Defending Olympic champions Paul O'Donovan and Fintan McCarthy are through to the lightweight double sculls final in Paris after winning their semi-final on Wednesday morning.
The West Cork pair cruised to victory by a margin of nearly three seconds over the highly fancied Swiss team, with O'Donovan and McCarthy setting the fastest time across both of Wednesday's semi-finals.
This is a third successive Olympic final for O'Donovan, who won silver alongside brother Gary in Rio before going one better alongside McCarthy three years ago.
During their time as a pair, O'Donovan and McCarthy have won three world gold medals and two European gold medals to go with their gold from Tokyo. However, things have not been as plain sailing in 2024.
They found themselves behind Switzerland and Italy in the pecking order earlier this year as McCarthy battled back from injury, and only entered this Olympics as the third seed behind the Swiss and Italians.
Ireland's seeding was a bone of contention for Paul O'Donovan after their progression from the heats, and he once again raised issue with it on Wednesday morning with a cheeky remark about their "David and Goliath" standing.
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Paul O'Donovan not letting go of Ireland seeding jab
After the Irish duo of Paul O'Donovan and Fintan McCarthy took a routine victory in the heats of the lightweight double sculls earlier this week, O'Donovan joked that their low seeding meant they were "the little Davids of this world going up against the Goliaths."
It was a remark he would double down on after Wednesday's semi-final.
"The Little Davids again, that was a big, big upset" - Paul O'Donovan will not be shaken in his belief that he and Fintan McCarthy are the underdogs after they won their men's lightweight semi-final #RTEsport #Paris2024 pic.twitter.com/sPFewoSRzJ
— RTÉ Sport (@RTEsport) July 31, 2024
O'Donovan and McCarthy spoke to RTÉ's David Gillick shortly after a similarly routine victory in their semi-final against the top-seeded Swiss pair.
Gillick asked O'Donovan whether Ireland had filled the role of David or Goliath in Wednesday's race, and the answer was exactly what you might have expected.
Oh, the little Davids again. That was a big, big upset, so it was.
The Swiss are number two ranked, way above us, fastest time in the heat. We're happy to be able to put out that performance.
All year we've been throwing the kitchen sink at them and just couldn't get ahead of them. They've had an answer to us every single time we've raced this year but not today.
We're hoping Friday we'll be able to produce the goods again.
Despite the jabs, you do get the sense that O'Donovan and McCarthy are delighted to be back to their best after some struggles earlier this year.
McCarthy would share an intriguing stat with Gillick which suggests that the Irish duo are becoming sharper and sharper as the competition goes on.
It was solid, we're trying to build on our heat. I think it was solid enough.
We're feeling strong, looking strong. We had a record today - the shortest amount of time we've ever spent on the water for a race.
I think we're always improving.
Both men said that they had been thrilled to track Ireland's success thus far at the Olympics, with Mona McSharry (bronze) and Daniel Wiffen (gold) already taking home medals for Team Ireland.
O'Donovan has even suggested that fellow rowers Daire Lynch and Philip Doyle are on for gold in the double sculls on Thursday morning.
Lynch and Doyle's final takes place at 10:30am on Thursday, before a trio of rowing finals involving Irish teams on Friday morning. O'Donovan and McCarthy's gets underway at 11:02am on Friday.
It could well be a special few days for Irish rowing.
SEE ALSO: Here's Every Gold Medal Won By Ireland At The Olympics
