Gold for Limerick's David O'Malley at World U-23 rowing championships

Ireland had a double medal haul at the World Rowing U-23 Championships in Poznan last weekend. The men in green claimed two medals - gold and silver with Limerick's David O'Malley, UCD (once of St Michael's RC) winning gold. O'Malley, from the North Circular Road in Limerick is a nephew of former Irish Champion Donal Hanrahan who competed at 2 world Championships in 1995 and 1996

The crew of Shane Mulvaney and David O’Malley, both UCD athletes, took gold in the lightweight men’s pair following a blistering race that saw them complete the 2,000m course in a time of 06:54.480, two seconds ahead of Greece who took silver. The Irish pair who won bronze in the same category last year, rowed an impressively solid, well-paced race that saw them stroke up the field incrementally from fourth place at 500m to take the lead at 1,500m and win gold and glory. Greece took silver and Italy, bronze.

Shortly afterwards, the Irish lightweight men’s quad won silver in a hotly contested race with Italy, who took the lead at the halfway mark to win, and USA, who the Irish battled the into third place. The Irish boat of UCD’s Andrew Goff (stroke), Ryan Ballantine (ERBC/ Newcastle), Niall Beggan (Commercial) and Miles Taylor (QUBBC) (bow), had won bronze in the same event last year with Goff and Beggan on board. This year’s crew will be thrilled to have fulfilled their game plan of going one better to win silver, after coming through the repechage following the heats to secure their place in the A Final.