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Paul O'Donovan

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Paul O'Donovan
O'Donovan at the 2016 European Rowing Championships
Personal information
NationalityIrish
Born (1994-04-19) 19 April 1994 (age 30)
Lisheen, County Cork, Ireland
Height1.77 m (5 ft 10 in)
Weight74 kg (163 lb)
Sport
CountryIreland
SportRowing
Event(s)Lightweight double sculls
Lightweight single sculls
Coached by
  • Teddy O'Donovan
  • Dominic Casey
Achievements and titles
Olympic finalsGold medal (Lightweight double sculls, Tokyo 2020)
Gold Medal (Lightweight double sculls, Paris 2024)
Silver medal (Lightweight double sculls, Rio de Janeiro 2016)[1]
Medal record
Men's rowing
Representing  Ireland
Olympic Games
Gold medal – first place 2020 Tokyo Lwt double sculls
Gold medal – first place 2024 Paris Lwt double sculls
Silver medal – second place 2016 Rio de Janeiro Lwt double sculls
World Championships
Gold medal – first place 2016 Rotterdam Lwt single sculls
Gold medal – first place 2017 Sarasota Lwt single sculls
Gold medal – first place 2018 Plovdiv Lwt double sculls
Gold medal – first place 2019 Ottensheim Lwt double sculls
Gold medal – first place 2022 Račice Lwt double sculls
Gold medal – first place 2023 Belgrade Lwt double sculls
Gold medal – first place 2024 St. Catharines Lwt single sculls
European Championships
Gold medal – first place 2016
Brandenburg an der Havel		 Lwt double sculls
Gold medal – first place 2021 Varese Lwt double sculls
Gold medal – first place 2022 Oberschleißheim Lwt double sculls
Silver medal – second place 2017 Račice Lwt double sculls
Silver medal – second place 2018 Glasgow Lwt double sculls
World U23 Championships
Bronze medal – third place 2013 Ottensheim Lwt single sculls

Paul O'Donovan (born 19 April 1994) is an Irish lightweight rower. He is a double Olympic champion in the lightweight double sculls, where he set a world's best time for that event, and a seven-time world champion in single and double sculls.[2][3]

O'Donovan first won a world championship in the men's lightweight single sculls at the 2016 World Rowing Championships.[4] Together with his brother Gary, he won silver in the Men's lightweight double sculls at the 2016 Summer Olympics,[5][6] and gold in the same discipline at the 2018 World Rowing Championships.[7] Since 2019, he also partnered with Fintan McCarthy for lightweight double sculls events. The pair became world champions at the 2019 World Rowing Championships,[8] gold medalists at the 2021 European Rowing Championships,[9] gold medalists (and world best time holders) at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics[10] and gold medalists again at the 2024 Paris Olympics. The latter success made O'Donovan the most successful Irish Olympian, winning medals at three Olympics.

At the 2024 Irish Indoor Rowing Championships, he set a national record on the 2000m ergometer and became the third lightweight man to break six-minutes with a time of 5:58.4.[11][12]

In a poll taken in August 2024, during the 2024 Paris Olympics, he was voted "Ireland's greatest-ever Olympian".[13]

In December 2024, O'Donovan was named RTÉ Sportsperson of the Year 2024.[14]

Early life

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Paul O'Donovan was born on 19 April 1994 in Lisheen near Skibbereen, County Cork, to Teddy and Trish O'Donovan.[15][16] Like his elder brother Gary, he attended Lisheen National School and St Fachtna's De La Salle secondary school in Skibbereen.[17][18] Paul O'Donovan entered UCD in 2012 on an Ad Astra Elite Athlete Scholarship[19][20] and graduated with a BSc in Physiotherapy[21] from University College Dublin in 2017. He went on to University College Cork where he studied Graduate Entry Medicine, receiving a Quercus Sports' Scholarship and graduating in May 2023 with first class honours.[22]

O'Donovan was introduced to rowing in 2001 aged around seven when his father took the two brothers to Skibbereen Rowing Club. His father, himself a rower, coached them in the sport and remained a coach to O'Donovan until 2013.[23]

He is the third cousin of Irish Olympic rowing bronze medalist Emily Hegarty.[24][25]

