Paul O'Donovan grounded in face of potential medal history

Ireland's reigning Olympic champions Paul O'Donovan and Fintan McCarthy will lead the medal charge in Paris. Not that the gifted rowers would frame it in such terms.

The Skibbereen duo will be the men to beat in the lightweight men’s double in Paris, and having won two World titles together and Olympic gold, will be among the leading contenders in Team Ireland over the next few weeks.

O’Donovan, who shot to fame at the 2016 Games rowing alongside brother Gary as they claimed silver, is noted for his calm demeanour, both inside and outside the boat.

On Friday, 2 August, if they qualify for the final, he can potentially become the first Irish Olympian to medal at three Games.

The 30-year-old, who graduated with a Bachelor’s degree in medicine from UCC last year, remains philosophical over a career that has been stacked with highs.

Asked how he remains so calm is such pressurised situations, he told RTÉ Sport’s Darren Frehill: "I don’t know how to explain it really. Maybe as you get a little bit older, you stop defining yourself by achieving particular goals. When you look at it, most people, most of the time, don’t achieve their goals.

"I do set some goals for myself, but when you look back on my life, I’ve probably not achieved 99.9% of them. So if you define your life by achieving your goals, my life would be fairly miserable.

"I look at it that this is a sport I really enjoy doing, I love racing and competing, training day to day and having a bit of a laugh with the lads, making memories along the way. I think that’s the most important thing.

"It’s the stuff that you do that people probably don’t see that defines who you are as a person, which is more important than winning medals.

"A bit of an outlook like that on life helps