O’Donovan brothers secure A Final place in Belgrade World Cup

The lightweight double of Paul and Gary O’Donovan and single sculler Sanita Puspure secured A Final places at the World Cup Rowing Regatta in Belgrade on Saturday.

The O’Donovan brothers won their semi-final with a controlled display. They led through the second half of the race and, while Poland closed on them coming to the line, the Skibbereen scullers had the judgment to hold them off by less than a second.

Puspure finished second in her semi-final. Her event has a top-class complement of scullers. Fie-Udby Erichsen, an Olympic silver medallist, won the semi-final, but Puspure consigned Vicky Thornley of Britain to third. Thornley took silver at the World Championships last year. Jeanine Gmelin, the world champion, won the other semi-final.

Ireland’s women’s pair and women’s double took fourth places in their semi-finals and will compete in B Finals, as will the lightweight double of Margaret Cremen and Denise Walsh. They finished sixth.

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Mark O’Donovan and Shane O’Driscoll raced to a third-place finish in their C Final of the (heavyweight) pair. This gave them an overall ranking at the regatta of 15th.

Ireland had some significant results at the London Metropolitan Regatta at the Olympic venue of Dorney Lake.

World Cup Regatta, Belgrade, Day Two (Irish interest)

Men: Pair - C Final (Places 13 to 18): 1 Hungary 6:55.35, 2 Greece 6:57.73, 3 Ireland (M O'Donovan, S O'Driscoll) 6:59.0, 4 South Africa 7:00.22.

Lightweight Double Sculls - Semi-Final Two (Three to A Final; rest to B Final): 1 Ireland (G O'Donovan, P O'Donovan) 6:22.28, 2 Poland 6:22.87, 3 Belgium 6:24.21.

Women: Pair - Semi-Final Two (Three to A Final; rest to B Final): 1 Spain 7:35.18, 2 Denmark 7:35.77, 3 Britain Two 7:39.35; 4 Ireland (A Keogh, E Hegarty) 7:42.60.

Double Sculls - Semi-Final (Three to A Final; rest to B Final): Netherlands 7:16.27, 2 Belarus One 7:18.73, 3 Belarus Two 7:23.46; 4 Ireland (A Crowley, M Dukarska) 7:25.60.

Lightweight Double Sculls - Semi-Final (Three to A Final; rest to B Final): 1 United States One 7:03.73, 2 Switzerland 7:05.94, 3 Netherlands 7:06.04; 6 Ireland (M Cremen, D Walsh) 7:24.87.

Single Sculls - Semi-Final (Three to A Final; rest to B Final): 1 Denmark (F Erichsen) 7:24.76, 2 Ireland (S Puspure) 7:25.43, 3 Britain (V Thornley) 7:25.78.