Latest news with #RowingIreland
Irish Examiner
5 days ago
- Sport
- Irish Examiner
Murtagh wins silver while McCarthy and Pazzaia claim bronze at the European Rowing Championships
Fiona Murtagh has won silver in the Women's Single Sculls at the European Rowing Championships in Plovdiv, Bulgaria with Fintan McCarthy and Konan Pazzaia claiming bronze in the A final of the Men's Double Sculls. Murtagh claimed silver in a time of 7:21.11 in mixed conditions with a headwind at the start and a tailwind over the final 600 metres. She showed composure and consistency to almost match her heat time exactly. McCarthy and Pazzaia won Ireland's first medal of the regatta when the duo secured broze in the Men's Double Sculls. The pair were in medal contention throughout the race holding off a strong challenge in what was a tightly contested race. This marks McCarthy's first international medal in an openweight boat and it is a first senior championship medal for Pazzaia. Jake McCarthy finished fourth in the A final of the Lightweight Men's Single Sculls and closed with the fastest 500m of the race in a time of 7:01.45. In the A final of the Lightweight Women's Single Sculls Izzy Clements finished fourth on her senior debut which was an excellent result after holding a top three position for much of the race. Mags Cremin and Zoe Hyde finished fourth in their A final of the Women's Double Sculls posting a time of 6:55.73 which was just 3.77 seconds off a podium finish in what was a fast and competitive race. The newly formed crew of Claire Feerick, Natalie Long, Aisling Hayes and Alison Bergin finished fourth in the B final of the Women's Quadruple Sculls with a time of 6:28.50 weehich was a significant improvement from their heat. The Men's Quadruple Sculls of Andrew Sheehan, Adam Murphy, Ronan Byrne and Philip Doyle finished fifth in their B final delivering an assured and consistent campaign. Ross Corrigan and Daire Lynch finished third in their B final in the Men's pair with a time of 6:26.50. Michelle Carpenter, CEO of Rowing Ireland, was delighted with the team's performance. "It was an honour to be on the ground in Plovdiv supporting our athletes at the 2025 European Rowing Championships. Across the board, we saw determination, resilience, and world-class performances from our crews. Fiona Murtagh's silver medal today in the Women's Single Sculls was a standout moment, as was the superb bronze from Fintan McCarthy and Konan Pazzaia in the Men's Double Sculls yesterday." "To come away from the European Championships with two medals, five A Final appearances, and encouraging performances from newly formed crews and systems, under the guidance of world-renowned coach Dominic Casey, is a testament to the strength and depth of our High Performance Programme. I'm immensely proud of our athletes, coaches, and support staff. These results reflect the hard work and commitment that takes place every day behind the scenes. A sincere thank you to our clubs, partners, and supporters who continue to play such an important role in our journey."
Irish Daily Mirror
6 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 Examiner
29-05-2025
- Sport
- Irish Examiner
Natalie Long: 'You don't have to step on necks to get gold'
One thought crystallised in Natalie Long's mind as soon as she crossed the finishing line in Paris last year. That thought was LA in four years' time. It really was that instantaneous. A decision borne of utter clarity. 'Winning' the B final and finishing seventh overall in the women's four hadn't been the plan. This was a boat with two Olympic medallists in Eimear Lambe and Emily Hegarty in it, but it wasn't just the knowledge that injuries and life had in general had held their bid back. No, Long felt that there was a better way. For everyone in the Irish system. 'We have the tools to be able to have better results across the board,' she says now. 'So I am motivated by trying this again and seeing if we can get people to have more fulfilling experiences and the results will follow. That's why I'm here again.' That's a serious statement. Rowing has, after all, been Ireland's most successful sport across the last three Games with five of the country's 13 medals. Whatever about doing things 'better', it will be very different when the 2025 European Championship launches in Plovdiv this week. Ten Irish boats will commit to the water, not one with a crew that featured in France. Long switches from the four to this country's first ever female quad, Paul O'Donovan is on medical duties, and only Fiona Murtagh is there from the quartet that won bronze in Tokyo. Lightweight rowing, Ireland's strength, is a relic of the past. Antonio Maurogiovanni, the high-performance director who delivered four Olympic medals and eleven World Championship podium places during his time in Ireland, is now with France. The majority of the coaches Maurogiovanni gathered around him have moved on too and Rowing Ireland is still in the process of identifying a successor to the Italian whose old-school methods brought success and split opinions. Long was one who struggled under his management. 'I experienced Antonio's programme from not succeeding in it for the Tokyo cycle. I really did try to tick all the boxes and never really felt like I fit in the system, even though I rowed full-time and used all of my savings, every penny I had. 