Holland aims to run three boats

Rowing ColumnIreland lightweight coach John Holland is hoping to campaign with three boats this year and take them all to the Beijing Olympics. Last year, under head coach Harald Jahrling, Ireland did not field a lightweight men's double, but Holland thinks he will have one alongside his priority men's boat, the lightweight four, and the women's lightweight double.

Holland is in Cork this weekend for a National Time Trial and five-kilometre ergometer (rowing machine test). By last evening the Corkman had already put his squad of lightweight men through a 10k ergometer test, but Jahrling and his heavyweight men's squad have remained at their training camp in St Cassien in France.

While there has been no official announcement, the two coaches will be finalising their Olympic-class crews for the season primarily on the basis of work done in camps with athletes chosen after the December time trial, leaving this weekend's event and the selection trials of early April with little relevance to the selection of Olympic-class crews.

The one exception may be among the women. Sinead Jennings, who has been sitting medical exams, was not part of Holland's recent camp in Seville, and in her absence Niamh Ní Cheilleachair and Orlagh Duddy have been forming the lightweight women's double in training.

Jennings is expected to trial this weekend, amid speculation that she may be about to move up to heavyweight, either as a single sculler or as part of a double.

The board of the Irish Amateur Rowing Union and the international rowing committee both meet in Cork this weekend, but if they feel they have difficulties in finalising teams they should spare a thought for their counterparts in New Zealand.

Mahe Drysdale, the world champion single sculler for the last three years, finds the chance of Olympic glory being whisked out from under him. Rob Waddell, a former Olympic and world champion, has recently returned to the sport and thrown down the gauntlet to the popular Drysdale. Waddell beat his compatriot twice in home regattas, the second last weekend.

Only one single sculler can represent each country, and while Waddell or Drysdale could go into a crew boat, neither will want to settle for this - top-class single scullers are a breed apart.

There will be a selection procedure based on best-of-three-races trials in March.