OLYMPIC champions Paul O’Donovan and Fintan McCarthy will be in opposition in a semi-final of the men’s double sculls at World Rowing Cup II in Lucerne on Saturday morning.
The first heat of the men’s double sculls on Friday saw a fast start. Konan Pazzaia and Fintan McCarthy held second place throughout the race, finishing behind New Zealand with a time of 6:21.89 to qualify for Saturday's semi-final (10:10am IST, lane 2). They will face the second Irish double of Paul O’Donovan and Daire Lynch who came through their heat on Friday.
Paul and Daire Lynch were in third place at the 1000-metre mark, with just one second separating the top three crews. They pushed through in the second half to overtake the Greek crew and finish in second place, less than a second behind the first-place Individual Neutral Athletes.
Also, Tiarnán O’Donnell and Bantry Rowing Club's Sadhbh Ní Laoighre finished fourth in the PR3 Mixed Double Sculls with a time of 9:04.84. They will race in the A final on Saturday (11.55am IST, lane 4) . The duo are competing in the PR3 category in Lucerne, as the PR2 event is not being held due to a lack of entries.
The women’s four crew that includes Skibbereen Rowing Club's Aisling Hayes finished fifth in their heat with a time of 6:41.54. Despite a strong sprint finish, it was not enough to secure a place in the A final. The crew will now race in the B final on Sunday (8:50am IST, lane 4).
