O'Donovan brothers through to B final with Olympic qualification up for grabs

Gary and Paul O'Donovan are through to B final

BY KIERAN McCARTHY

SKIBBEREEN brothers Gary and Paul O’Donovan are through to the B final of the men’s lightweight double sculls at the world rowing championships in France.

The Irish crew finished fifth in their A/B semi-final this morning and that sends them into the B final this Saturday morning where they can qualify for the 2016 Olympics in Rio once they don’t finish last of the six crews competing.

The top five crews in the B final will join the six crews in the A final at next summer’s Olympics.

Great Britain, Norway and Germany were the top three in Gary and Paul’s A/B semi-final, with the West Cork men fifth in 6:23.830, behind USA in fourth and Austria in sixth place.

In the B final, Gary and Paul will row against USA, Austria, Poland, Switzerland and Greece with Olympic qualification up for grabs – the top five crews from this race will book their tickets to Rio.

Later today, Skibbereen duo Shane O’Driscoll and Mark O’Donovan row in the A/B semi-final of the men’s lightweight pair, while Skibb’s Denise Walsh is through to the C final of the women’s lightweight single scull after finishing third in today's semi-final.

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