Ireland’s finalised team for the World Rowing Championships will consist of 11 crews.
The strong core of the team, built around single sculler Sanita Puspure and the lightweight men’s double of Paul O’Donovan and Fintan McCarthy are joined by two crews which emerged from the Under-23 system - the lightweight men’s quadruple, with Jake McCarthy coming in, and the women’s four, which is bolstered by the return of Aifric Keogh, who has been ill.
The men’s pair of Mark O’Donovan and Shane O’Driscoll get a vote of confidence and Aoife Casey and Denise Walsh form the women’s lightweight double. The men’s double and women’s pair are again chosen.
Gary O’Donovan and Lydia Heaphy will represent Ireland as lightweight single scullers, while Paralympic rower Katie O’Brien has also been chosen.
The World Championships start on Sunday, August 25th in Linz in Austria. They are a crucial event, as they are the main qualification event for the Olympic Games.
Men
Pair: M O'Donovan, S O'Driscoll
Double Sculls: P Doyle, R ByrneLightweight Double: F McCarthy, P O'Donovan
Lightweight Quadruple: H Sutton, R Ballantine, M Taylor, J McCarthy
Lightweight Single: G O'Donovan
Women
Four: A Keogh, E Lambe, T Hanlon, E Hegarty
Pair: A Crowley, M Dukarska
Single: S Puspure
Lightweight Double: A Casey, D Walsh
Lightweight Single: L Heaphy
PR2 (Paralympic): K O'Brien
Alternates: C Feerick, N Long