Ireland lightweight men’s quadruple win bronze in Florida

Teenager Holly Davis among gold medal winners at Home Internationals

Ireland’s Miles Taylor, Ryan Ballantine, Hugh Sutton and Eoin Gaffney after winning bronze at the World  Under-23 Championships in Sarasota-Bradenton, Florida. Photograph: Detlev Seyb/Inpho
Ireland’s Miles Taylor, Ryan Ballantine, Hugh Sutton and Eoin Gaffney after winning bronze at the World Under-23 Championships in Sarasota-Bradenton, Florida. Photograph: Detlev Seyb/Inpho

Ireland took a bronze medal at the World Under-23 Championships in Sarasota Bradenton in Florida on Saturday.

Italy got away from the other crews in the final of the lightweight men’s quadruple. Ireland and France battled it out behind them, with France pushing up to take second.

The Ireland crew of Eoin Gaffney, Hugh Sutton, Ryan Ballantine and Miles Taylor finished just 1.78 seconds behind France.

The Ireland men’s coxed four had missed out on an A Final place – by less than half a second – but finished their programme well with a win over Germany in the B Final, placing them seventh overall.

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The Ireland crew led throughout and had a small clearwater lead coming up to the line. Germany – the only other boat in the B Final – pushed hard but the Ireland crew of Brion O'Rourke, Ross Corrigan, Daire Lynch and James Quinlan, with cox Eoin Finnegan, did not give way and they won by 3.74 seconds.

Ireland crews won four gold medals at the Home International Regatta at Strathclyde Park in Glasgow.

Holly Davis, who is just 14, won the junior single sculls with a clearwater win over England's Ellie Cushen. The junior men's pair of Thomas Hume and Sam Reidy had an even more emphatic win, while the junior men's quadruple beat England in a close final.

The Ireland junior men’s eight brought the gold medal tally to four with a good win coming towards the end of the programme.

Ireland have two other crews contending for medals at the World Under-23 Championships on Sunday.

The women's four compete at 3.35 and the women's lightweight double of Aoife Casey and Cliodhna Nolan has its A Final at 4.05.

WORLD ROWING UNDER-23 CHAMPIONSHIPS

At Sarasota Bradenton, Florida: Men's four coxed B final(places 7 and 8): 1 Ireland (B O'Rourke, R Corrigan, D Lynch, J Quinlan; cox: E Finnegan) 6:18.43, 2 Germany 6:22.17.

Lightweight Quadruple Sculls – A final: 1 Italy 5:59.12, 2 France 6:00.20, 3 Ireland (E Gaffney, H Sutton, R Ballantine, M Taylor) 6:01.98.

Liam Gorman

Liam Gorman

Liam Gorman is a contributor to The Irish Times specialising in rowing