Irish just miss out on tickets to Athens

Rowing Olympic QualifiersWho dares wins . . . well, not always. Reaching the finals of three events at the Olympic Qualifiers in Lucerne was an impressive feat for Ireland, but none of the boats gained the precious ticket to Athens last evening.

The lightweight women's double scull of Sinéad Jennings and Heather Boyle was always the most likely to succeed, and came agonisingly close - they finished less than two seconds off the second place which would have meant qualification.

The Irish had correctly calculated that Poland would set the pace, and, after an uncharacteristically fast start, Boyle and Jennings were up with the Poles for most of the 2,000 metres.

"We changed our race plan - we had the best start ever, but we paid for it in the end," Jennings admitted last night. In the final 250 metres Denmark and Finland passed Ireland, with the Danes taking the second qualification spot and Ireland finishing fourth.

The result was tough for Jennings. In glorious sunshine at this famous course in 2001 she won the World Championships in the lightweight single scull. She bravely opted to move into the double, an Olympic boat.

The gods, however, were not on her side. Her style proved difficult to blend with another sculler's, and injury and bad fortune visited her more than once. Last night, in the heat of a Swiss evening, she had to come to terms with losing out on her chance to appear on the biggest stage of all for an amateur athlete - at least for another four years.

Yet the Donegal woman was sanguine, and full of praise for coach Thor Nilsen. "We are so grateful to Thor for giving us a chance. It would have been nice to qualify for him," she said.

Seán Casey, too, need not be devastated by his failure to make the cut in the single scull as he has made much progress in a short time. Like the lightweight double, he started well yesterday, and after 500 metres held the third place, which would have ensured qualification. However, he faded to finish sixth and last.

The big surprise of the race, however, was Englishman Ian Lawson, who raced the entire 2,000 metres at sprint pace to take the crucial third place behind Ivo Yanakiev of Bulgaria and Tim Maeyens of Belgium.

Like Seán Casey, Ireland's pair of Neil Casey and Derek Holland finished last in their final. Rowing in lane six, the two Dubliners, who are lightweights, found the going tough as the natural heavyweights set the pace in the centre of the course.

Holland and Casey can put the experience to good use, however. They will compete in the World Cup regatta in Lucerne, which begins on Friday - this time as lightweights. They could still end the season on a high in the World Championships for non-Olympic events next month.

Seán Casey has no such opportunity, but Jennings and Boyle go into the mix for a lightweight quadruple or a lightweight single at the World Championships.

However, the big one is in Athens in August. Ireland's hopes rest on just two crews, the men's lightweight four and lightweight double. It is, hopefully, a case of just two will do.