Strong Show By Oarsmen Not Enough

CORMAC Folan’s Olympic dream came to an end on Wednesday as the Irish heavyweight four missed out on a place in the final, finishing sixth in a highly competitive semi-final at Shunyi Olympic Rowing-Canoeing Park in Beijing.Folan and his teammates were unable to challenge a field that included the three strongest crews in world rowing despite crossing the line in 5:58.14, beating their heat time by more than four seconds. Reigning champions Great Britain won the race in a time f 5:54.77, followed by Australia (5:56.20) and early pace setters France, who this time maintained their efforts to finish third in a time of 5:56.73.The Irish four of bowman Folan, stroke Sean O’Neill, Jonno Devlin and Sean Casey got off to a sluggish start and trailed the field throughout the early stages. They crossed the halfway mark in fifth place in a time of 2:58.88 at which point a surge was required if the team...