The 42

PAUL O’DONOVAN AND Siobhan McCrohan will be going for gold at the World Rowing Championships on Saturday evening.

Back-to-back Olympic champion O’Donovan was at his dominant best from start to finish as he controlled Friday’s lightweight single sculls semi-final in St Catharine’s, Canada.

He powered home in a winning time of 6:47.74, with more than six full seconds to spare over his nearest rival Julian Schoeberl of Austria (6:54.08), with Alexis Lopez of Mexico taking the third and final place in Saturday’s A final (6:55.60).

The Skibbereen star will now be hot favourite to add a third individual world title to his golden collection and complete the hattrick following his solo wins in 2016 and 2017.

His biggest threats are likely to come from Friday’s other semi-final which was won by Antonios Papakonstantinou — one half of the Greek crew that took Olympic bronze in Paris behind O’Donovan and Fintan McCarthy – in 6:49.82.

2023 world silver medallist Niels Torre of Italy was runner-up in 6:51.01, with America’s Samuel Melvin qualifying in third place (6:51.96).

The lightweight men’s single sculls final takes place at 8pm Irish time on Saturday evening.

A short while before that, Galway’s Siobhan McCrohan will bid to defend her title and become a double world champion in the lightweight women’s single sculls.

McCrohan was second in her semi-final on Friday in 7:34.04, behind the 2022 world champion and Paris silver medallist in the double, Romania’s Ionela Livia Cozmiuc (7:25.56). France’s Aurelie Morizot qualified in third place in 7:38.08.

Zoi Fitsiou, Olympic bronze medallist in the double for Greece, won Friday’s first semi-final in 7:25.37 ahead of 2023 world silver medallist Kenia Lechuga of Mexico (7:30.66) and Austria’s Lara Tiefenthaler (7:33.27).

The lightweight women’s single sculls final takes place at 7.43pm Irish time.

Written by Niall Kelly and originally published on The 42 whose award-winning team produces original content that you won’t find anywhere else: on GAA, League of Ireland, women’s sport and boxing, as well as our game-changing rugby coverage, all with an Irish eye. Subscribe here.