A team of four Irish boats, all in Olympic boat classes, is set to compete in the second leg of the Rowing World Cup series in Lucerne, Switzerland, next week, 30 May – 1 June.
Crucially, this regatta is the last chance to test the field and finalise crew selection before the final Olympic qualification regatta in mid-June.
Ireland already has one boat qualified for the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing; the heavyweight men’s four (M4-) which will compete in Lucerne.
The Beijing bound heavyweight men’s four (M4-) maintains its one change from the crew that qualified the nation place for the Games with James Wall in for Sean Casey, alongside Alan Martin, Cormac Folan and Sean O’Neill.
The four took tenth in their first outing as this combination in Munich.
Sean Casey will partner Jonno Devlin in the heavyweight men’s pair (M2-). With the benefit of more time together the duo will be hoping to improve on their Munich placing of 19th next weekend.
The lightweight men’s four (LM4-) of Paul Griffin, Richard Archibald, Gearoid Towey and Eugene Coakley, showed a strong return to form in Munich, returning to A final action, where they were fifth.
With Olympic qualification as their immediate goal the four will be hoping to build on that performance, which saw them finish behind Germany (bronze); another non-qualified boat, but over six seconds ahead of Serbia; another one of their main rivals for the two Olympic spots on offer at the qualification regatta in June.
The lightweight men’s double (LM2x) of Cathal Moynihan and Richard Coakley will also be in action in Lucerne, and hoping for an improved performance on their first outing together in Munich, where they placed 25th.
The overall World Cup champions are determined after a series of three regattas; Munich, Germany 8-11 May, Lucerne, Switzerland 30 May - 1 June, and Poznan, Poland from 20-22 June, with the initial focus this year on the final Olympic qualifying regatta in Poznan, Poland from 15 -18 June where the last few Olympic spots will be decided.
Ireland already has one nation place secure for the Games in the heavyweight men’s four (M4-) but the athletes for that boat will not be selected until after the final World Cup in Poznan.
The 2008 Olympic regatta will be held at Shunyi Olympic Rowing-Canoeing Park on the side of the Chaobi river from 9-17 August.
