Jennings back in swing of things

ROWING:Snowcapped mountains provided a scenic background for the Neptune Head of the River at Blessington on Saturday. With a little imagination you could believe you were in Switzerland.

For Sinead Jennings, no imagination was needed. She had flown in from the Ireland ski camp at St Moritz the night before and, with a special dispensation from coach Harald Jahrling, got back into a boat for the first time in three weeks, and only four days after a gruelling 14 kilometre skiing race.

Remarkably, she covered the 4,000-metre Blessington course twice, being easily the fastest woman in both the 11.30 and 2.30 heads.

"I wanted to get back into the swing of things," said this extraordinary athlete, adding: "I don't get to race for St Michael's much."

Jennings represents the Limerick club because of a promise made at the World Championships in Zagreb in 2000, in which she won a bronze medal. The Donegal woman had begun rowing in Scotland and had no Irish club.

The big St Michael's crowd adopted her and Jennings vowed to join their club if she ever moved back to Ireland. So began a productive relationship.

"We're mad about her," said club captain Pat McInerney.

Garda Siochana College Rowing Club made history on Saturday. It was the first competitive outing for the new outfit, which is based in Templemore, but does its on-the-water work in Islandbridge in Dublin. And it was a winning debut for two of their crews, the women's novice eight and novice four.

Another virtual newcomer to the sport is making even bigger waves. Michael Maher from Clondalkin is just 18 and began rowing last year, but he stroked Commerical's intermediate eight to the fastest time on the day - quicker than the senior crews of Trinity and St Michael's.

For Trinity's Seán Osborne, the cold day may have seemed mild. The student of Business Studies and Russian is presently based in St Petersburg, and does his gym training in the crumbling remains of what was the state rowing apparatus under communism. But hard training is hard training. Even in Switzerland.