'I never got any support from Rowing Ireland financially to be able to do that and it spat me out the other side. I was really injured and maybe I would have gone to Tokyo as a spare if I hadn't gotten injured. 'Then I went back again to that system, rewired my brain as to how to succeed in it and had to realise that I have to fund myself because the system doesn't reward me until I get results and then try to work the system that way.' *** Long gets that there are people who thrive in the 'blood, sweat and tears' environment but she is adamant there is another way. A better, more inclusive and more successful, way. By way of proof she offers up Fintan McCarthy. McCarthy, she says, is the type of athlete who 'thrives off the community'. He has two Olympic gold medals and a host of other World and European titles alongside O'Donovan to disprove the theory that nice guys finish last. 'You don't have to step on necks to get gold,' she says, 'and he has done it twice now.' This opens a fascinating and elemental debate. Elite sport is its own filter, a dog-eat-dog world where the fittest survive, but Long's take is that more again can make it by providing a programme with a more collective and caring culture. 'Some people come out of the Olympics really hurt, they have a bad experience because they didn't get those things, the medal, and they didn't have the community around them. Just mental health afterwards is a bit of a quagmire. 'So my hope going forward is that we can shape Rowing Ireland in a way that you are part a community. [That] Rowing Ireland doesn't use you to get a result. You build a team, a community. There is so much more that we have to offer.' *** Community is a theme that resonates with her. Born in South Africa, Long emigrated to Cobh with her father when she was just 16. Her dad had been blinded in a conflict known, depending on your take, as the Rhodesian Bush War or the Zimbabwean War of Independence. Ireland offered a better quality of life for the disabled and his parents Eileen and Graham had hailed from Bishopstown before emigrating to southeast Africa where she trained horses and he got involved in the mining business. It was only when their granddaughter moved from Ireland to London for university that an old fondness for sport was rekindled by a new love: rowing. And it was through this new passion that Long found her tribe when she returned to Cork after eight years. Lee Valley Rowing Club was little more than 'a tent beside the water' but it offered a place for everyone and anyone. It was Noel Monahan, a club stalwart who had once wore a green singlet, who first convinced Long, now 35, that the Olympics was doable. When she looks at the Irish rowing scene she sees something special, unique. Her time in London taught her that you probably needed to be in a posh school to get a good foundation in the sport in the UK. Ireland wasn't like that. Her mum lives in Glandore now, and her own debut regatta on Irish soil was down the road in Skib, so she has experienced how grounded and accessible the sport is here, how there is a lake or a river within touching distance for anyone who wants to hold an oar. Long looks around the team base in Ovens in Cork and sees men and women, Olympians and Paralympians. She sees a sporting programme and a cross-section of society, and she already sees signs of a focus on fostering more of a community feel. Dominic Casey, the coaching mastermind from Skibbereen, has been made interim head coach and Long describes a man who aims to empower, and who trusts, athletes who still have to produce the goods at trials and at championships. A new strategic plan has instigated significant changes in the high-performance structure. Among them is the appointment for the first time of a high-performance wellness officer. Other roles will zero in on performance delivery and talent development. Long and McCarthy have been part of the selection process for the new high-performance director. They are looking for a candidate who is going to inspire cultural change, not a day-to-day taskmaster to dictate to a programme replete with Olympic experience and success. There has already been a team-building day held in the spring that brought the elite athletes and Rowing Ireland staff together. The idea is that those people in admin will be as invested in the Europeans and Worlds and Olympics as the high-performance branch. A huge fan of the Springbok rugby team, Long has seen how they have embraced the nation as a whole on the journey to winning two World Cups, how the team physio seems to get as much of a kick out of it all as the captain Siya Kolisi. That's the spirit she sees in clubs and one she feels Ireland's rower can harness on the water. 'Every club just makes it work. I feel like that is a superpower that Ireland has in rowing and we haven't really tapped into it. I am hoping for this cycle that this is the thing we tap into going to LA. It is about all of us getting something from it. 'If you succeed and I don't then that doesn't mean I didn't get something out of it. It means that the whole community has been elevated. Or at least that's where I hope we are going with it with the new strategy we have.'
