Disappointing finish for Irish

Rowing/World Under-23 Championships: Ireland's heavyweight four finished fifth in the A final at the World Under-23 Championships in Hazewinkel, Belgium, yesterday. James Wall, Dan Barry, Paul O'Brien and Paul Murray had done everything right to get to this exalted stage, but they had a bad race when they needed a good one.

The Czech Republic dominated and set a new world best time for this competition, and Greece and Germany took silver and bronze. "They never really raced the way they can. It was very hectic. It was a real pity to watch it; they were never really on top of things," said a disappointed coach Harald Jahrling.

However, he said this was "a crew for the future" and was impressed with how they coped in their two outings in the World Cup series, at Munich and Poznan (where they finished ninth). "After what they had done this season, I expected that they could do a little better. They really didn't do it in that final. They never really looked like they could get the pace.

"This is quite a good under-23 crew. It's just a pity. I think they are a little better than what we've seen today."

Orla Hayes finished on a relatively upbeat note yesterday morning by finishing third in the B final of the lightweight single sculls. The Corkwoman was well off the pace in her semi-final on Saturday, finishing fifth.

Also on Saturday, Ireland finished third of the four countries at the Home Countries International at Strathclyde Park in Scotland. The only senior winner was Dave Heffernan in the lightweight single scull. Ireland's senior men (fourth) and senior women (third) did poorly, not helped by not having senior eights entered in either category.

In Genoa, Italy, Ireland's entry Unite, all from Bantry, won the International Contest of Seamanship, which involves both rowing and sailing.