Paul O'Donovan set for B final after fifth in single sculls semi

Paul O'Donovan will be taking part in Sunday's B final of the Men's Single Sculls at the European Rowing Championships in Hungary after a fifth place finish in the A/B semi-finals on Saturday.

O'Donovan, an Olympic champion in the double sculls alongside Fintan McCarthy in Tokyo three years ago, has been competing in the heavyweight single sculls event for the first time at these championships.

The Corkman had placed third in his initial heat on Thursday before qualifying for the semi-finals via the repechage. After taking to the water on Saturday, he found himself in a tight battle to finish in the top three which would have been enough to qualify for the A final.

However, by the halfway mark he was fifth, 5.63 seconds behind Lithuania's Giedrius Bieliauskas who was leading the way ahead of Denmark's Sverri Nielsen.

The latter ultimately won the semi-final heat ahead of Bielauskas, with O'Donovan fifth, 8.07 seconds off the leading time and about six seconds from third-placed George Bourne of Britain.

The B final will take place on Sunday morning at 9.03am.