Both Paul O'Donovan and Fintan McCarthy have won gold for Ireland in the men’s lightweight double sculls today, making O'Donovan the first Irish athlete to win medals at three different Olympics.
The Cork native won a medal after taking silver with his brother Gary at Rio 2016 and gold with McCarthy at the Tokyo 2020 Games. This achievement makes him Ireland's most decorated Olympian ever.
This feat also means the pair are the first Irish athletes to defend an Olympic title since Pat O’Callaghan secured back-to-back hammer throw wins in 1928 and 1932. The time recorded on Friday morning was 6:10.99, sealing their back-to-back golds.
Speaking to RTÉ after the win, O’Donovan said: “It’s a good day for the Irish. Italy out there today was the number one seed. They really put it up there, and Greece—underdogs like ourselves—also put in a big dig and got up onto the medal podium. Unfortunately, Switzerland missed out,” O’Donovan added. “We’re very happy to have proved the doubters wrong.”
DOUBLE OLYMPIC CHAMPIONS!
Paul and Fintan defend their Olympic title!!! 👊
LFG 🔥#TeamIreland | #Paris2024 pic.twitter.com/MO3YqUPQET
— Team Ireland (@TeamIreland) August 2, 2024
McCarthy also said, “I was trying to keep the nerves and doubts under wraps, but coming out for the final, there were no nerves. We had some really good rounds, and I really felt like we were back at our best for this race. It’s just amazing to be here in front of all our family and everyone supporting us, especially from the club.”
The win is not only fantastic for the pair, but it also means that Ireland now has five medals in total, with a lot more action to come. Daniel Wiffen, Mona McSharry, Kellie Harrington, Philip Doyle, and Daire Lynch have all picked up prizes in various sports so far. Ireland's best medal haul (six in total) came at London 2012, and it looks like they are on course to break that before the August 11 conclusion of the games.
