Double delight for Ring and Ross at national beach sprints event

NOEL Creedon and Conor Kelly made home advantage count at the Ring Rowing Club Beach Sprints League held in Duneen.

With blue skies and blue seas, it was easy to see why Beach Sprints Rowing – a new sport joining the Olympic Games schedule for 2028 – is so exciting to watch.

Noel Creedon (Ring) presented with his prize by Ring Rowing Club President Ger O'Driscoll.

With 91 entries from around the country and rowers from Derry, Donegal, Dublin, Galway, Limerick and more, this was a big gathering in Duneen.And the action didn’t disappoint.

This high-adrenaline coastal discipline combines a beach run, a 250-metre slalom row around buoys, and a final sprint to the finish buzzer.

Niamh Hehir (Rosscarbery), with Ring President Ger O'Driscoll, won her final of the women’s 16 CJ1x.

Here, 11 hours of exciting racing brought it down to 14 winners from 14 categories, including victories for Ring Rowing Club’s Noel Creedon (men’s CM1x) and Conor Kelly (men’s J18 C1X).

There were more local wins, with Niamh Hehir (Rosscarbery RC) winning the women’s J16 C1X category. The Ross club also won the coastal mixed double sculls race for rowers aged 16 and under, as Sean McMahon and Eloise Fitzpatrick came out on top.

Sean McMahon and Eloise Fitzpatrick (Rosscarbery) were presented with their prize from Ring President Ger O'Driscoll.

The following day, Ring Rowing Club played host to high-performance trials, as Rowing Ireland put trialists through their paces for various international crew selections.

RESULTS:

Men’s Open C1x: Noel Creedon (Ring RC).

Women’s Open C1x: Cliodhna Nolan (UCC RC).

Men’s J18 C1X: Conor Kelly (Ring RC).

Women’s J18 C1x: Sophie Reynolds (Athlone BC).

Men’s J16 C1X: Daithi Gallagher (Loughros RC).

Women’s J16 C1X: Niamh Hehir (Rosscarbery RC).

Men’s J18 C2X: Loughros RC.

Women’s J18 C2X- Loughros/Athlone.

Mixed Open Cmix2x: UGBC.

Mixed J16 CMix2X- Rosscarbery RC.

Mixed J18 CMix2x: Loughros RC.