Irish Examiner
13-05-2025
- Sport
- Irish Examiner
Paul O'Donovan misses out as Ireland name squad for European Rowing Championship
Paul O'Donovan will miss the upcoming 2025 European Rowing Championships in order to concentrate on his medical studies. Ireland's journey to the 2028 Olympic Games in Los Angeles begins from May 29 to June 1 when their Senior Crews head to Plovdiv, Bulgaria for the Euro Championship. Included in the squad named on Tuesday afternoon are Paris Olympic medallists Daire Lynch, Philip Doyle and Fintan McCarthy. Lynch and Doyle won bronze in the men's double sculls at the 2024 Games but this time around Lynch will pair up with Ross Corrigan, while Doyle will be going into the men's quadruple sculls alongside Ronan Byrne, Adam Murphy, and Andrew Sheehan. McCarthy won the lightweight double sculls gold alongside O'Donovan last summer but on this occassion he will be joined in the boat by Konan Pazzaia, as his fellow Skibbereen Rowing Clubman focusses on exams. 'This marks the beginning of an exciting new cycle as we build towards Los Angeles 2028," said Dominic Casey, High Performance Lead Coach. "Our athletes returned refreshed and re-energised after a well-deserved break following the Paris campaign. Many are now balancing elite training with academic and professional commitments, which speaks to their dedication both on and off the water. "We're focused on laying strong foundations for the years ahead and supporting this group as they continue to grow, develop, and thrive in high performance rowing.' Rowing Ireland added: "We wish all our athletes and support staff the very best as they gear up for an exciting weekend of racing in Plovdiv." Rowing Ireland's Senior Crews for 2025 European Rowing Championships Men's pair: Daire Lynch (UCD Boat Club), Ross Corrigan (Portora Boat Club) Men's double sculls: Konan Pazzaia (Queen's University Belfast Boat Club), Fintan McCarthy (Skibbereen Rowing Club) Men's quadruple sculls: Philip Doyle (Belfast Boat Club), Ronan Byrne (Shandon Boat Club), Adam Murphy (UCC Rowing Club), Andrew Sheehan (UCC Rowing Club) Lightweight men's single sculls: Jake McCarthy (Skibbereen Rowing Club) Women's double sculls: Mags Cremen (UCC Rowing Club), Zoe Hyde (Tralee Rowing Club) Women's quadruple sculls: Alison Bergin (Fermoy Rowing Club), Aisling Hayes (Skibbereen Rowing Club), Natalie Long (Lee Valley Rowing Club), Claire Feerick (Neptune Rowing Club) Women's single sculls: Fiona Murtagh (University of Galway Boat Club) Lightweight Women's Single Sculls: Izzy Clements (Tara Rowing Club).
RTÉ News
13-05-2025
- Sport
- RTÉ News
Paris heroes head for European Championships as journey to LA 2028 begins
Paris Games medallists Daire Lynch, Philip Doyle and Fintan McCarthy will all compete at the upcoming European Rowing Championships in Bulgaria as Ireland's journey towards the 2028 LA Olympics begins in earnest. Lynch and Doyle won Olympic bronze in the men's double sculls last summer. They won't compete together in Plovdiv however; Lynch pairs up with Ross Corrigan, with Doyle instead going in the men's quadruple sculls alongside Ronan Byrne, Adam Murphy, and Andrew Sheehan. McCarthy claimed a memorable lightweight double sculls gold in Paris alongside Paul O'Donovan. This time he'll team up with Swiss-born Konan Pazzaia who joined Rowing Ireland's high-performance pathway in 2020 after moving to Queen's University Belfast to study biological sciences. The European Championships take place from 29 May to 1 June. "This marks the beginning of an exciting new cycle as we build towards Los Angeles 2028," said high performance lead coach Dominic Casey. "Our athletes returned refreshed and re-energised after a well-deserved break following the Paris campaign. Many are now balancing elite training with academic and professional commitments, which speaks to their dedication both on and off the water. "We're focused on laying strong foundations for the years ahead and supporting this group as they continue to grow, develop, and thrive in high performance rowing." Men's pair: Daire Lynch (UCD Boat Club), Ross Corrigan (Portora Boat Club) Men's double sculls: Konan Pazzaia (Queen's University Belfast Boat Club), Fintan McCarthy (Skibbereen Rowing Club) Men's quadruple sculls: Philip Doyle (Belfast Boat Club), Ronan Byrne (Shandon Boat Club), Adam Murphy (UCC Rowing Club), Andrew Sheehan (UCC Rowing Club) Lightweight men's single sculls: Jake McCarthy (Skibbereen Rowing Club)
