WHEN Emily Hegarty landed home in Skibbereen this week, it gave her a chance to catch her breath after a hectic few weeks – but it was worth it all as she has booked her ticket to the Olympic Games in Paris this summer.
The Tokyo bronze medallist flew back into Cork late on Tuesday night after her Olympic-qualifying exploits in Lucerne earlier that day.
The Skibb rower helped the Irish women’s four earn their spot at the Games after they won their race at the Final Olympic Qualification Regatta to take one of the two spots in Paris that were up for grabs. Mission accomplished. Back on Irish soil hours later, Hegarty’s plan then was to point her car west to home outside Skibbereen town and take a well-earned few down days before it all ratchets back up again.
‘It was really satisfying to get the job done and also have the race that we knew we were capable of,’ Hegarty said, reviewing the final on Tuesday morning that saw the Irish women’s four, which also includes Eimear Lambe (Old Collegians Boat Club), Natalie Long (Lee Valley Rowing Club) and Imogen Magner (Carlow Rowing Club), win the race to guarantee their place in Paris.
‘It’s really special, two of the girls in the boat (Natalie Long and Imogen Magner) haven’t gone to the Olympics before so it’s really special to share that with them. It’s so exciting when you first get it.’
Emily Hegarty, Natalie Long, Imogen Magner and Eimear Lambe celebrate their Olympic qualification.
Hegarty has previous experience of the tension-filled Final Olympic Qualification Regatta – this is the same route the Irish women’s four took in 2021 before going on to win a history-making bronze medal at the Olympics a few months later. The pre-regatta chatter was Ireland and Denmark were most likely to take the places up for grabs, and that’s how it panned out. The top two were well clear of Spain in third, followed by Poland, Chile and Japan.
‘Denmark would have been the stiffest competition, but at the same time the regatta is mad,’ Hegarty explained. ‘We were lucky that everything went as expected on Tuesday, there were so many races that went to the line, crews that were expected to walk it missed out; you can’t take anything for granted in this regatta because anything can happen.’
The overcast conditions on Tuesday morning in Lucerne were a reminder of home, but the Irish women’s four took it all in their stride. The water was calm, at least, Hegarty pointed out, as Ireland, second behind Denmark for most of the race, hit the front inside the final 500 metres to win by less than eight tenths of a second. Job done, and now this crew can look forward to Paris in July and August.
‘It’s very exciting,’ Hegarty said. ‘We were training as if we were going so this is a box ticked and we’ll get back into it now. We’ve been doing the same programme, more or less, as the team that has qualified so not much will change in terms of training.
‘The certainty is a massive thing. If you did have a bad day in the lead up to the qualification regatta, you would have been unsure if you actually would make it, but when you know you are going it’s a different mindset and those doubts won’t creep in anymore. Our tickets are punched.’
On a personal level, Hegarty is thankful to all those who looked after her during her challenging 2023 season that saw the Skibb rower sit out the entire year with a back injury. That’s behind her now, as she looks forward to the build-up to the Olympics. Hegarty can lean on her experience from 2021, and look at the magical end to that journey.
