Bronze relief for Doyle and Lynch at end of Olympic cycle

Diare Lynch was sick all week through this regatta, Philip Doyle has had a neck issue all year that seized up coming down the stretch and made his grip slip on the handle just as they seemed set to challenge the Dutch for second spot.

BRONZE: Philip Doyle, right, and Daire Lynch celebrate with their bronze medals after the men's double sculls A final at Vaires-sur-Marne Nautical Stadium. Picture: Stephen McCarthy/Sportsfile

The answers were polite but the air of disappointment, the sense of a shot that hit the crossbar, clung to every word and syllable. This was a crew that had come to these Olympic Games with a rarified expectation and, while they had made the podium, this was not the step they wanted to take.

“The silver is really special, of course,” said Melvin Twellar of the Netherlands after Thursday’s final of the men’s double sculls. “It's starting to settle in more and more that this is really special. Not everyone can say they have two Olympic silver medals in this really hard boat field.”