Paul O’Donovan and Fintan McCarthy still growing after all their successes

Paul O'Donovan and Fintan McCarthy have five golds stashed away between them already between Olympics, World and European regattas. 

GROWING SUCCESS: Paul O'Donovan and Fintan McCarthy are gunning for gold at the Olympics in Paris. Pic: ©INPHO/Detlev Seyb

Ferdinand Ludwig's brain wasn't wired for this. No-one had finished a race ahead of the Paul O’Donovan and Fintan McCarthy tandem in four years. The Frenchman simply didn’t have the vocabulary, or the framework, to sum it up.

“I am at a loss for words,” was as much as he offered. This was Lucerne in July of last year when he had partnered Hugo Beurey to a win in the World Cup. They had breasted the finishing line just 0.09 seconds before the Irish pair.