SINEAD JENNINGS will have to wait another 48 hours to confirm her Olympic dream.
Jennings and her partner Claire Lambe were fourth in their women’s lightweight double sculls semi-final at the World Rowing Championships at Aiguebelette in France, meaning they narrowly missed out on qualification for the A final and Olympic qualification.
In a tight race, with the first three assured of a place in the A final and for next year’s Games in Rio, Canadian pair Patricia Obee and Lindsay Jennerich were first in a time of 6:57.02 over the 2,000-metre course, with South Africa (Ursula Grobler and Kirsten McCann) in second with 6:57.83 and Denmark (Anne Lolk Thomsen and Juliane Rasmussen) third, 6:58.98.
Canada produced an amazing finish to win having been sixth at the half-way point and then fourth with only 500 metres to go.
The Irish pair, who were second after 500 metres and third following both 1,000 and 1,500 metres, were fourth in the end 6:59.51, which would’ve been enough for second place in the first semi-final in which Great Britain were second in 6:59.52.
However, with the top 11 from the event qualifying for Rio, anything other than last place in the B final, for which Ireland are the fastest qualifier, which takes place on Saturday at 11:30am, will be enough for Jennings and Lambe.
The Letterkenny native and her partner Lambe won their heat on Sunday in 6:57.33, which was the fastest time of the day. Yesterday, Jennings and Lambe came through their quarter-final in a time of 7:15.490.
Jennings was the 2001 world rowing champion in Lucerne, Switzerland, in the lightweight single women’s sculls but it was not an Olympic event. She also finished second in the same event in Linz, Austria in 2008, third in Zagred, Croatia in 2002 and fourth in 2004 in Banyoles, Spain.
The 38-year-old’s sister Caitriona was an Olympian in London in 2012 in the marathon.
