Ireland's next medal factory? Rowers must manage growing expectation

'That feeling is so special and I’ve been sort of living off everyone else hearing they have qualified so it’s been strange'

Ronan Byrne and Philip Doyle training at the Sea Forest Waterway in Tokyo. The pair will open the Irish rowing team’s account in their heats in the early hours Thursday night/ Friday morning. Picture: Brendan Moran/Sportsfile

Everyone rides into the Olympic Games on their own emotional wave. The months of May and June were wallpapered with news of various Irish athletes sealing their spots for Tokyo. For them, the summer has been one long adrenalin rush.

Philip Doyle and Ronan Byrne have had to wait much longer to follow up on that same high.