While a very strong Croatia team took the Boat World Championship team gold medals home with them, Irish team member Liam O’Callaghan was the highest scoring angler across the three competition days and, pending an appeal around a FIPs-M scoring systems error, should be crowned world champion and outright individual gold medalist for the event. Not only that, but Team Ireland finished strongly – first overall on day three – to claim the team silver medal behind that impressive Croatian team.
Ireland, who had finished in fifth place after day one, moved up into fourth after day two, after Liam O’Callaghan was top rod on the day, and had a smashing last day, finishing as top nation on the day to jump into the silver medal spot behind Croatia, with Italy in third place.
World championship medals don’t come easily, no matter what the sport, and the Irish team of Jamie Murphy, Conor Purcell, Terry Boyle, Tomasz Kujawa, Liam O’Callaghan and John Dennehy can be proud of their finish. Countless hours of preparation and training are required before anglers can compete at this level and when that sacrifice results in a medal, it makes it all worthwhile.
Congratulations to Team Ireland and to Irish angling in general, as teams representing Ireland at international championships in sea, coarse, game and predator disciplines have brought home gold, silver and bronze in various age categories in recent times and long may it continue.
