Paul O’Donovan and Fintan McCarthy return to winning ways 

They took their time to get motoring in their heat this morning at these European Championships but that’s nothing new. The Irish crews have developed a reputation for fierce finishes and they ultimately had almost six seconds to spare ahead of the Swiss in second.

Ireland’s Paul O’Donovan and Fintan McCarthy claimed victory in their opening heat of the Men;s Lightweight Double Sculls in Munich this morning

Paul O’Donovan and Fintan McCarthy climbed into a boat together for a competitive race for the first time in nearly a year today and, well, it was like they’d never stepped out of it.

Olympic champions in the men’s lightweight double sculls in Tokyo last year, they followed it up with a win at the Henley Regatta which O’Donovan joked at the time was the bigger of the two feats. And that was that as a partnership until now.