Five Skibbereen rowers are on the Ireland team competing in Germany
SKIBBEREEN brothers Gary and Paul O’Donovan won their heat of the lightweight double sculls at the opening day of the 2016 European Rowing Championships in Brandenburg on Friday.
The Czech Republic showed well early on, but by halfway the Rio-bound Skibbereen brothers had a small lead, which they extended from there on. Gary and Paul recently won a silver medal at the World Cup regatta.
Skibbereen’s Denise Walsh finished fifth in her heat of the lightweight single sculls and must compete in a repechage on Saturday.
The Irish lightweight men’s pair of Skibbereen duo Mark O’Donovan and Shane O’Driscoll held second right down the course and sprinted to the line to hold off a challenge by Poland in this morning’s heat. The world champions, Sam Scrimgeour and Joel Cassells of Britain, won the heat and took the A final place.
There are more than 500 athletes competing from 34 European nations in these championships.
