It’s five years on from Rio De Janeiro, when Paul O’Donovan distilled the sport of rowing down to a simple thing.
“Just close the eyes and pull like a dog,” is about the height of it he said, as himself and his older brother Gary powered their way to an Olympic silver medal.
A lot has changed in five years and while you can tell, from his interviews leading up to the games, that the youngest O’Donovan brother has been to downplay this image of a laid-back renegade, there are some things that you just can not change.
O’Donovan and his new partner Fintan McCarthy are the hottest favourites Ireland has had for an Olympic gold medal in years and having breezed through their opening heat of lightweight double sculls in Tokyo, the affable O’Donovan was quick to prove, unwittingly it seems, that a sense of humour is just something you never lose.
Jacqui Hurley: What would you say to Irish people who are up in middle of the night watching you?
Paul O’Donovan: Oh I’d say go to bed be to be honest. Don’t mind watching us fools. There’s a repeat on in the morning!
You can listen to the full interview here as the Skibbereen pair of O’Donovan and McCarthy now look ahead to Tuesday’s semi-final, having defeated the field by five seconds on Saturday morning.
You can watch the full interview below.
Jacqui Hurley: What would you say to Irish people who are up in middle of the night watching you?
Paul O'Donovan: Oh I'd say go to bed be to be honest. Don't mind watching us fools. There's a repeat on in the morning!
5 years on, POD hasn't lost it 😅pic.twitter.com/pdlu3gCO57
— SportsJOE (@SportsJOEdotie) July 24, 2021
Meanwhile, the women’s four of Emily Hegarty, Aifric Keogh and Fiona Murtagh and Eimear Lambe finished in second place in their heat, behind the Australians, to qualify for next week’s semi-final.
The Irish women's four took great confidence from finishing a close second to medal favourites Australia in their heat and qualifying for Wednesday's final.#tokyo2020 #olympics #rtesport
📺Watch live – https://t.co/lLKXNhKPkF
📱 Live updates – https://t.co/fYzgPxjnPe pic.twitter.com/yITa8o0BDO— RTÉ Sport (@RTEsport) July 24, 2021
