The perception of Irish rowing has changed, whatever the methods

Rowing Ireland coach Giuseppe De Vita takes the opinion that the race is 90% psychological

Margaret Cremen and Aoife Casey react after placing second in the Lightweight Women's Double Sculls B Final at Sea Forest Waterway on the sixth day of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games in Japan. Picture: Danny Lawson/PA

It’s Thursday morning at the Sea Forest Waterway. Ireland’s first gold medal of these Games is still half an hour away, but there is already a ripple of astonishment swelling through the rowing team’s ranks.

Margaret Cremen and Aoife Casey had exited the main stage when finishing fifth in their double sculls semi-final the day before, but a superb row in the B final 24 hours later would earn them a mention in the programme’s final notes.