Rower is Ireland’s most successful athlete, but was going to slip back to Cork with a gold medal on a regular bus
, in keeping with their ego-free image of harsh training regimes and spartan living, planned to get the bus from the airport back to Cork before a man called Ciaran, who sat beside them on the plane, struck up a conversation.
O’Donovan, who has been an Olympian for longer than McCarthy, initiated the image back in Rio when he and his brother Gary came out with the attenuated explanation of how to win an Olympic silver medal: “pull like a dog.” McCarthy replaced Gary in the boat and silver became gold in Tokyo. Still Paul, with his Paleo look of lean body, ragged beard and long hair, seemed almost neglectful in appearance but firmed up a personality that saw celebrity trappings for what they were – something to be suspicious of, something to avoid.All along he was studying to become a doctor, combining the intensity of medical training with being a World Champion and medal winner at three Olympic Games.
Two of the wins have been in single sculls and four in double sculls. Alone this time he has a semi-final on Friday, and will go into it with the second fastest qualifying time. Even so, the impression given when the pair came up from their boat at the Vaires-sur-Marne Nautical Stadium in Paris draped in a tricolour and visibly less excited than those fussing around them asking the questions, the idea of another Olympics was not shot down by McCarthy, with O’Donovan instantly declaring it his next goal.
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