Skibbereen's Richard Coakley has oared through to tomorrow's lightweight sculls final at the World Under-23 Rowing championships in Amsterdam.
The Corkman, who grabbed a silver medal as part of the Irish eight at the final World Cup leg in Lucerne this month, finished second (7 minutes 08.06 seconds) in the first semi-final on the Bosbaan course.
Always trailing Briton Zac Purchase (7:06.48), Coakley finished well to hold off the efforts of third-ranked Peruvian Victor Aspillaga Alayza (7:09.43) as the second qualifier.
The 22-year-old will have a fight on his hands for a medal in the final however, with Slovakia's Lucas Babac and Slovenian Bine Pislar both turning in sub-seven minute performances in the third semi-final.
