Over the weekend Fermanagh rower Dineka Maguire took to the International Coastal Rowing Stage once again to secure an incredible fourth position at the World Championships.

The World Coastal Rowing Championships and beach sprint finals this year were held in Genoa, Italy.

The entry list was full of Olympians fresh from Paris 2024 which included some well-known names such as  Emma Twigg (NZL) and Karolien Florijn (NED). For the fourth consecutive year, Maguire has been selected to represent Ireland.

Previously, in the women’s double but this year a transition was made into the women’s quad.

With teammates Claire Feerick, Katie Shirlow, Niamh Doogan and Cian Sweeney the crew harnessed a wealth of experience that they would bring to these championships.

The heats were conducted on Friday with big teams in the heat to include the Ukraine women’s quad and the Netherlands’ team. Maguire and crew got into a solid second position behind the Ukraine team.

In the challenging conditions, the Ukraine crew made a navigational error resulting in the Irish team crossing the line in first place and progressing to the A final.

The finals took place the following day which were previously scheduled for the Sunday, but due to adverse weather conditions, the finals were moved to Saturday.

With 18 crews now lined up and much calmer conditions for the final, the race was a different ball game. Maguire and crew stormed off the start to the first buoy, around the first buoy the Irish team established a sixth-place position.

For the next few buoys, Cian Sweeney of Loughros Point Rowing Club and Thomas Aubel of Monaco fought for the best line which Cian Sweeney won coming around buoy six.

From the last buoy to the final line there was a sprint to the finish, with the German crew being overtaken by the Irish and with the final charge after the New Zealand crew to try secure the bronze.

Unfortunately, the line came too soon, and the girls missed out on the bronze medal by less than two seconds.

“It is heartbreaking to come so close to getting a medal,” Maguire said. “I’ve always believed fourth place is the worst position to finish.

"When it comes down to such close margins there is a lot of what-ifs. But if you had told me before the race, we would have come forth I would have been ecstatic.

"Coming tenth in the 2023 world championships and fourth in the 2024 championships is a great improvement so I can’t ask for much more than that.”

With the season now at an end the girls will have a rest up and see what the season will bring for 2025.