Paul O'Donovan and Fintan McCarthy made an impressive return to Olympic competition this morning, with the pair producing an emphatic victory in their men's lightweight double sculls heat in Paris.
The defending Olympic champions, O'Donovan and McCarthy were comfortable throughout this race. Their performance was a convincing one, having seven seconds to spare over second-placed Norway.
Defending champions Paul O'Donovan and Fintan McCarthy leave their rivals toiling in their wake in the heats of the lightweight double sculls. #RTESport #Paris2024
📱Updates https://t.co/L6KjANG7Ol
📺Watch https://t.co/uHRfiPJEjQ pic.twitter.com/jrBxZGCwI6— RTÉ Sport (@RTEsport) July 28, 2024
They will now begin their preparations for Wednesday's semi-final.
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Paul O'Donovan Comments Drew Cringe From Fintan McCarthy At Olympics
While Paul O'Donovan and Fintan McCarthy are viewed by many as the big favourites to win gold once again in this summer's Olympics, they were actually ranked relatively low heading into this event.
The pair only managed a third-placed finish at the World Cup II back in May, which was their only competitive race of the year to date. 2024 has been a struggle at times, with McCarthy missing parts of the year due to injury.
However, there was an expectation that they would be back to their best for the Olympics. Judging by today's performance, they certainly seem well primed to make another medal push.
Speaking to RTÉ's David Gillick after the race O'Donovan would have some fun with the duo's ranking heading into the games, suggesting that they were huge underdogs in this event. The comment seemed to draw a cringed response from his teammate, who certainly saw the funny side to his remarks.
“We’ve been working hard to show them we’re not here to make up the numbers. We’re here for serious business.” - Paul O'Donovan and Fintan McCarthy are two men on a rowing mission. They spoke to @DavidGillick after winning their heat this morning #RTEsport #Paris2024 ☘️ pic.twitter.com/Yewxikqsru
— RTÉ Sport (@RTEsport) July 28, 2024
McCarthy: It was good to get out and racing. We've been training really hard, I don't we've had even one day off really to be honest. It was nice to get a bit of rest yesterday and put out a solid race today...
O'Donovan: It's nice to be competitive there today. We've come into this as the big underdogs. We were seeded way down the list, but we like that position. We're the little Davids of this world going up against the Goliaths of Norway, Switzerland, Italy, these fellas in the rowing world.
We've been working hard to show them that we're not here to make up the numbers, we're here for serious business. We've done a good job today and we will be happy with that...
We're the underdogs David. I don't where we were on the list seeded, I couldn't even count there were so many names ahead of us on the official seeding. But that suits us just fine. We like that position and we're relishing it.
McCarthy: He's in the best of spirits, the highest. He brings it out every four years for the Olympics.
All in good fun, but you get the sense that Paul O'Donovan does not really view Ireland as huge underdogs in this year's Olympics.
In a games where Team Ireland are expected to bring in a record breaking medal haul, this pair will be one of our biggest medal prospects.
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