Rowing career

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In 2008, the O'Donovan brothers were selected for the Irish junior team at the Home International Regatta held in Cardiff, Wales, and won gold in the junior quad sculls.[26] Paul O'Donovan also competed in the single sculls; he became the junior single sculls champion of Ireland when he was 15 and was placed fourth in the 2011 World Junior Championships.[16] When he was 19, he won the bronze medal in the men's lightweight sculls at the World Rowing U23 Championships held in Linz, Austria.[15]

2016

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In April 2016. Paul and Gary O'Donovan won silver in the lightweight double sculls at the first World Rowing Cup events of the year in Varese, Italy.[27] In the following month in May 2016, the pair won the 2016 European Rowing Championships gold medal in Brandenburg, Germany.[28]

The O'Donovan brothers had narrowly qualified for the Rio Olympics by beating Greece at the 2015 World Championship. In August 2016 at the Rio Olympics, the O'Donovan brothers won silver behind France in the lightweight double sculls, the first rowing medal won by Ireland at the Olympics.[29]

Two weeks later, he won the lightweight single sculls final at the 2016 World Rowing Championships in Rotterdam, Netherlands.[30]

2017

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The brothers finished in the silver position in men's lightweight double sculls at the 2017 European Rowing Championships. They also won silver at the second World Rowing Cup regatta of the season in Poland in June,[31] and bronze at the third in July.[32]

At the 2017 World Rowing Championships in Florida, Paul O'Donovan won gold at the lightweight men's single sculls.[33] His brother Gary was ill and they did not take part in the lightweight men's double sculls event.[34]

2018

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During 2018, the O'Donovan brothers won silver in the lightweight double sculls at the 2018 European Rowing Championships in August,[35] and became world champions in the same discipline at the 2018 World Rowing Championships in September.[7]

2019

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O'Donovan was paired with Fintan McCarthy instead of his brother Gary at the 2019 World Rowing Championships held at Linz-Ottensheim in Austria. The pair won gold in the lightweight double sculls event, which ensured qualification for the Irish team at the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo.[8]

2021

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O'Donovan raced with McCarthy at the 2021 European Rowing Championships, where they won gold.[9] The following month they won gold again at the World Rowing Cup II regatta in Lucerne.[36]

At the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, held in July 2021, the pair set a world's best time of 6:05:33 while winning their semifinal of the lightweight double sculls event.[37] They went on to win the gold medal, finishing ahead of the German and Italian teams.[10][38]

2022

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After spending some of 2022 in Australia as part of his medical studies,[39] O'Donovan reunited with McCarthy to claim gold for a 2nd year in a row at the 2022 European Rowing Championships.

2023

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O'Donovan and McCarthy won their 3rd world title together after winning their title in Belgrade in the Double Sculls also qualifying for the Paris 2024 Olympics

2024

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O'Donovan and McCarthy once again represented Ireland at the 2024 Summer Olympics, claiming their second successive gold medal in the lightweight double sculls and also becoming the only Irish Olympian to medal at three games.[40] Just a few weeks after his Olympic success O'Donovan won gold in the Single Sculls at the World Championships in Canada.[41]

