ROSSCARBERY Rowing Club members travelled to Portmagee in Co Kerry the last weekend of September to compete in the 2020 Irish Offshore Rowing Championships.
This was the club’s first appearance at the championships and it was represented by a team of four athletes, Roisin O’Sullivan, Alyssa Mannix, Ryan Spelman and Kealan Mannix. Racing began on the Saturday morning with heats in the men's single and double. Kealan and Ryan both qualified for Sunday’s finals.
Next up was the senior women's final featuring a number of international athletes. Roisin and Alyssa rowed a fantastic race finishing in sixth place, a great result for these junior ladies who were the youngest competitors at the event.
The last race of the day on the Saturday was the mixed double where brother and sister Kealan and Alyssa Mannix teamed up and dominated the field in this 4k race to secure the club’s first ever offshore All-Ireland title.
Sunday brought the men's double final where Ryan and Kealan rowed very well securing silver, just two seconds behind the winners from Donegal. The following race was the men's single in which Kealan fought a mighty battle throughout the gruelling six-turn, four-kilometre course with John Harrington of the Galley Flash Rowing Club, the lead changing hands a number of times, and ended with Kealan edging it in the final stages to secure the Rosscarbery club’s second gold of the championships.
