Big underage club entry for Limerick regatta

ROWING:AFTER A week when Irish talent poured forth into four international events – and racked up wins running into double figures – the focus for club athletes switches to Limerick regatta tomorrow.

In a programme which stretches from 8.30am until after 8pm at O’Brien’s Bridge, the absence of senior eights and fours is noticeable, but there is a big underage entry.

Hilary Shinnick, who is entered in the junior women’s single scull, will come into the event fresh from a second-place finish in the women’s quadruple at the Munich Junior Regatta last weekend. The standout Ireland performance was the win on Sunday by Chris Black and Joel Cassells in the men’s pair, and they must be odds-on to represent Ireland at the World Junior Championships in August. Their coach, Séamus Reynolds, was awaiting news yesterday on whether they have been selected.

The other two big aims of the international programme are the Olympic Games and the World Under-23 Championships in July. Sanita Puspure moves forward to the Olympic Qualifier in 10 days looking a good prospect after a very good fifth place at the Belgrade World Cup in the single scull; the lightweight double scull are long shots after their 17th.

The World Under-23 Championships offer a hope of medals. Claire Lambe, who also finished fifth in her A final in Belgrade, will compete in the lightweight single in a strong team which is set to include a double scull of Laura D’Urso, a student at Clemson College in the US, and Holly Nixon, soon to depart to the University of Virginia on scholarship.

Back in Europe, Queen’s University had a string of wins at the British University Championships in recent days. Alex Greene and Claire McIlwaine took both the women’s championship pair and, in combination with Emma Kerrigan and Hannah Lavery, the championships four.

The men’s intermediate pair of Charlie Cunningham and Peter Gilanders also won. However, the standout winners for coach Mick Desmond was the women’s beginners’ eight, who took on a big field and emerged victorious.

Desmond has landed something of a coup with the decision by Cambridge to send men’s and women’s crews to the University Boat Race in Belfast on June 2nd. The respective captains are expected in Belfast next week for the launch, which Desmond describes as “an event for the city”.

The flurry of Irish activity abroad last weekend included wins for crews from Three Castles, Methodist College and Carlow at the Ghent international regatta in Belgium. The dominant women’s single sculler of the last decade, Ekaterina Karsten, opted to compete here rather than in Belgrade and duly won the women’s senior single. It put modest Corkman John Keohane in good company – he won the men’s senior single.

Meanwhile, the selection for the senior men’s and women’s teams for the Home International regatta in July will be made depending on results in the Cork Regatta on June 23rd.