There was disappointment for Irish rower Sanita Puspure at the Tokyo Olympics as she finished fifth in her single sculls semi-final and had to settle for a place in Thursday's B final.
Hopes were high that Puspure could add an Olympic medal to her World and European haul but she never really challenged for the top three finish that would have seen her into the main final.
The 39-year-old had previously spoken of her need to improve her starts but got off to a slow one at the Sea Forest Waterway and perhaps left herself with too much to do.
Back in fifth place at the 500m, Puspure found herself 2.32 seconds behind the leading Netherland boat and that was as good as it got for the Irish rower.
Puspure remained in fifth place at the halfway mark but even as she tried to raise her tempo, she couldn’t make any inroads into the lead of the Russian boat and instead was left trying to catch Anna Sarah Sophie Souwer of the Netherlands in fourth place.
With Russia, Switzerland and China finishing first, second and third to progress to the final, Puspure crossed the line in fifth place and look was visibly upset with how the race had progressed.
Injuries and illness have disrupted he preparations this year, but she will hope to bounce back in time for tomorrow’s B final.
Elsewhere on the water, women's pair duo Aileen Crowley and Monika Dukarska had to settle for a fifth place finish in their B final.
There was better news for Aoife Casey and Margaret Cremen, who finished second in their lightweight double sculls B final, putting in a powerful display of rowing for an overall eighth place finish in the their event.
