World Rowing Championships: O'Donovan and McCarthy win lightweight gold for Ireland

Paul O'Donovan (right) was winning a fourth successive world championship gold

Paul O'Donovan and Fintan McCarthy have won lightweight double sculls gold for Ireland at the World Championships.

O'Donovan, who memorably won Olympic silver with his brother Gary in Rio, and McCarthy finished more than two seconds ahead of the Italian boat.

Germany were over a further second back in third spot in Linz.

It's the fourth successive world gold for O'Donovan after he won the lightweight single in 2016 and 2017 and the double with his brother last year.

The Irish duo's qualification for the final had already ensured their country's qualification in the class for next year's Olympics in Tokyo.

Women's pair Aileen Crowley and Monika Dukarska also secured Irish Olympic qualification in the event after finishing second in the B final in Austria.

Banbridge man Philip Doyle and partner Ronan Byrne booked Olympic qualification in the double sculls on Friday when they impressively won their semi-final.

Doyle and Byrne will battle for a medal in Sunday's final as will defending women's single sculls champion Sanita Puspure who won her semi-final to also book Olympic qualification.

Latvian-born Puspure's time of 7:28.53 was more than four seconds quicker than the second-fastest qualifier, New Zealand's Emma Twigg who raced in the same semi-final.