Rowing: Gary O’Donovan reaches quarters at World Rowing Championships

Gary O'Donovan got his challenge back on track at the World Rowing Championships at Linz in Austria. The Skibbereen man, who had faltered in the heat on Sunday, won his repechage of the lightweight single sculls and qualified for the quarter-finals.

O’Donovan produced a fast start and took control from there. He had a clearwater lead over his challengers by the second quarter and won well. Uncas Batista of Brazil took the second available spot in the top 24 who will contest the quarter-finals.

Mark O’Donovan and Shane O’Driscoll fell out of the hunt for the top placings in the men’s pair. In a very close repechage, the former world champions in the lightweight pair failed by two thirds of a second to make the top two placing which would have seen them progress to a quarter final.

In a three-boat finish, Chile pipped Greece by one hundredth of a second, with Ireland 0.65 behind the Chileans.

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O’Donovan and O’Driscoll are set to contest an E Final, for places 25 to 31.

In their first outing, the Ireland lightweight quadruple finished fourth in their heat and will compete in a repechage with the hope of reaching the A Final.

World Rowing Championships, Linz, Austria, Day Two (Irish interest):

Men

Pair - Repechage Two (First Two to Quarter-Finals; Third to Final E): 1 Chile 6:43.70, 2 Greece 6:43.71; 3 Ireland (M O’Donovan, S O’Driscoll) 6:44.35.

Lightweight Quadruple- Heat One (Winner to A Final; rest to Repechage): 4 Ireland (H Sutton, M Taylor, R Ballantine, J McCarthy) 6:04.84

Lightweight Single Sculls - Repechage Two (First Two to Quarter-Finals; rest to E/F Semi-Finals): 1 Ireland (G O’Donovan) 7:28.07, 2 Brazil (U Batista) 7:32.97.