Women’s lightweight double ready to fight for their places

Bonfires for Paul and Gary O'Donovan, radio interviews, a cacophony of tweets of congratulation. In the afterglow of a World Championships at which two boats qualified for the Olympic Games, Irish rowing is in a good place right now. But what happens next?

The answer is a brief rest for the athletes until September 24th and then on to trials in October. The O'Donovan brothers will compete in Rio. Ireland performance director Morten Espersen told The Irish Times they would go forward in the lightweight double even before they sealed their place. But the women's lightweight double of Sinéad Jennings and Claire Lambe have just qualified the boat and technically others could still take their places.

Qualification

On the bank in Aiguebelette, Jennings greeted this prospect with typical grit. “We won’t give way easily,” she said.

And Ireland boats on the turquoise waters did not give in easily. If single sculler Sanita Puspure made a tactical mistake in the B final where she missed qualification, it was getting into too good of a rhythm in the early and middle stages of a race and keeping a lead, when the conservation of energy for the final sprint could have seen her up the Rio tally by a third.

Ireland coach Don McLachlan said he was “extremely proud of what Sanita did”. There is speculation that Puspure might yet be in a double come the Olympic qualification regatta in May, but McLachlan spoke of her “pushing on in the single” with others trialling against her if they wish.

McLachlan, who is also coach also for Jennings and Lambe, deserves great credit, as does Dominic Casey. The Skibbereen coach helped lift the O’Donovans (just 21 and 22) into Olympic contention – their performance in finishing third in the quarter-finals was a great achievement – and did not get expenses for trips to and from the National Rowing Centre.