EMILY Hegarty and the Irish women’s four will look to round off their Olympic Games with a strong performance in the B final on Thursday morning (9.54am).
Tokyo Olympic bronze medallist Emily had targeted a spot in the A final at these Games, but those dreams were dashed on Tuesday when the Irish boat finished in fourth place in the repechage – they needed to finish in the top two to progress to the A final.
The four of Hegarty, Natalie Long, Eimear Lambe, and Imogen Magner found themselves in the repechage after finishing third in their heat on Sunday, behind The Netherlands and Romania. This meant Hegarty and Co needed to negotiate the tricky repechage to keep their medal hopes alive.
In second place after 500 metres, with just China in front of them, the Irish boat was right in the mix, but as China moved clear, the USA made their move. By the halfway stage Ireland were in third, outside the top two spots, with the USA pulling over a second and a half clear.
As the race developed, the USA (6:32.48) overhauled long-time leaders China (6:33.60), and Denmark (6:35.65) also rowed past the Irish boat who had to settle for fourth, in 6:38.10. In the B final Ireland will take on Denmark and Australia and will look to finish their Games on a high note.
For Skibbereen rower Hegarty, given that she missed the entire 2023 international season because of a back injury, her recovery to earn a seat in the Irish women’s four highlights her strength and character. Hegarty and Lambe are the only two survivors of the Irish women’s four from Tokyo, as Fiona Murtagh and Aifric Keogh are now in the Irish women’s pair.
Speaking on RTÉ on Tuesday, former Skibbereen rower Timmy Harnedy remarked, ‘it is disappointing, there are two bronze medallists in there, Natalie got a silver medal in the Europeans a few years ago, they are brilliant athletes, good enough to be on the podiums, but there are loads of medallists in other boats too.’
