Three Galway rowers are at the forefront of Rowing Ireland’s Para Olympic rowing programme.
Two Galway Rowing Club members have taken part in their first international para rowing regatta in Gavirate, Northern Italy, while on the domestic front there was victory for another oarsman at the Castleconnell Regatta in Limerick.
Making history were club members Steven McGowan and Katie O’Brien who competed successfully in the PR2 (back and arms ) category in Italy. It is the first time an Irish crew has competed abroad - O'Brien, already a World Championship medallist from 2019, competed in the single scull - and they were prepared for this first event by club coaches Conor Moloney and Mike Gaffney.
At Saturday’s regatta the crew came fourth in the final, behind winners and Tokyo Olympians, Uzbekistan, Brazil, and Italy, while Thailand and Mexico finished fifth and sixth respectively. It was a fine result for the pair who closed the gap significantly against third placed Italy and improved their time by 10 seconds on Saturday’s race to post a personal best.
On the domestic regatta scene, the club travelled to Castleconnell Regatta in Co Limerick where there was a super win for Mark Halliday, his first victory in the PR1 Men's 1X.
In total the club enjoyed seven wins through the WJ162X of Saphira Praxmarer and Avril Walzer, the Men's Masters 1X, 8+, 4X+, 4X- and 2X.
