Paul O’Donovan has a new battle cry in World Championship gold medal quest

Olympic hero Paul O’Donovan has thrown another catchphrase into the mix ahead of today’s World Rowing Championship Senior Lightweight Single Sculls final in Rotterdam.

The man who coined the phrase ‘close the eyes and pull like a dog’ will be ‘banging up and down, throwing the oar in’ as he looks to upgrade to a gold medal just two weeks after he and his brother Gary claimed silver in the men’s lightweight double sculls.

“I’ll give a go at winning it, and see how that works out,” O’Donovan told World Rowing ahead of today’s 2pm final, where his main rival will be experienced Slovakian Lukas Babac.