OLYMPIC hero Aifric Keogh rowed her way into the history books last weekend, winning a silver medal at the European Championships in Munich.

The 30-year-old athlete from Aill an Phréacháin in Na Forbacha followed up last Summer’s bronze medal feat with a second place finish in the Women’s Fours final on Saturday at the Olympic Regatta Centre.

Keogh, along with fellow Olympic medallist Eimear Lambe, as well as Tara Hanlon and Natalie Long, had a blistering start and led the rest of the field until the second quarter when they were overtaken by favourites Great Britain.

The Irish crew pushed GB all the way to the line, finishing just two seconds adrift, while seeing off a late surge from Romania and Denmark in third and fourth place.

A time of 6:52.99 was impressive given that the quartet had just four solid weeks training together beforehand.

The performance in their heat suggested a gold medal was a very real possibility but silver probably exceeded the expectations they had going to the European Championships.

This was Aifric Keogh’s third European medal; she won bronze and silver at the 2020 and 2021 championships before qualifying for the Tokyo Olympic Games.

Keogh and Team Ireland now go into camp for six weeks in preparation for the World Championships at Racice in Czech Republic which starts on September 18. The ultimate aim is Paris 2024 and qualifying for that is 12 months away.

For more, read this week’s Connacht Tribune.

Connacht Tribune Digital Edition App

Download the Connacht Tribune Digital Edition App to access to Galway’s best-selling newspaper.

Click HERE to download it for iPhone and iPad from Apple’s App Store, or HERE to get the Android Version from Google Play.

Or purchase the Digital Edition for PC, Mac or Laptop from Pagesuite  HERE.

Get the Connacht Tribune Live app
The Connacht Tribune Live app is the home of everything that is happening in Galway City and county. It’s completely FREE and features all the latest news, sport and information on what’s on in your area. Click HERE to download it for iPhone and iPad from Apple’s App Store, or HERE to get the Android Version from Google Play.