Ireland won the first medal of the day at the World Rowing Cup on Sunday when Mark O'Donovan and Shane O'Driscoll took gold in the final of the lightweight men's pair in Belgrade.
O'Donovan and O'Driscoll finished in a time of 6:46.65, 1.02 seconds ahead of Russia in second.
The first A-final in the LM2- and it's IRL leading the way to take the first gold medal, but it was too close to call for silver & bronze.
— World Rowing (@WorldRowing) May 7, 2017
After the race, Mark O'Donovan told the World Rowing website that he and O'Driscoll felt good throughout the race.
Feeling really good during the race, we’ve got a new coach, so that is a new step for Ireland. Going forward we are going to a training camp in Varese and looking to implement new training and technique before Europeans.
The good news for Ireland did not end there as a little over ten minutes later, Denise Walsh would take silver in the lightweight women's single sculls.
Walsh finished in a time of 7:56.240, a little under four seconds behind Swiss gold medalist Patricia Merz.
The Skibbereen rower said afterwards that she had put a lot into the finish.
In the race, I focused on giving a bit of reserve toward the end and focusing on the sprint. I didn’t realise how close everyone was to me, especially Patricia. Now focusing on the European Champs in the single.
Pictures / Herman Dingler / Sportsfile
