Ireland will have 24 athletes competing across nine boat classes at the 2026 World Rowing Championships in Amsterdam, which get underway today and run through to Sunday, August 30th.

It is the biggest examination yet of the new Olympic cycle for Rowing Ireland, with the championships serving both as an opportunity to compete for medals and to establish which combinations can emerge as Ireland’s strongest prospects for Los Angeles 2028.

Olympic qualification itself begins at next year’s World Championships in Lucerne, placing additional significance on what can be learned over the coming week.

Ireland will race four men’s and five women’s boats, with a mixture of established partnerships and combinations being tested for the first time at World Championship level.

Ross Corrigan and Nathan Timoney continue together in the men’s pair, while Imogen Magner and Natalie Long compete in the women’s equivalent.

Zoë Hyde and Margaret Cremen are reunited in the women’s double after winning a medal together at the opening World Cup event of the season.

There will be particular interest in the newly assembled crews.

Fionnán McQuillan-Tolan, Adam Murphy, James Doran and Jack Dorney make up the men’s four, while Claire Feerick, Aisling Hayes, Emma Waters and Emma Fagan form the women’s four.

The women’s quadruple sculls brings together Emily Hegarty, Sophia Young, Alison Bergin and Isobel Clements, combining athletes with previous international medal success into a new crew.

Martin O’Grady, Ryan Spelman, Andrew Sheehan and Konan Pazzaia return in the men’s quadruple sculls after building international experience together earlier this season.

There will also be significant Irish attention on the two single sculls.

World Champion Fiona Murtagh races in the women’s single after continuing her medal-winning form through the World Cup season.

Two-time Olympic lightweight champion Fintan McCarthy takes another important step in his transition to open-weight rowing in the men’s single.

McCarthy is one of a number of Irish athletes adapting to the removal of lightweight rowing from the Olympic programme.

Cremen is another, competing in the women’s double, while Clements is part of the women’s quadruple sculls.

How successfully Rowing Ireland manages that transition, while at the same time developing new combinations capable of qualifying for Los Angeles, will be one of the key high-performance stories over the next two seasons.

Rowing Ireland Performance Director Niall O’Carroll has deliberately played down medal expectations for what remains a developing group.

“We believe we are sending a strong Irish team to Amsterdam, but medals are not the focus we are placing on this group. Our only ask is that every crew delivers the best racing it is capable of producing.”

“Several of these boats are new combinations, brought together deliberately to give athletes the opportunity to prove themselves at the highest level.”

“They are not finished articles, and Amsterdam will give us an honest measure of where they stand against the best crews in the world.”

That assessment will feed directly into decisions ahead of 2027.

“Olympic qualification at the 2027 World Championships in Lucerne is now coming clearly into view, and this week will help us understand what is working, where the gaps remain and where our strongest opportunities may lie.”

The women’s pair, men’s pair and women’s double are the first Irish crews into action on Monday, with the fours and quadruple sculls following on Tuesday and Murtagh and McCarthy beginning their single sculls campaigns on Wednesday.

Ireland Team

Men’s Single Sculls: Fintan McCarthy
Men’s Pair: Ross Corrigan, Nathan Timoney
Men’s Four: Fionnán McQuillan-Tolan, Adam Murphy, James Doran, Jack Dorney
Men’s Quadruple Sculls: Martin O’Grady, Ryan Spelman, Andrew Sheehan, Konan Pazzaia

Women’s Single Sculls: Fiona Murtagh
Women’s Pair: Imogen Magner, Natalie Long
Women’s Double Sculls: Zoë Hyde, Margaret “Mags” Cremen
Women’s Four: Claire Feerick, Aisling Hayes, Emma Waters, Emma Fagan
Women’s Quadruple Sculls: Emily Hegarty, Sophia Young, Alison Bergin, Isobel “Izzy” Clements

All the broadcast and streaming details for the World Rowing Championships, alongside the best of Irish and international sport over the coming days, are included in our regularly updated Sport for Business Rolling 10-Day Guide to Sport on TV and Streaming. View the Sport for Business TV and Streaming Guide
 

 

 

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Image Credit: Rowing Ireland

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