T rinity alumni Caoimhe Dempsey made history over the Easter bank holiday weekend when she was part of the Cambridge team that won the prestigious 2021 Gemini Boat Race. Dempsey was part of the nine person Cambridge crew that edged out Oxford on their way to their fourth consecutive title, which is the university’s best run since winning eight in a row between 1992 and 1999. Cambridge won the race by less than a length, following a competition that saw both boats run neck and neck throughout much of its runtime, but it was ultimately Dempsey's team who came out on top, maintaining a lead that they took at the halfway point. Caoimhe completed a master’s degree in psychology in Cambridge University, and is now in Newnham College studying for a PhD in the same subject. Caoimhe first got involved in rowing when she signed up to Dublin University Ladies Boat Club (DULBC) at the annual fresher fair during her first year studying for a Bachelor of Arts degree in Psychology at Trinity. I signed up for a whole host of sports, not intending to commit to rowing as quickly as I did! I absolutely loved rowing with DULBC, the coaching was fantastic, I was able to develop from a novice rower to trialling and representing Ireland at the under 23 European Championships, and winning medals at the Home International Regatta, in the space of two to three years. Caoimhe credits her quick progression in the sport to the technical coaching she received from DULBC Head Coach Andrew Coleman. Trinity alumni Caoimhe Dempsey helps Cambridge to victory over Oxford in the Gemini Boat Race Andrew taught me to row at a competitive level, but also how to race. He showed us what we needed to do to compete in a high stakes environment and how to push yourself under adverse conditions. He did a very good job with our training programme, both on the erg and in the weights room, to physiologically prepare us for racing and get good performances from each of us. The future for Caoimhe is looking bright, I will be in Cambridge for another two years so my goals are to see how high I can push my standard and see where that takes me! T hree Trinity student athletes have been named in the Ireland Women’s Cricket squad including Rebecca Stokell, Leah Paul, and Rachel Delaney for the T20 international series against Scotland and the Netherlands. The long-awaited return to the international arena for Ireland Women comes after a run of series and tour cancellations during 2020 due to COVID-19, including two scheduled series against Scotland. With two world cup qualifying campaign’s set for 2021, Trinity student athlete, Rebecca Stokell is keen to play as much international cricket as possible over the next few months. Rebecca shares her top priorities, I can’t wait to get back playing. It’s been a long winter with several tours cancelled, which was tough on all of us. The next eight months are huge for women’s cricket in Ireland. Our top priorities are to qualify from both the T20 World Cup Qualifier set for August and the 50-over World Cup Qualifier in December. These two competitions also determine our ICC ranking, which is going to be very important for us next year. Three Trinity students named in Ireland Women’s Cricket Squad for Scotland and Netherlands series Ed Joyce, Ireland Women Head Coach and Trinity Sport ambassador commented, It goes without saying that we’re pleased to see these series given the green light – with a T20 World Cup Qualifier set for August and a 50-over World Cup Qualifier in December, we need to play as much competitive cricket this year as we can.
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