Five Skibbereen rowers competing at World Cup regatta in Poznan

FIVE Skibbereen rowers will compete in the third World Cup regatta of the year, which starts in Poznan, Poland on Friday morning and runs until Sunday.

With a total of 15 entries in the lightweight men’s double, Skibb brothers Gary and Paul O’Donovan(racing in their heat at 11.20am) will be eager continue their impressive season so far. Many of the top Rio-bound lightweight men’s double scull crews will be racing, not least the French, who are the 2015 world champions and won gold in Lucerne. Last year’s world silver medallists, Will Fletcher andRichard Chambers of Great Britain finished fifth in Lucerne; no doubt they will be aiming to make their way back into the medals in Poznan. Should the O’Donovan brothers win gold here they may come away with the overall World Cup victory.

Skibb duo Shane O’Driscoll and Mark O’Donovan (racing in their heat at 10.30am) will be eager to race again in the M2- having produced a good result at the European Championships together with Denise Walsh (racing in her heat at 9.55am) who will race the LW1x in a hotly contested event with a total of 19 other crews.