Paul O’Donovan and Fintan McCarthy to lead way as Ireland rowing team announced for Paris Olympics

The Olympic Federation of Ireland has officially confirmed the squad for the rowing regatta which takes in Vaires-sur-Marne Nautical Stadium, to the southeast of the city, and runs from the July 27 until the August 2.

There were no late surprises – all the athletes who qualified the seven boats were selected. It includes nine Tokyo Olympians and six rowers with Olympic medals.

O’Donovan is aiming for his third Olympic medal, having won silver alongside with brother Gary in the lightweight double sculls in Rio in 2016. It was the first ever Olympic medal to be secured by an Irish crew.

In Tokyo in 2021 O’Donovan partnered Fintan McCarthy to go one better and secure the gold medal.

This is the last Olympics in which there will be a specific category for lightweight rowing so the O’Donovan-McCarthy partnership are aiming to become the last ever lightweight double sculls Olympic champions.

The bronze medal fours crew from Tokyo will all be in action in Paris – but in different boats. Eimear Lambe and Emily Hegarty are back in the four but Galway natives Aifric Keogh and Fiona Murtagh compete in a pair next month.

Remarkably nine of the team hail from Cork and four of those are from Skibbereen.

Today, June 20 is the official team day for the Team Ireland rowers. They will receive their kit, and be honoured in front of their families and friends.

The lightweight crews will then travel to Banyoles, Spain, where they finalise their training, and the rest of the team will train in Varese, Italy, before meeting in Paris in July.

Today's Sports News in 90 Seconds - 20th June

Tokyo Olympic champion Fintan McCarthy, said: “It’s been a great Olympic cycle for the whole team, and we are excited to just get out there in Paris and perform to our best. These opportunities don’t come around too often, so I’m looking forward to putting in the final touches over the coming weeks and enjoying it.

“In Paris, the atmosphere will be something else and a very different experience to Tokyo, and that’s something we are also excited about.”

Olympic Federation of Ireland Chef de Mission for Paris, Gavin Noble said given Ireland’s strong tradition in rowing it was fitting that in the centenary year of the country’s first participation in the Olympic Games they were sending a team of this calibre.

“The qualification of seven boats demonstrates the success of the high-performance rowing programme at the National Rowing Centre in Cork,” he said.

Antonio Maurogiovanni, rowing performance director added: “This is the largest rowing team that Ireland has ever sent to a games with 16 athletes set to race on the Olympic course. The focus remains on the preparation over the next five weeks, but today is a very exciting day for all athletes, coaches, families and support staff.”

This brings to 48 the official number of athletes who have so far been selected to represent Team Ireland at Paris 2024.

IRELAND OLYMPIC ROWING TEAM

Men’s Lightweight Double Scull

Paul O’Donovan (Skibbereen, Co Cork)

Fintan McCarthy (Skibbereen, Co Cork)

Women’s Lightweight Double Scull

Margaret Cremen (Rochestown, Cork)

Aoife Casey (Skibbereen, Co Cork)

Men’s Double Scull

Philip Doyle (Banbridge, Co Down)

Daire Lynch (Clonmel, Co Tipperary)

Women’s Double Scull

Zoe Hyde (Killorglin, Co Kerry)

Alison Bergin (Kildinan, Co Cork)

Men’s Pair

Ross Corrigan (Enniskillen, Co Fermanagh)

Nathan Timoney (Enniskillen, Co Fermanagh)

Women’s Pair

Aifric Keogh (Na Forbacha, Co Galway)

Fiona Murtagh (Moycullen, Co Galway)

Women’s Four

Emily Hegarty (Skibbereen, Co Cork)

Natalie Long (Cobh, Co Cork/Johannesburg, South Africa)

Eimear Lambe (Cabra, Dublin)

Imogen Magner (Killavullen, Co Cork/Cambridge, England)

Holly Davis (Ballincollig, Cork) (reserve)