O'Neill proves best by a distance

ROWING/ Trinity Regatta: Trinity regatta on Saturday offered plenty of evidence that ambitious rowers travel distances off the water as well as on it.Seán O'Neill (22), came all the way from New Zealand to the recent national trials and showed that if a partner can be found for him Ireland would have a promising heavyweight pair.

Unfortunately none of those who qualify want to take up the offer, some opting instead to prove themselves in a quadruple scull that the team management see as unlikely to make it at the top level.

O'Neill, who is from Limerick but spent the last five years in New Zealand, has won every race he has competed in since returning from the other side of the world, where he won the national pairs title. On Saturday, he sat into a Galway Rowing Club senior pair with John Forde and won by four lengths; earlier, he was part of a Galway coxed four which beat Lady Elizabeth Boat Club so convincingly the decision was "not rowed out".

Lady Elizabeth took the eights title after a torrid start to a race which featured clashes with their opponents, Crabtree. And "Lizzy" have their own man who makes as little of distance as he does of adversity.

Mark Pollock, the stroke of the crew, has won gold medals at the Commonwealth Games and the Home Internationals. In September, he will walk 150 miles across the Gobi Desert in an "ultra marathon", guided by his friend, Nick Wolfe. The aim is to raise money for charities for the blind, as Pollock himself is blind.

The possibility of achievements on the international stage are also on the mind of Jonny Curran, the former RBAI man, who won the senior single sculls title on Saturday.

Curran won in the colours of London Rowing Club and works in management consultancy in that city. But the 29-year-old took part in the recent national trials, and may now put this career on hold to take on the challenge of rowing with the Irish squad.

In the absence of UCD, their big rivals this year, the hosts took the women's eights title, beating UCC easily. On an otherwise downbeat day for Garda, Caroline Ryan won the women's single sculls title.