Nixon digs deep to win silver

ROWING:ALMOST 40 years after we first took up the challenge, Ireland won its first World Junior Championship medal yesterday, when Holly Nixon took silver in the single sculls at Dorney Lake in England. And Paul O'Donovan, who has another year at this level, was just .32 seconds off taking a bronze in the men's single scull.

The Northern Ireland accent seems to sit very well with sporting success just now, and Nixon’s Fermanagh tones were just beginning to find their way around her achievement after the race. “It’s pretty amazing, I suppose,” she said, “to come here. And to get a medal is a bonus.”

It was a modest boast: the Portora woman had won her heat and her semi-final by leading all the way, but this was a race where she had to battle. Four boats – Germany, Ireland, Italy and Latvia – were all but level at halfway. Then Germany’s Anne Beenken broke away, followed by Italy’s Elena Coletti.

Nixon first had to break from Latvia’s Elza Gulbe, which she did by 1,500 metres. Then the Enniskillen woman targeted Coletti, and she passed her by the 1,750 mark. In the final 150 metres Nixon gained on Beenken, but though the German, who is just 16, wobbled and her oar came into Nixon’s lane, she held on for one of an astounding six German golds at the championships.

“The last few strokes were a bit dodgy,” said Nixon. “I’d say my time would have been a bit quicker, but the last two strokes or so she was just there (in the way). I was shouting at her to move because I didn’t know if I would get over the line before the Latvian and the Italian!”

Nixon then waited around at the finish to watch O’Donovan play his part in a knife-edge finish to the men’s single sculls final.

Stephan Riemekasten of Germany was dominant all the way down the course and duly won gold. The battle behind him provided a thrilling finish as Ukraine’s Andrii Mykhailov and Alexandros Dafnis of Greece tried to hold off the irrepressible O’Donovan, who had closed out all three of his wins at the regatta in the final stages. Dafnis held on to take silver by .36 of a second from Mykhailov, who had only .32 of a second over the Irishman.

The Skibbereen 17-year-old, who was much smaller than some of his opponents, has another year at this level.

However, as Nixon’s coach at Portora rowing club, and Ireland team manager, Derek Holland pointed out, both Nixon and O’Donovan are actually “quite experienced” in international competition, thanks to the their successful campaigns in the Coupe de la Jeunesse, an annual European junior tournament. Nixon first competed in 2008 – as a 14-year-old – and O’Donovan in 2009 and 2010.

“Definitely, having experience under your belt helps you to cope with nerves and relax and treat it like another race,” Nixon said yesterday.

“The Coupe really helped me: just the right amount of nerves to give me the right amount of adrenaline, but not so much that it could affect my technique.”

The Coupe also gave Nixon, a student at Devenish College in Enniskillen, strong links to Skibbereen rowing club as she based herself there for long periods, forming successful Coupe crews, and learning from the coaches.

“They’ve taught me a lot, them and Derek,” she said.

Ireland first sent crews to the Fisa junior championships in 1973 at Nottingham and there was a nice circularity to taking the first medal at another English venue, Dorney Lake, the site of next year’s Olympic rowing regatta.

It was also a day of vindication for Portora and Skibbereen, two of the leading clubs in Ireland.

Teddy O’Donovan, father and coach of Paul, put it succinctly. “Producing world class juniors,” he said.