Puspure’s dreams come true to put seal on golden weekend
A SECOND gold for Ireland was the icing on the cake at the World Championships in Bulgaria yesterday as Sanita Puspure cruised to victory in the women’s single sculls.
The withdrawal of Britain’s Vicky Thornley had reduced the entries to just 22 but Puspure had been tipped for a medal after three successive fourth places in the competition.
A win for Puspure in Friday’s semi-final made the world title a very real possibility, especially after she posted a time that was 0.9 seconds quicker than the mark set by world champion Jeannine Gmelin of Switzerland.
Yesterday’s field also included Fie Udby Erichsen of Denmark, the silver medallist from London 2012, as well as Magdalena Lobnig of Austria, who had shared the podium with Gmelin and Puspure throughout the 2018 World Cup season.
There was drama before the race got started when a strong cross-tail wind led officials to redraw the lanes, pushing the faster qualifiers towards the edge of the 2,000m course.
As the six-boat final got under way Puspure moved solidly out of the blocks and led Erichsen by half a length after 250m before Gmelin overhauled the Dane at 500m.
But Puspure was unstoppable; a push by Gmelin at 750m forced the Old Collegians sculler to respond, and by 1250m she led the world champion by two lengths. By the final stretch the race was over, and Puspure extended her lead to win by more than four lengths.
“I wasn’t expecting to be in the lead – I just got off the start and kept going. I saw Jeannine go for a push so I fed off that, and found myself thinking I could win at halfway,” she said.
“It’s really hard not to get excited in the middle of the race but that’s what you have to do.
“At the start of the week I thought I might have a chance but after the semis I thought I could have a good try – I was looking at the times and
it looked promising, but it’s one thing to see it on piece of paper and another to go out and execute the plan.”
Latvian-born Puspure moved to Ireland 12 years ago in search of a better life and to further her sporting career, but it has only been since 2014 that she could be counted among the sport’s elite.
At three successive World Championships she has finished fourth, and she could only manage 13th place at the Rio Olympics. Small wonder then, that when the Irish tricolour was raised and Amhrán na bhFiann rang out across the lake she allowed herself to get emotional.
“It was amazing – the first time an anthem has been played for me, ever, so I’m absolutely ecstatic, I’m really going to cherish this moment,” she said.
On hand to witness her moment of triumph were husband Kaspars and children Patrick (12) and Daniela (11).
“This woman has been hit hard a lot of times, yet every time she got up and kept fighting. Anyone who is thinking about giving up on their dream just look at this woman and believe that nothing is impossible,” Kaspars said on Facebook.
Ireland sent their largest ever squad to these championships, with promising results right across the board.
In the men’s double sculls Philip Doyle and Ronan Byrne finish third in the B final to place ninth overall. Monika Dukarska and Aileen Crowley won their C final of the equivalent women’s event to place 13th.
“It’s been unbelievable – I’m just so thrilled for the whole team; they’ve put so much into this, to make it work” said Rowing Ireland CEO Michelle Carpenter.
“The team with Antonio (Maurogiovanni, high performance director) and David (McGowan, coach) have really turned things around – everyone is working together, and that’s what I’m trying to get out to clubs, that we’re all Rowing Ireland.”