BY KIERAN McCARTHY
SKIBBEREEN brothers Gary and Paul O’Donovan won Heat 1 of the lightweight men’s double sculls at the Rio Olympics this evening.
The Skibbereen Rowing Club stars finished in a time of 6:23.72 to come in ahead of Italy in second place and Denmark in third, while Germany and Turkey took the following places.
The West Cork pair were in fourth place after 500 metres, were up to third at the halfway mark, and were second at 1500m before they made a strong burst to the line with their trademark fast finish.
Gary and Paul now advance to the semi-final, which will be on Wednesday at 1.10pm Irish time.
Congrats lads!
Watch final stages of @gary_o_donovan and @PaulO_Donovan great heat win. @RowingIreland @skibbrowing pic.twitter.com/MqcdjkhOCY
— Kieran McCarthy (@KieranMcC_SS) August 8, 2016