TWO IRISH boats have just booked their tickets to the Rio 2016 Olympic Games at the World Rowing Championships.
Sinead Jennings (St Michaels RC) and Claire Lambe (UCD) had an incredible race in the women’s lightweight double sculls. Taking the lead from the start and holding onto it all the way to the last 300m, where China & Poland eventually caught up to them the Irish were very narrowly pushed into a third place finish. An excellent result for the athletes who only needed to finish in the top 5 to go to Rio.
Claire and Sinead came together in the Womens Lightweight double scull in June after the final trial. Sinead had been injured earlier in the season but stormed back into contention once her injury healed and she got back in the boat. Sinead has been World Champion in 2001 in the Lightweight single as well as silver and bronze medallist in the past but this is her first time qualifying for the Olympic Games because the single is a non-Olympic event.
Claire and Sinead go into their winter training confident that they have secured a qualifying spot and can focus on getting faster and making the podium. Everyone in St. Michaels Rowing Club and in Irish rowing wishes all the crews well as they move on to the next level.
Paul & Gary O’ Donovan (both from Skibbereen) showed great character in an extremely tough race to narrowly edge out Greece in the lightweight men’s double sculls and claim the all-important fifth position for Rio.
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