'I can tell you honestly, we don't even know where the silver medals from Rio are'

“He just wants to get out there and be the best at what he does and he is the best at what he does so you have to give him credit for that," said Trish O'Donovan

Ireland's Paul O'Donovan and Fintan McCarthy, gold, on the podium for the Lightweight Men's Double Sculls at Sea Forest Waterway on the sixth day of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games in Japan. File picture. 

“They always say the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree does it?” said Trish O’Donovan in explanation for her unflappable reaction to her son’s stunning Olympic win.

Paul O'Donovan, with his team mate Fintan McCarthy made Irish Olympic history last night with their first place finish, the first for Irish rowing and just the country’s 10th gold medal at the games.