Rowing success on several fronts for Athlone Boat Club

It has been a highly successful recent spell for Athlone Boat Club, with Zach Meegan, Anna O'Grady, Sarah Rockett, Rian Claffey and Paul Gallen claiming notable wins. There were also a number of commendable performances by other club members.

Zach Meegan won a gold medal in the junior men's doubles as part of the Home International Rowing Regatta in Scotland. Meegan was partnered by Harry McCartney (Methodist College Belfast) as they enjoyed notable success at Strathclyde Park last Saturday, in what was the 56th edition of this regatta.

Anna O'Grady of Athlone Boat Club also performed superbly and she claimed second place in the junior 18 single sculls. The local involvement extended to the coaching side of things with Athlone Boat Club president Paul Donovan selected to coach the junior 18 girls. Paul described his selection as a "huge honour" and he was delighted with the performances of Anna and indeed Zach at the event.

Fergie Hannon of Athlone Boat Club will be part of Ireland's U-19 coaching team for the World Championships, which take place in Canada from August 18-25.

In addition to Meegan and O'Grady representing Ireland in the Home International Rowing Regatta, Rian Claffey will compete in the World U-19 Championships, while Adam Kenny and Richard Heaslip have been selected for the Coupe de la Jeunesse in Racice, Czechia (August 9-11).

Elsewhere, Paul Gallen successfully defended his European Masters lightweight single scull title in Munich recently. Paul will now be setting his sights on returning to Germany in September for the World Rowing Masters Regatta in Brandenburg.

These achievements come off the back of a very fruitful showing for Athlone Boat Club at the 2024 Irish Rowing Championships in Cork.

In undoubtedly one of the best performances of the championships, Sarah Rockett and Anna O'Grady won the women’s junior 18 double sculls national title.

They came through the early morning time trials posting the third fastest qualifying time and secured themselves lane 2 for the final. As the race commenced under clear skies and perfect rowing conditions, there was no doubt that Skibbereen were the clear favourites. The defending champions with two of the country’s fastest scullers in the country in their boat, Skibbereen were fastest qualifiers by almost 11 seconds. This did not faze Athlone girls Sarah and Anna, last year’s junior 16 winners, and they were ready for the challenge.

From the start Athlone displayed exceptional power and coordination and took an early lead coming through the first 500m. Sarah and Anna withstood the pressure from Skibbereen who tried everything to try to break into the lead that Athlone had established but to no avail. The Athlone duo maintained their composure and with an unbreakable will to win, they opened the gap further, dominating the race from start to finish.

Rockett was also the winner of the women’s junior 16 single scull. An excellent performance from Sarah who drew on her experience from last year which saw her place 4th in this event. She was the fastest qualifier and drew lane 3 and dominated the race right from the start. She had a clear water lead going through the first 500m and continued to push right to the finish line with a dominant win over second-placed Isabelle Monahan (Lee Valley) and third-placed Audrey McCarthy (Skibbereen).

O’Grady qualified for the final in both the junior 18 women’s single sculls and the women’s club 2 sculls and finished just outside the top three in the J18 event finishing 4th in a highly competitive field. She then finished in second place in the club category.

These weren’t the only significant achievements from the Athlone club, with huge results garnered by the junior men’s 16 quad of Cillian Donlon, Barra Powell, Dominick Cunningham and Ruairi Dolan, along with Jack Hensey (cox).

Out of a highly competitive field of 32 entered quads, the boys secured a highly coveted place in the grand final with the fastest six boats only qualifying. A great result for the team.

The junior 16 women’s quad of Sarah Rockett, Jessie Bolger, Sophie Reynolds and Ella Colsh, coxed by Jack Hensey, put in an excellent performance to sneak into the grand final, with just six out of 26 boats only qualifying. They upped their game in the final and finished 4th behind Killorglin, Sligo and a very strong Cork BC crew.

The following junior oarsmen attended the National Championships - Zach Meegan, Rian Claffey, Adam Kenny, Richard Heaslip, Oisin Dolan and Ben Ward. Also competing in the championships at intermediate level were Luke Hannon and Adam Donovan, who performed admirably in their heats.

First up on day 1 was the junior 18 men's single scull time trial with 53 scullers competing with the sixth fastest progressing to the final. Athlone had four scullers competing in this event - Zach Meegan, Rian Claffey, Richard Heaslip and Ben Ward. Rian was the only sculler that made the final in a time of 7:39.5.

In the final, Rian was fist out of the blocks and held a half a length lead for the duration of the race in what was an incredibly exciting final which saw him cross the line in a time of 7.20, two seconds ahead of Jack Rafferty of St Michael's Rowing Club, Limerick.

Next up was the lightweight men’s single scull. Adam Kenny and Oisin Dolan were two of the ten scullers competing. Adam Kenny rowed a fantastic race which placed him third in his heat qualifying for the final. Unfortunately, Oisin, who performed admirably in his heat, did not qualify for the final. In the final Adam was placed 4th in what was a thrilling final which saw Jake McCarthy take gold.

On day 2 of the championships, Athlone competed in the junior 18 men's coxless quadruple scull. In the time trial, the Athlone crew went into the final with the fastest time. Again, the final saw Athlone take the lead but had to fight off strong surges from Cappoquin and St Michael's before winning the event by one length. It was indeed a very popular win for Zach Meegan, Rian Claffey, Richard Heaslip and Adam Kenny.

On day 3 of the championships, Richard Heaslip competed in the junior 16 single sculls and came in second in a fiercely competitive event. The afternoon saw Zach and Rian race the J18 men’s double sculls. Having qualified for the final, they fought a tough race against St Michael's who crossed the line first.