Irish rowing crew of four Eimear Lambe, Aifric Keogh, Emily Hegarty and Fiona Murtagh came second in the A final of the European championships in Italy over the weekend, boding well for their Olympic qualification having improved a step upon their bronze medal from last year.
While the Dutch team pipped them to the top spot, this Irish quartet were in the hunt up until the very end as they finished ahead of Great Britain with a time of 06:27.96.
Silver for Ireland!
The team of Emily Hegarty , Eimear Lambe, Aifric Keogh and Fiona Murtagh have claimed Ireland's first medal at this year's European Championships
More: https://t.co/EThaxd8Gh7 #Varese21 #RTESport pic.twitter.com/2piRWSN004
— RTÉ Sport (@RTEsport) April 11, 2021
Aoife Casey and Margaret Cremen of the lightweight double also competed in their own respective A final. After moving up from the U23 grade last year the duo crossed the line in 5th place with a time of 07:07.42.
Having started strong and undertaking the majority of the race in third place, pair Monika Dukarska and Aileen Crowley ended up in sixth as the final 1000m saw crews such as Croatia and Greece excel ahead, while Great Britain were triumphant with gold.
23 year old Lydia Heaphy from Skibbereen finished sixth in the Lightweight Women’s Single Scull A Final with a time of 07:58.75, while HerSport ambassador Philip Doyle and his partner Ronan Byrne won the B final on Sunday in 06:21.470.
A bit disappointed with my race yesterday but glad I was able to get into my first A Final at a Senior event and finishing top 6! Learned a lot and hungry for more!! Excited and motivated for 6 weeks of camp getting ready to race better and smarter at the World Cup 2, Lucerne☘️✨ pic.twitter.com/yhtvU40dM8
— lydiaheaphy (@HeaphyLydia) April 12, 2021
Olympic gold medal hopeful Sanita Pušpure didn’t travel as the competition proved a conflict of interest with her training schedule in preparation for Tokyo.
Overall a successful weekend for the Irish in Italy as they showcase their talents on the world stage and continue to work towards the ultimate goal of competing in the summer Games.
Check out our recent interview with HerSport ambassador Philip Doyle here.
