The Irish men's lightweight four crusied to victory in the final of the Rowing World Cup in Lucerne this afternoon, taking gold again and becoming the first Irish crew ever to win the Rowing World Cup series outright.
In a stunning performance the talented Irish quartet (LM4-) of Gearoid Towey, Eugene Coakley, Richard Archibald and Paul Griffin held their nerve when, from the start, Egypt charged into a one length lead ahead of the Irish and reigning World Champions France.
The Irish kept to their trusted race plan and upped the pace with 900metres to go, burning off the fading Egyptians and pulling almost a length clear of the field by the time they reached the 1500m mark.
As the line approached the French and German crews gave their final effort but were unable to catch the delighted Irish four who crossed the line in 6:07.59, over a second ahead of France and Germany.
Earlier, the Irish lightweight women's double (LW2x) of Sinéad Jennings and Niamh NiCheilleachair were edged off the medals podium right on the line.
The Irish duo eventually finished fourth, pipped at the absolute death for bronze by the Americans; reigning world silver medallists, by two tenths of a second. Canada took gold, with Finland second.
