GARY AND PAUL O’Donovan put in another extremely impressive display to claim a place in the men’s lightweight double sculls Olympic final.
The Skibbereen brothers finished third in the first semi-final in Rio, holding off the challenge of Team GB duo Richard Chambers and Will Fletcher.
In conditions far from the wind and chop they relished earlier in the week, the O’Donovan boys finished in 6:35.70 to leave them ranked fifth going in to tomorrow’s final (scheduled for 14.44).
France’s Jeremie Azou and Pierre Houin were the fastest boat today, winning the first semi in 6:34.43.
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The O’Donovan boat was again slower to start than their rivals and they hit the 500 metre marker in fourth place behind USA, GB and France. However, by the halfway point they had overtaken Chambers and Fletcher and although they remained close to the Irish boat, they never looked like reclaiming the top three place.
