Paul O'Donovan: I was looking around and saying to myself “come on lads, are ye just going to sit there or what?!' I was a bit shocked'

BY KIERAN McCARTHY

IT’S ominous for the rest of the lightweight rowing world but Paul O’Donovan feels he could have won the men’s lightweight singles scull final on Saturday by even more.

The Lisheen man (22) won gold at the world senior rowing championships in Rotterdam on Saturday afternoon by over four seconds, and a lot of open water, from Peter Galambos of Hungary in second place.

Speaking to The Southern Star from Rotterdam, Paul admits that there was more in the tank.

‘I was always confident in my own head that I could do it and I was telling myself that I should be winning it by open water,’ the Skibbereen Rowing Club star said.

‘I didn’t put in the effort through the middle part in the other races that I did in the final on Saturday. I was looking around and saying to myself “come on lads, are ye just going to sit there or what?!’ I was a bit shocked,’

‘If I had gone a bit earlier, I think I could have won it by a bit more, but there was no need.

‘I know I make it sound easy, but it was hard all the same.’

Olympic silver medallists Paul and Gary O’Donovan fly home tonight, landing in Cork Airport, before Monday night’s homecoming will bring Skibbereen to a standstill.

‘We’re looking forward to it, for sure,’ Paul said.

‘Shane (O’Driscoll) and Mark (O’Donovan) have been telling us all week that we haven’t a clue what to expect so I said I wouldn’t bother thinking about it so. We’ll have a bit of fun with it.’