Fermanagh rowers Nathan Timoney and Ross Corrigan will row for Ireland in the final World Cup event of the season this weekend in Switzerland, following their selection in the coxless pairs.

The pair beat off fierce competition within the Ireland squad to claim their places in the boat, and they know a good performance in Lucerne will seal their spot in the World Championships in September, and bring their Olympic dream a step closer.

Nathan Timoney admitted it was a nervous wait to see if they had made the final cut for their place in the team.

“The weeks leading into selection were quite tense as after the European Championships the coaches decided to revamp the entire men’s Irish squad and all of us raced each other in pairs to find the fastest pair combination,” he explained.

“Thankfully in the end myself and Ross came out on top, our immediate thought was ‘okay job done, now let’s make this boat go faster’ as we knew there was work to do.”

The local pair had contested the Mens’ Four at the European Championships earlier in the year, but they feel the lead up to this new challenge in the coxless pairs has gone well.

“Preparations have been positive,” said Nathan.

“Each week we have been training competitively alongside other crews and our prognostics or results show solid improvements each week. We have been together a few weeks now and the last World Cup this weekend in Lucerne is really a test for whether the high performance board decide to continue with the pair project for the World Championships or Olympic qualification regatta in September.”

The duo have never rowed competitively as a coxless pair before, but despite their lack of experience in the class they are still targeting a spot in the A final at the World Cup. “It’s our first time racing in a coxless pair together internationally,” Nathan admitted. “I raced a pair internationally in 2019 as a Junior, and Ross also as a Junior at the 2018 Junior European Championships, so we both have some experience in coxless pairs but this time we have both taken a completely different approach to how we row the pair together so now it is just a matter of seeing how we can perform on the senior international stage, it really is a test.”

“A successful World Cup for us is an A final position. If we can achieve this after being together for a few weeks, it will be a huge positive step forward towards Olympic qualification as that is all that matters this year for everyone involved in this game. We are going in as the underdogs this weekend so we are excited to see what we can do.”

The Olympic Games remains the ultimate goal in what could be a memorable year for the local pair, and would be a remarkable climax to a partnership that began on the banks of Lough Erne. “I’ve known Ross since we rowed together at Enniskillen, we have trained together, raced together, and have won Irish titles for as long as I can remember for Enniskillen as a junior,” said Nathan.

“It’s obviously a crazy thought to think that the two of us from Fermanagh made it out on top as the priority men’s crew but of course all of the athletes here fought hard for seats and tough results were had and it was a good feeling to know that we can both go to Lucerne together and represent the county also.”