Thursday was a day of glory for Ireland as they won their first gold medal at the Tokyo Olympics. The “chosen ones” were Paul O’Donovan and Fintan McCarthy who had the best performance of the day in the lightweight men’s double sculls.
O’Donovan and McCarthy were the main favourites to take the win and they lived up to expectations. The achievement of these two men is historic as it means Ireland’s first Olympic gold medal in rowing.
The German team emerged as the main challengers, however, the reigning world and European champions managed to distance themselves from them to win in six minutes and 6.43 seconds. Italy finished in third place to take a valuable bronze medal.
This achievement means a lot to Ireland, as it is the country’s first gold medal since Kate Taylor’s boxing victory in 2012. Besides that, the pair became the first male Irish gold medallists since boxer Michael Carruth in 1992.
This is the second Olympic medal for O’Donovan, who had already won the silver medal at Rio 2016 alongside his brother Gary, who this year made the team as a reserve.
“Winning today and silver medal last time, I’ll be a bit happier about that. It’s difficult to compare it from five years after,” said O’Donovan after the historic feat.
