Fiona Murtagh added to her medal collection at the Rowing World Cup in Lucerne at the weekend when taking silver in the Women’s Single Sculls A final, finishing just three seconds behind reigning European champion, Lauren Henry of Britian, who also pipped Murtagh to gold in that European final in Bulgaria last month.

Siobhan McCrohan also featured prominently in Switzerland, making the A final of the Lightweight Women’s Single Sculls, where she finished fifth; while University of Galway RC member, Brian Colsh, was on the Irish crew finished second in the B final of the Men’s Quadruple Sculls.

Murtagh came home behind Henry in Sunday’s medal race in a time of 7mins 18.63 seconds, holding off Denmark’s Frida Sanggaard Nielsen who finished third in a time of 7mins 20.19 seconds.

It was the same top three from that European final four weeks earlier in Bulgaria, where Henry set a new British record and European best time of 7mins 17.80 seconds, with Murtagh following her home in second in a time of 7mins 21.11 seconds

At Lucerne at the weekend, Murtagh won the first heat in a somewhat leisurely time of 7mins 38.04 seconds – Cork’s Alison Bergin finished sixth in the heat in a time of 8mins 3.22 seconds. The Moycullen woman also headed the field in the second semi-final, floating home in a time of 7mins 25.50 seconds, with Sanggaard Nielsen three seconds behind her in second place.

Henry had won the first semi-final in a time of 7mins 19.65 seconds, almost nine seconds ahead of Canada’s Katie Clarke (7mins 28.38 seconds) in second; before going on to add the World Cup gold to her European title with a time of 7mins 15.21 seconds in the final.

Meanwhile, McCrohan finished out of the medals in the Lightweight Women’s Single Sculls, finishing fifth in the A final on Saturday.

The 2023 world champion, who turned 38 the day after the final, won her heat in a time of 7 mins 58.36 seconds, the second fastest of the three heats: heat two was won by Mexico’s Kenia Lechuga Alanis in a time of 7mins 50.51; while Austria’s Lara Tiefenthaler won the third heat in a time of 8mins 2.16 seconds, and those two rowers went on to finish first and second in the final.

McCrohan was drawn in the same semi-final as Tiefenthaler, which the Austrian won in a time of 7mins 41.61 seconds, with McCrohan securing her place in the A final when crossing the line in third in a time of 7 mins 45.40 seconds, just 0.1 of a second behind Femke Van De Vilet, who finished in second place, but three seconds ahead of Uruguay’s Nicole Yarzon in fourth.

The Galway woman clocked a time of 7mins 47.16 in the final to come home with a fifth-place finish, with Alanis taking gold followed by Tiefenthaler. The Russian rower Marila Zhovner – competing as a neutral athlete – taking bronze with a time just 0.07 seconds ahead of Van de Vilet in a time of 7mins 39.82 seconds.

Sligo’s Brian Colsh, a student at University of Galway and a member of the university’s rowing cub, was part of the Irish crew that finished second in the B final of the Men’s Quadruple Sculls.

They finished fifth in their heat in a time of 5mins 51.65 seconds, just under six seconds behind the British crew that went on to win the A final; and were just pipped for gold in the B final, finishing second in a time of 5mins 50.78 seconds, just 0.33 seconds behind the Czechia crew in first.

Pictured: Fiona Murtagh celebrates with supporters after finishing second in the Women’s Single Scull Final A in Lucerne. Inset left: Siobhan McCrohan after crossing the line in the Lightweight Women’s Single Sculls A final. Inset right: Brian Colsh takes a drink after crossing the line in the Men’s Quadruple Sculls B final. Photos: Benedict Tufnell/Sportsfile.