ROWING/World Championships: Ireland's men's four fought the good fight but ended up missing out on an A final place at the World Championships at windy Eton yesterday. They finished fifth in a semi-final dominated by world champions Britain, who left Germany, Slovenia, Canada and Ireland fighting it out for the remaining two qualifying places.
"We raced well," said Seán Casey, the number three man in the Irish boat. He nodded to the choppy waters blown up by the strong tail wind. "They were very fast conditions out there. We were well in it coming up to the 750 (metre mark) and into the thousand (metres). We hit a bit of rough water there and we lost a bit of ground and lost a bit of contact with Slovenia and the other crews who were fighting it out."
The Germans moved into a good second place and gave Britain something to think about over the final 200 metres, with Slovenia securing third just ahead of Canada. Ireland were just over two and a half seconds further back, with Italy trailing in last.
The other fours semi-final produced the race of the day. In a blanket finish, France and the Netherlands took the first two places, with New Zealand and the USA dead-heating for third. They raced off late in the evening and the USA won through.
The French had only barely mastered Ireland at the World Cup in Lucerne and in the repechage here on Tuesday they had to go past them near to make it into what turned out to be the more open semi-final. Casey would not indulge in what-might-have-beens. The times were close in both races and the standard high. "It's the World Championships," he said in full explanation.
In one of the top events of the regatta, the single scull Seán Jacob will officially be recorded as finishing 13th in the world after impressive wins yesterday in the C/D semi-final and the C final. The Dubliner led all the way in both races and he looked like he was not far off the very top level and had been only finding his form as the regatta went on.
Jacob modestly refused to make such claims. "It's easy to say that when you're winning races!" he laughs. "When you're out in front everyone says you're looking great. I think in the early part of the regatta when you're racing against the faster guys like (Mahe) Drysdale or (Alan Campbell) when they're out in front they put more pressure on you and you've got to try to respond to that."
In fact, Jacob might have been summing up the day's action: the very fast, choppy, conditions caught out some of the most experienced oarsmen when they were under pressure. There were a succession of missed strokes as rowers "caught crabs" in the closing stages of key races.
Former world champion single sculler Marcel Hacker of Germany drew his blade through fresh air in his semi-final and lost his lead to world champion Drysdale, although he still qualified; Australia's Drew Ginn and Duncan Free survived a duff stroke by Ginn to win their semi-final in the pairs - a very similar mistake by Italian bowman Guiseppe De Vita in the same race may have cost them an A final place.
Most remarkably, South Africa's Donovan Cech and Ramon Di Clemente pulled up with 300 metres to go in their semi-final of the pair.
Ireland's rowers may be more used to such conditions, and in the lightweight men's double scull, Tim Harnedy and Richard Coakley qualified for the D final (19th to 24th places) with a second place in their semi-final. Their final is at 1.18 today.
On Tuesday Jacob had, unluckily, ended up in a repechage in which Campbell found his form after a heat in which he was recovering from illness. The Coleraine man, who rows for Britain, yesterday put in a characteristically powerful sprint finish in his A/B semi-final to secure a qualification place for tomorrow's final.
Asked what his race plan in the final will be, the loquacious Campbell said: "Win it!" There is little doubt that Ireland's lightweight four have similar ambitions. They will have to call on their best form to negotiate their way through today's difficult semi-final (12.10) which features France, Germany and Britain.
The women's lightweight double will also be intent on making it through to Sunday in their semi-final (11.30). Time to do the business.
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