There was no extended break for Paul O'Donovan in the aftermath of his recent gold medal win at the Olympics, with the Cork man back in the boat for the World Rowing Championships over the weekend.
He is without partner Fintan McCarthy for the event in Canada, with O'Donovan competing in the individual lightweight event. He has claimed world titles in that class on two occasions in the past, winning gold during his most recent appearances back in 2016 and 2017.
The Irishman will certainly be in the mix to win gold once again on this occasion.
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Paul O'Donovan Dominant In Individual World Championships Heat
Paul O'Donovan would win his heat at the World Championships yesterday, comfortably defeating a field that also featured Mexico's Alexis Lopez Garcia and Norway's Oskar Soedal.
The Skibereen native would have quite a bit to spare over his competitors, easing up well before the line with the victory already secured.
In fact, footage shared by Southern Star journalist Kieran McCarthy on X showed just how dominant O'Donovan was. In the clip, you can see the Olympic champion making his way down the side of the course towards the shore and waving to the crowd while his rivals were still finishing the race.
Such was Paul's dominant win in his heat, he was heading to shore and saluting the crowd as other rowers in his heat were crossing the line! https://t.co/DagLdJebnl pic.twitter.com/HLVgnpE7XI
— Kieran McCarthy (@KieranMcC_SS) August 18, 2024
Some performance.
Paul O'Donovan will be in the boat once again on Friday for his semi-final, where it will be expected that he will advance to the final. In fact, it would take a brave person to bet against the Irishman securing gold at the World Championships, capping off what had been a remarkable few weeks for him.
Here's hoping he can cap off his summer with another big win over the coming days.
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