Brothers Gary and Paul O’Donovan from Skibbereen are rapidly winning the hearts of the nation.
They got their Olympic campaign off to the perfect start yesterday by winning their Lightweight Double Sculls heat and followed it up with one of the most entertaining Irish sports interviews in quite some time.
Speaking to RTÉ in the aftermath of the race, the pair were refreshingly down to earth, particularly when discussing the windy conditions in Rio.
Paul explained that they were a bit let down that rowing had been cancelled on Sunday due to poor conditions: “We handled it very well. We were almost disappointed we couldn’t race yesterday, it would have been a bit of craic.”
“We’re well used to be a bit of wind,” Gary added. “That kind of thing wouldn’t faze us at all.”
They also couldn’t have been more Irish than when discussing the satisfaction of beating former foes Italy.
“In the last regatta, in Poznan, Italy beat us by less than a second,” Gary explained. “So to get one over on them in the first round of the Olympics was a great start.
The brothers and their interview were a hit with the viewing public.
Fair play to @RTEsport for these interviews. Those O'Donovan brothers are hilarious! https://t.co/5WEC2pNpvV
— Jean Wallace (@jeanwallace17) August 8, 2016
Pure Cork! Rowing brothers Paul & Gary O'Donovan react to reaching Okympic semi-final @RTEsport #Rio2016 pic.twitter.com/wewqwHeO2C
— Paul O'Flynn (@OFlynnPaul) August 8, 2016
Absolute legends.....#PureCork #what'sthestorywiththeredarsh https://t.co/D8VL43llQo
— John McCall™ (@JohnMcCallJnr) August 8, 2016
Fantastic performance and even better interview from the O'Donovan brothers from Skibb yesterday in the... https://t.co/Ln5ZPNykmT
— Courtyard Bar Clon (@CourtyardClon) August 9, 2016
Before they left for Rio the rowers met journalist Stephen Barry for a chat – and like good Irish boys they credited their Nana for their success.
