The Irish four at U23 Rowing World Championships 2019 in Sarasota, put on a strong performance in the heats. Finishing in third place, they were less than a second from the US crew, the winners of their heat and finished right behind British crew. The US crew progresses to Final A, as does Spain from Heat 2. All other crews will compete in the repechage to determine what four remaining crews will progress to Final A.
The Irish crew of Eimear Lambe, Tara Hanlon, Emily Hegarty and Claire Feerick should feel confident as they build up to compete in the repechage. They finished in a time of 6:33.1 and the British finished just ahead in 6:32.96. The British will be aware of the competitive Irish four if they meet them again in this competition. The British crew will compete in Repechage 1 and the Irish in Repechage 2 tomorrow.
We hope to see another strong performance from the Irish to book their place in the final. They will face China, New Zealand and Australia in Repechage 2. The Irish were at least ten seconds faster than each crew that they will race in the repechage tomorrow.
The winning time of Heat 2 was 6:39.13, six seconds slower than the time posted by the Irish crew. The Spanish were not under too much pressure to qualify in their heat, leading from the start, gradually increasing their lead. The Spanish have already qualified, so the Irish will be aiming to meet them in Final A. Anything can happen in racing, but there will be high hopes that the Irish can qualify from the repechage, given their strong performance in the heats.
Based on the performances this morning, a medal is definitely within reach for the Irish four.
Read more about the crew of Eimear Lambe, Tara Hanlon, Emily Hegarty and Claire Feerick here.
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