The young rower with Olympic dreams

Sophia Young on her way to gold at last weekend's Irish Rowing Championships

Northern Ireland has no shortage of rowing talent.

Now a Belfast teenager hopes to follow in the footsteps of Olympians Rebecca Shorten and Hannah Scott.

Sophia Young announced herself as one of the emerging talents in Irish rowing after winning three golds medals at the 2025 Irish Rowing Championships.

The 17 year old, who rows for Methodist College Belfast (MCB), dominated the women's junior under-18 single scull, double scull and quad coxless scull events.

"It was a really surreal experience," she said.

An impressive performance

The 2025 Irish Rowing Championships brought together more than 1,200 athletes to compete in 150 races.

"It was a really great weekend, we weren't quite sure how we would do," she said.

While she was confident in her single scull performance, the doubles and quad events were less certain.

"The double is more of a new boat, so we didn't know the competition as well," she said.

"The quad scull has been our main priority all year. So we were hoping we could do quite well."

For those unfamiliar with the sport, there are two main schools of thought in rowing - sculling and sweep rowing.

Sculling involves two oars per rower, while in sweep rowing each athlete has one oar.

Sophia and her coaches Enda Marron and Miles Taylor after winning the women's junior under-18 single scull

Sophia's journey in rowing began just four years ago after getting involved in a rowing summer camp - and she has been hooked ever since.

At the age of 15, Sophia won the Irish Championship Junior 16 single scull in 2023.

She has already represented Ireland four times at under-19 level on the international stage.

"It's really great," she said.

"You get to know a load of different people and get new knowledge you can bring back to the club."

Olympic Games

Sophia's performances have not gone unnoticed, as she is set to represent Ireland at the World Rowing Under-19 Championships in August.

Her rise comes at a time when Northern Ireland's profile in elite rowing is growing.

Last summer, her school alumna Rebecca Shorten won silver at the Paris Games along with her Team GB team-mates in the women's four final.

"Rebecca is really inspiring," she said.

"To see that she came from my school, a small club, and then was able to go out and achieve and get a silver medal at the Olympics.

"It shows that anyone can do it."

The Olympics are something that Sophia has her sights firmly set on.

"I'd like to be able to continue on to the under-23 teams and senior teams, then hopefully make an Olympic team," she said.

"That would be really great."

Sophia tends to have two training sessions a day while also currently studying four A-levels.

Morning training starts at 07:00 BST, then after-school training can go on until 18:00 BST.

"So it's very hard to balance with school and then you get home and have to do it all again," she said.

Head coach at MCB rowing club Enda Marron believes Sophia is a rising star

The head coach at Methodist College Belfast, Enda Marron, believes that Sophia has all the tools to become a future Olympian.

"She has now arrived on the scene," he said.

"She is seen as a rising star in the world of rowing and will be looked upon as a potential for future Olympic programs."

Enda has previously worked with Olympic champion Rebecca Shorten.

"Sophia fits that Olympic profile," he said.

"She has got the talent and she has got the mindset - there's no doubt about it."

Sophia along with her coaches and teammates after winning the women's quad scull event

Young's feat at the championships in Cork represent what was a hugely successful tournament for MCB in general.

It had been just over two decades since MCB won a medal at the Irish Rowing Championships - and eight came along all at once.

Out of their 12 crews that entered, they won four golds, two silvers and one bronze.

The championships also proved a success for other rowing clubs in Northern Ireland.

Enniskillen Royal Boat Club took home three gold medals, while Bann Rowing Club took home a gold and a silver.