Zoe Hyde and Mags Cremen produced the performance of Ireland’s day at the World Rowing Championships in Amsterdam, winning their Women’s Double Sculls semi-final in an excellent 7:09.17 to book their place in Friday’s World Championship A Final.
Having already won their opening heat, the Irish double stepped up again when the stakes increased. They crossed the line 2.81 seconds clear of Italy, with Poland taking the third qualifying position, to move into the medal race with two victories behind them and growing momentum.
There is still a significant race to come, but Hyde and Cremen have done everything asked of them so far. Championship rowing is about repeatedly earning the right to race again. They have done considerably more than survive the rounds; they have controlled them.
In windy conditions, reigning World Champion Fiona Murtagh also secured automatic progression in the Women’s Single Sculls, finishing second in her heat in 8:01.18, just 0.20 seconds behind South Africa’s Paige Badenhorst.
Murtagh won last year’s world title by just 0.03 seconds from Great Britain’s Lauren Henry, while Paris Olympic champion Karolien Florijn of the Netherlands is back racing internationally and doing so on home water.
Murtagh will contest the quarter-finals on Friday, with the semi-finals scheduled for Saturday. Getting through those may prove among the toughest assignments of the entire Championships.
Fintan McCarthy also progressed comfortably, finishing second in his opening race in the Men’s Single Sculls.
The double Olympic lightweight champion crossed in 7:20.69, 4.22 seconds behind American Samuel Melvin, to safely secure an automatic quarter-final place.
McCarthy is navigating very different territory in Amsterdam. Moving into the open-weight single brings new opponents, different physical demands and, psychologically, the challenge of being highly accomplished while simultaneously learning again.
Like Murtagh, he will return to the Bosbaan for the quarter-finals on Friday, with the possibility of a Saturday semi-final beyond that.
For Imogen Magner and Natalie Long, there will be a B Final after they finished fifth in their Women’s Pair semi-final in 7:41.74.
Romania were emphatic winners in 7:20.94, ahead of Chile and Italy, with the Irish pair finishing just 1.18 seconds behind New Zealand in fourth.
An A Final proved beyond reach, but another World Championship race remains.
Ross Corrigan and Nathan Timoney, meanwhile, finished their Championships with a response.
Disappointed with their opening performance, the Men’s Pair produced a strong finish to take second behind the USA in their C Final and 14th place overall.
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Image Credit: Rowing Ireland, Conor Lyall
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