Sanita Puspure: 'It hits you hard. It takes time to get over'

Tokyo looked like being her time, the cap on a career that had been the height of striving and success.

ONWARDS AND UPWARDS: Sanita Puspure, left, and Zoe Hyde of Ireland celebrate with their bronze medals after finishing third in the Women's Double Sculls Final A, in a time of 06:52.81, during day 8 of the World Rowing Championships 2022. Pic: Piaras Ó Mídheach/Sportsfile

A year and four months have been and gone since Sanita Puspure sat stilled and disconsolate in her boat on the Sea Forest Waterway just as Paul O’Donovan and Fintan McCarthy were making land and walking into the sea of celebrations that would come with their Olympic gold medal effort.

Most people will have forgotten Puspure’s minor role in that day’s drama. Excised its proximity to the headline acts. For Puspure it’s not that easy. Days like that stay with you. They can elbow in on your thoughts, like a narky commuter in a Monday morning bus queue, colonising your mood for hours or invading your sleep.