Galway rower Siobhán McCrohan has claimed a bronze medal at the prestigious Lucerne Regatta, the third of the World Cup series.
McCrohan claimed her medal in the lightweight single sculls, while fellow Galwegian NUIG’s Niall Kenny was one place off bronze in the lightweight quad scull, and Tribesmen’s Lisa Dilleen featured in the double scull.
McCrohan, scheduled for the first race in the regatta on Friday, had a most inauspicious start, failing to qualify directly for the semi finals. As a result she had to negotiate the repechage where, though pressed by the Japanese to half way, she took over to win and secure one of the last of the semi-final places. A strong semi-final performance, finishing second, earned her a lane in the A-final in the last six which also featured four of the six finalists from heat one.
In a final that boasted World and European medallists, McCrohan was initially fourth and briefly in fifth before forcing her boat to third place at the 1500m mark. She briefly held second, making inroads on the leading Greek, but was pipped on the run-in to the line by the fast finishing Swiss boat.
Saturday’s result showed real progress for McCrohan who finished sixth at the same venue last year.
The women’s double scull of Lisa Dilleen, just turned 20, and Sanita Puspure, 10 years her senior, hoped to emulate a good set of results in Munich. The big guns were in action in their heat and although the Irish boat held second for a period, they fell away to fifth, and a date with the repechage. A strong second place in the repechage earned a semi-final berth where they finished fifth in the “B” final for an 11th place overall.
The remaining Galway interest was the men’s lightweight quad scull, in which Niall Kenny and his crewmates competed in a straight final.
The Irish boat was quickest to the 500m mark and then dropped to third behind Germany and Italy – both specialists in this category. Ireland held this position for the mid period of the race and it began to look like another medal might be in the offing, but the fast finishing Danes had other thoughts, relegating the Irish boat to fourth.
The team now travels to training camp in Belgium where training for the upcoming u-23 and Senior World Championships will take place.
