Coleraine man Richard Chambers has spoken of his pride after becoming a
world champion yesterday.
Chambers and his Great Britain crew mates of James Lindsay-Fynn, Paul
Mattick and James Clarke rowed to victory in the final of the men's
lightweight four - fulfilling the promise they've shown throughout this
season.
"It's pretty awesome. It's a bit surreal at the moment and I'm just
letting it sink in," he said.
The quartet only came together this year, but they had an immediate impact
on the World Cup regattas finishing third, second and then first.
The golden boys held off the fast finishing French who nicked silver on the
line from the Italians.
Now attention will turn to the Beijing Olympics and it would be a major
surprise if the four weren't given the chance for more glory next August.
"I'm going to enjoy the moment, but next year we have a big job to do,"
said Chambers.
But Coleraine's Richard Archibald and the Irish men's lightweight four of
Paul Griffin, Eugene Coakley and Cathal Moynihan agonisingly missed out on
qualifying the boat for next year's Olympics.
The Irish quartet finished sixth in the B final and 12th overall - only the
top eleven crews qualified for Beijing. However, they will have another
opportunity to qualify the boat for Beijing at the Olympic qualifying
regatta in Lucerne next June.
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