Lightweight Men’s Double Sculls (LM2x) – Final

A-Final 

There was just a second between all six of these boats in the semifinals with Ireland and Italy being just a fraction faster. Germany has gone unbeaten this season and they were in one lane over. Italy’s Stefano Oppo and Pietro Ruta were moving the fastest at the start. Then Jonathan Rommelmann and Jason Osborne put their foot down and grabbed the lead. Ireland’s Fintan McCarthy and Paul O’Donovan then put their foot down at 1250m. The Irish are the reigning World Champions with O’Donovan remaining in the boat from 2018. The Irish continued to motor on and they had grabbed the lead. Italy had now overtaken Germany with the Germans under threat from the Olympic medallists Norway. This was a four boat fight for three spots and it was intense. The World Champions had successfully defended their title. Ireland, rating 44, had rated the highest and won the race.

Results: IRL, ITA, GER, NOR, ESP, POL

Paul O’Donovan (s), Ireland, Gold
“We couldn’t quite believe it but it’s always really nice to win. Our start wasn’t great but we finished well. We will take a lot of confidence with this moving forward.”

Stefano Oppo (b), Italy, Silver
“They’ve changed the lane, and we know that Germany and Norway are very strong. Then we’ve focused on our race, but Ireland was fantastic.”

Jason Osborne (s), Germany, Bronze
“We are very happy despite our other successes this season. This is a great success for us and the German federation.”