References

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  1. ^ "Rio 2016". Rio Olympics. Archived from the original on 22 September 2016. Retrieved 30 December 2016.
  2. ^ Gorman, Liam (27 July 2014). "Paul O'Donovan misses out on bronze at World Under-23 Rowing Championships". Irish Times.
  3. ^ "Paul O'Donovan and Fintan McCarthy row into history with another Olympic gold". RTE. 2 August 2024.
  4. ^ "'Put an extension on Skibbereen' - World champion Paul O'Donovan planning an epic homecoming". Irish Independent. 27 August 2016. Retrieved 30 December 2016.
  5. ^ "Rio 2016: Gary and Paul O'Donovan win Ireland's first ever Olympic rowing medal". BBC Sport. 12 August 2016. Retrieved 16 August 2016.
  6. ^ "O'Donovan brothers: These Irish rowers are giving the best interviews at the Olympics". Daily Telegraph. 12 August 2016. Retrieved 16 August 2016.
  7. ^ a b "It's gold for the O'Donovan brothers in Bulgaria". RTÉ Sport. 15 September 2018.
  8. ^ a b Gorman, Liam (31 August 2019). "Gold for Paul O'Donovan and Fintan McCarthy in Austria". Irish Times.
  9. ^ a b "Paul O'Donovan and Fintan McCarthy strike gold in double sculls at European Championships". RTÉ. 11 April 2021.
  10. ^ a b "McCarthy and O'Donovan make history with gold medal in Tokyo". The 42. 29 July 2021.
  11. ^ "Skibbereen rower Paul O'Donovan joins elite group after setting sensational Irish indoor record". The Southern Star. Retrieved 25 February 2024.
  12. ^ Waters, Emma. "Irish Indoor Rowing Championships 2024 – Rowing Ireland". Retrieved 25 February 2024.
  13. ^ "Rower Paul O'Donovan voted Ireland's greatest-ever Olympian in poll". independent.ie. 4 August 2024. Retrieved 9 August 2024.
  14. ^ "Paul O'Donovan crowned RTÉ Sport Sportsperson of the Year". RTÉ Sport. 16 December 2024. Retrieved 17 December 2024.
  15. ^ a b "The O'Donovan brothers have committed their lives to rowing and it could all pay off in 2016". thejournal.ie. 22 June 2016.
  16. ^ a b Gorman, Liam (12 August 2016). "From Lisheen to Olympic medalists – Gary and Paul O'Donovan winning hearts". Irish Times.
  17. ^ Shanahan, Catherine (12 August 2016). "Wind with West Cork's rowing O'Donovan brothers". Irish Examiner.
  18. ^ Keogh, Jackie; O'Mahony, Kieran (21 August 2016). "Lots of big achievers but they all 'did themselves proud'". Southern Star.
  19. ^ "PAUL O'DONOVAN". UCD Alumni Awards. Retrieved 19 August 2022.
  20. ^ "UCD Ad Astra Academy". www.ucd.ie. Retrieved 19 August 2022.
  21. ^ "Paul O'Donovan". #TeamIreland - Olympics. Retrieved 19 August 2022.
  22. ^ "Paul O'Donovan Graduates". 2 August 2024.
  23. ^ Brennan, Colin (27 December 2016). "Irish Olympic rowers Paul and Gary O'Donovan reveal how they axed dad as coach just three years before winning medals in Rio". Irish Mirror.
  24. ^ "Skibbereen Olympic medallists Paul and Emily are related!". Southern Star. Retrieved 31 August 2021.
  25. ^ "Paul O'Donovan tells how Ireland's golden rowers celebrated their win". extra.ie. 31 July 2021. Retrieved 31 August 2021.
  26. ^ "Paul & Gary O'Donovan". University College Dublin.
  27. ^ "Silver for Paul O'Donovan at Varese World Rowing Cup". UCD Boat Club. 18 April 2016.
  28. ^ Gorman, Liam (8 May 2016). "Gold for O'Donovan brothers at European Rowing Championships". Irish Times.
  29. ^ Slawson, Nicola (14 August 2016). "Ireland's O'Donovan brothers become web sensations after medal win". The Guardian.
  30. ^ "World Championships: Holly Nixon and Paul O'Donovan secure gold medals". BBC Sport. 27 August 2016.
  31. ^ "O'Donovan brothers take silver at World Cup regatta". RTE. 18 June 2017.
  32. ^ "O'Donovan brothers take bronze at World Cup event". RTE. 9 July 2017.
  33. ^ "'It'd be hard to do much more,' says gold medal winner Paul O'Donovan". RTE. 29 September 2017.
  34. ^ "Olympic silver medallist Gary O'Donovan ruled out of World Rowing Championships due to illness". Independent.ie. 13 September 2017.
  35. ^ "European Championships: O'Donovan brothers take Lightweight Double Sculls silver medal". BBC Sport. 5 August 2018.
  36. ^ Watterson, Johnny (23 May 2021). "Paul O'Donovan and Fintan McCarthy take gold in Lucerne to cap fine weekend". The Irish Times.
  37. ^ Brosnan, Maurice (28 July 2021). "O'Donovan and McCarthy cruise into double sculls final with awesome display". The 42.
  38. ^ "Tokyo 2020: Gold for O'Donovan and McCarthy". RTE Sport. 29 July 2021. Retrieved 29 July 2021.
  39. ^ "Gold again for Paul O'Donovan and Fintan McCarthy as pair's Euros dominance continues".
  40. ^ "Paul O'Donovan and Fintan McCarthy row into history with another Olympic gold". RTE. Retrieved 2 August 2024.
  41. ^ James McMahon, 'More gold for Paul O'Donovan in single sculls final at World Rowing Championships - while it's bronze for Siobhán McCrohan'. RTÉ Sport, 24 August 2024. Retrieved 17 December 2024
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