FINTAN McCarthy is through to the semi-finals of the men's single sculls at World Rowing Cup I in Seville.

The Skibbereen rower will be in action on Saturday morning, up against Belgium, Germany, Slovenia, Norway and Romania.

McCarthy came through two races on Friday, starting with a composed victory in his opening heat. Sitting comfortably in third position through the early stages, he steadily worked his way through the field before applying pressure on Norway's Jonas Slettemark Juel in the closing strokes to take victory in 7:08.46 and progress to the quarter-finals. McCarthy's heat victory was achieved in the fourth-fastest time out of the heats. 

The Skibb man returned to the water later in the day for Quarter-Final 3, where he delivered another assured performance to secure his place in the semi-finals.

Leading through the opening 500 metres, he battled with Slovenia throughout a highly competitive race before crossing the line in second place. The result secured one of the three automatic qualification places and a place in the semi-finals. 

As all eight Irish crews progressed from their opening races, there were also heat victories for Fiona Murtagh, Alison Bergin and Sophia Young.

Fiona Murtagh got the day off to a flying start in the Women's Single Sculls. Racing in Heat 1, Murtagh produced a strong second half of the race, making her move at the 1500-metre mark before pulling clear of the field to take victory in 7:37.33 and secure direct qualification to the Semi-Finals ahead of Germany. 

There was further success in the Women's Double Sculls as Alison Bergin and Sophia Young claimed victory in their heat. Bergin and Young raced strongly throughout to cross the line first in 7:06.30, finishing ahead of the Netherlands and Canada to secure direct progression to the Semi-Finals. 

In the second Women's Double Sculls heat, the established double of Zoe Hyde and Mags Cremen delivered another strong performance. In a closely contested race from start to finish, the crew remained firmly in contention before increasing their stroke rate to 32 strokes per minute in the closing stages to produce a powerful sprint finish. Their second-place finish in 7:01.20 behind The Netherlands secured another Semi-Final berth for Rowing Ireland. 

Isobel Clements continued the momentum in the Lightweight Women's Single Sculls. Leading through the opening 500 metres, Clements maintained her composure under pressure from Uruguay to finish second behind Mexico in 8:09.49. Her result secured one of the two qualifying positions available and a place in the A Final. 

The Women's Four of Natalie Long, Claire Feerick, Emma Fagan and Imogen Magner also progressed directly to the A Final following an impressive display. The four remained competitive throughout before executing their sprint sequence in the closing stages, increasing their stroke rate into the 40s to secure second place in 6:51.60. 

The Men's Pair of Adam Murphy and Fionnán McQuillan-Tolan produced a determined performance to secure progression to the Semi-Finals. Moving into fourth position at the 1500-metre mark, the crew launched a powerful sprint over the closing 200 metres, increasing their stroke rate to 42 strokes per minute to record a time of 6:58.67. Their performance ranked among the six fastest crews across all heats, earning a place in the next round. 

The Men's Quad Sculls crew of Konan Pazzaia, Andrew Sheehan, Ryan Spelman and Martin O'Grady raced strongly in a particularly fast heat. The crew crossed the line in fourth place in 5:58.67 and will continue their campaign in the Final C.