olympic champion Finton McCarthy in the men's double sculls. McCarthy and Paul O'Donovan made history by winning Ireland's first rowing gold medal in Tokyo in 2021 in the lightweight double sculls before successfully defending their title in Paris three years later. With lightweight rowing removed from the Olympic programme in 2028, McCarthy will now row as a heavyweight. Belfast's Pazzaia missed out on qualification for Paris but the Queen's University Boat Club rower is now focused on making the team for Los Angeles. The 2025 season will see two World Cups in Varese and Lucerne with the climax coming in September at the World Championships in Shanghai.
