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PAUL O’DONOVAN HAS said he and his brother Gary haven’t been able to let their Olympic medal win sink in as they’ve been so busy since claiming silver in the men’s lightweight double sculls final on Friday.
Speaking on C103’s Cork Today, Paul said: “We haven’t had too much time to think about the achievement really.
“We’ve been hearing a lot of things from home and they’re all after going mad in Skibbereen and all over the country. It is kind of a big thing really.”
He said they have “done a little bit [of celebrating]“, and tried to fit in some sightseeing in Rio de Janeiro too.
Gary is staying on in Brazil for another week, but Paul is leaving to go to the World Rowing Championships in Rotterdam.
The brothers have made international headlines thanks to their laid-back approach to interviews and humble attitudes.
Paul said it’s “kind of frightening to think about [the internet reaction]“, adding that Irish race walker Rob Heffernan told them their lives might “never be the same again” due to the media attention.
He expects a homecoming party to take place in Skibbereen in late August or early September.
The brothers also have another event coming up, with Paul noting an open invitation to a Debs was sent to them on Twitter, saying: “We’ll have to decide who’ll go to that.”
Proud parents
On the same show, their mother Trish said:
It seems that the world and their mother are happy for them and delighted for them, and have taken them on board as two ambassadors for the country and rowing … that is fantastic.
She said she is very proud of her sons making history, securing Ireland’s first-ever medal in rowing at the Olympics.
When asked about their personalities, she said: “Ah sure they’re stone mad, they’re wild. They were always as wild as could be [as children] … They’d find fun in everything.”
Their father Teddy, who coached them for years, said:
The day I took them rowing, their lives were never the same again really.
He said his sons truly love the sport and that drive “was always in them”.
Teddy added that he always thought they had a good chance of winning a medal.
“I had made the prediction. When it comes down to an Olympic final you obviously don’t know because it comes down to the finest of margins. But I did, I had them tipped to be challenging for a medal … that was before they went out to the Olympics at all.”
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Bernie…Bernie come back ..we’re sorry don’t leave us with this muppit….
@David cotter: if it was Bernie v Trump…then Trump would definitely win…. he’ll probably win anyway but Bernie would make it a certainty.
@SFAnkleTapper: Trump would disagree with you. He’s on tape as saying Sanders would have beat him in 2016 and a lot of Trump voters would have voted for Sanders also.
@SFAnkleTapper: What on earth are you talking about? Every single recent poll has Bernie Sanders and Biden both beating Trump in a general election. Not even Fox News has Trump winning.
https://projects.fivethirtyeight.com/polls/president-general/
@Benedict XVI: would they be the same polls that had Hillary as a shoe in? Btw I’m no Trump supporter.
@Corporate capitalism is killing us: your actually using Trump as a basis for a credible story….
@SFAnkleTapper: Biden is a bumbling clown who needs to retire, check his gaffes on YouTube. Bernie would be far stronger them sleepy Joe.
@SFAnkleTapper: Biden’s greatest strength is that it is Trump he is going to be running against. Trump makes Biden’s weaknesses less blatant and Biden is a clear contrast to the type of president Trump is. If it was Biden competing against any other candidate, then I wouldn’t bet on Biden. But with Trump anything is possible (both for Trump and against Trump).
@Benedict XVI: Don’t believe those polls and don’t be taking it too serious. You are most likely going to be disappointed when the results come in.
@SFAnkleTapper: Even though it hurts me to say this,i agree with you in saying that Biden has a much better chance than Bernie.Where I won’t agree with you is dissing the polls that Benedict put up,Trump is not up against Hillary this time.Also,he’ll struggle in the Rust Belt..
@Corporate capitalism is killing us: brilliant, Trump saying that was to try to further divide a very fractured democrat party not an actual acknowledgement that he could have lost.
@David cotter: Bernie is from Ireland? Or do you watch the West wing too much
I thought Democrats where bad when they selected Hillary Clinton as there presidential candidate 4 years but they’ve really outdone themselves this time round
America always gets the politicians it deserves.
@David Shiels: This is a recurring theme for you, am I right? For the record, I like Joe Biden. I would have preferred Bernie.
@David Shiels: Like us? Haughy, Cowan, Ahern, Adams etc.
@Kevin O’ Brienhttps://youtu.be/-rUvUxynOgk
@Macus Mc Mahon: ok
Sanders making a habit of giving up. His voters must be p*ssed off at this.
The only way Biden will win is if he has a decent vice president nomination or if the trump brigade give up on their chosen one. Biden has completely lost the left and continues to put his foot in it further.
@Gerald OBrien the left have lost themselves
have your say