Paul O'Donovan leads Ireland's rowers to Tokyo

Paul O’Donovan will lead Ireland’s rowing medal charge at Tokyo 2020 as 13 rowers are selected to compete across six boats at the Olympic Games this summer.

The Olympic Rowing Regatta takes place in the Sea Forest Waterway and runs from the 23 July until the 30 July 2021.

Olympic silver medallist Paul O’Donovan will be competing in his second Olympic Games, this time partnering fellow Skibbereen rower, Fintan McCarthy.

“The Olympic Games are a really special competition and as a rower it is often what you are driving towards” said O’Donovan.

“Each Olympic games is unique in its own way, with Tokyo being no exception, and as a squad we are going into them with high ambitions”.

“We have worked hard since we set our Olympic goal, and it is niceto be officially selected ahead of the final weeks of preparation”.

Fintan and I are ready to push on and excited about doing some racing, and we can see that our teammates are equally driven and striving for excellence.”

Qualification for the Olympic Games gave Irish athletes two opportunities to claim and Olympic spot.

At the World Championships in 2019 Ireland qualified four boats: the Lightweight Men’s Double Scull, Women’s Single Scull, Men’s Double Scull and the Women’s Pair, coming home with two golds and a silver medal on the way to securing their places.

At the Final Olympic Qualification Regatta in Lucerne last month the Women’s Four and the Lightweight Women’s Double Scull stormed home to book their ticket.

Rowing is the first competition on the Irish schedule of events, and World Champion Sanita Puspure the first Team Ireland athlete to compete in Tokyo 2020.

Team Ireland Tokyo rowers:

Lightweight Men’s Double Scull (LM2X)

Fintan McCarthy (Cork)

Paul O’Donovan (Cork)

Gary O’Donovan (Cork) – Reserve

Women’s Single (W1X)

Sanita Puspure (Cork)

Men’s Double Scull (M2X)

Ronan Byrne (Cork)

Philip Doyle (Belfast)

Daire Lynch (Clonmel) – Reserve

Women’s Four (W4-)