'Dream come true' as Skibbereen rower Aoife Casey and Cremen qualify Irish lightweight women's double for Olympics

BY CLARA O'BRIEN

SKIBBEREEN rower Aoife Casey and Margaret Cremen have qualified the Irish lightweight women's double for the 2024 Olympics Games in Paris! 

Nerves were high before they took to the water at the World Rowing Championships in Belgrade on Saturday morning, as it was just one boat in the B final to get the golden ticket. 

Casey and Cremen looked cool, calm and collected as they showed the world their incredible quality and stamina throughout the entire race. 

It was a tough battle against the French and the Polish doubles but it was Ireland who came through at the end, finishing with clear water over the field. 

They finished up their World Championships as seventh in the world and qualified boat for next year.

They've done it! Skibbereen rower Aoife Casey & Margaret Cremen have qualified the Irish women's lightweight double for the 2024 Paris Olympics! 🇫🇷 🥳. They have won the B final at the Worlds! pic.twitter.com/kPaNT8Oobf

— Kieran McCarthy (@KieranMcC_SS) September 9, 2023

'It’s a dream come true to be honest,' Casey said after.

'We were confident that we’ve been building through the season. We started off with a few fifths and there or thereabouts, and we just kept the belief and kept the training going.

'It was tough in the semi-final that we didn’t get through and our confidence was a bit knocked, but our game plan was just to have our best race, have fun during it if we could, and see how it works out. We’re on cloud nine.'