Aisling Hayes rowing in the women’s championship single scull 1X at the London Met Regatta earlier this month

International success for Castletown Geoghegan rower

Published: Mon 24 Jun 2024, 8:54 PM

Last updated: Mon 24 Jun 2024, 9:08 PM

Castletown Geoghegan’s Aisling Hayes has won another high profile rowing title.

Aisling won the women’s championship single scull 1X at the London Met Regatta earlier this month. She was one of the many Irish participants at the finals of this major international competition, which attracted entries from all over the UK, Europe, America, Australia and New Zealand.

The rower recorded an impressive time of 07:39.6 to claim the top prize in the A final of her category.

Speaking to the Westmeath Examiner during a visit home, Aisling said she was "really surprised" to have done so well but attributes her success to all the "tough training".

Aisling showing off the silverware she claimed at the London Met Regatta on June 1.

“I started rowing much later in life than most people at this level. I began taking part in recreational rowing for adults when I was attending university in the UK and really loved it. I was doing really well with indoor rowing on the rowing machine and was spotted from there to go and join the Oxford Brookes University team. I have never looked back since.

“I wasn’t sure what to expect going into this year’s competition. I would never had imagined that I would have made it into a final, never mind win one so I am very pleased,” she said.

It is not the first time Aisling achieved glory at a major event. She was a part of the Oxford Brookes University team that won the Island Cup in the 2021 Royal Henley Regatta. Twelve teams entered that competition with two making it through to the final.

Looking to the future, Aisling is planning on returning to the UK to continue her journey in the sport.

“I have seen some progress in the single scull and I would like to continue to improve in that discipline. I am heading back over to the UK and will see if I can make the boat go any faster,” she concluded.

Aisling is the daughter of Derry and Margaret Hayes and sister of Helena and William. She went to school in Castletown Geoghegan NS and then attended secondary school at Mercy, Kilbeggan, before going on to study at Preston University in England.

Aisling is a qualified pharmacist with the NHS, but in 2019 decided to further her studies at Oxford. It was then that she took up rowing.