THE RIO OLYMPICS was where Sinéad Lynch found closure.
Putting three failed attempts and a switch of events (from rowing to cycling and back again) behind her, she finally qualified for the Games after 16 years of trying. Once there, she made it to a final.
Sixth on the biggest stage of all, Lynch and her lightweight double sculls partner Claire Lambe returned to Ireland as heroes but they haven’t seen each other much since then. They make time to chat when they can, but their lives have diverted onto different paths for now.
Lambe is studying for a Masters in Engineering in Cambridge while Lynch has resumed her career in medicine while raising three young daughters along with her husband, former Olympian Sam Lynch.
And when Lynch started her new job, she found she had a certain status among the staff.
“I’m working in St John’s Hospital in Limerick which is a really nice hospital. It’s a small hospital with smaller staff so you get to know everyone which is quite nice. The porters and cleaners were all watching the Olympics so it’s kind of nice, they’re all very supportive and they can really recognise what I did which is something that’s really cool.
“They all knew that I was coming so they were watching.”
Adjusting to normality in the aftermath of an Olympic Games can be more difficult that one might perceive. US swimmer Allison Schmitt has previously spoken about her struggle with mental health after the London Games. She was suffering from what is almost euphemistically called ‘post Olympic blues.’
Lynch is one of the fortunate ones who managed to avoid that turmoil while transitioning back out of the Olympic bubble. Family life and the “longish hours” involved with her GP training have helped her maintain some balance in her life, but she is prepared for the days when there may be some discomfort.
“The problem is when you don’t have structure, you don’t know what you’re gonna do with the day. For me, I’ve so many other things going on with the family and I’ve the job. I’m trying to do a little bit of training myself as well but it’s never been, ‘Oh what am I gonna do today?’
“What I would say is maybe next summer if I’m not competing and I might say, ‘Oh I’d love to be out there competing,” that would be the thing for me. But certainly at the moment, I don’t feel any comedown at all.”
She also pointed to some workshops that were arranged for the athletes before heading to Brazil to prepare them for the inevitable separation from something that has been a core priority for so long.
“I think we were very lucky in that before the Olympic Games, Eoin Rheinisch had a programme set-up that can kind of support athletes after the Games and he did some workshops with us.”
“He was giving us advice on holiday plans and to have a course plan before the Games so you didn’t have to figure out after the Games what you were gonna do so that there was something very definite and I think you do need that lined up.”
There’s no readily available footage of their Olympic races. Lynch wanted to use some of it while giving a presentation on resilience at a GP conference in Galway, but discovered there was none due to TV rights.
But the images in her mind remain vividly intact. Qualifying for the final and the emotional impact of being in the final race are the memories that stand out the most.
“I think the semi-final when we got to halfway and we knew we were gonna do it (qualify). We were in a good third and were pushing on. Those kind of feelings are really good. Being at the final and feeling so proud to be there and finishing it, knowing it was all over, the emotions that went with that as well. It was the end of a lovely journey.”
Shortly after returning home, it was announced that their coach Don McLachlan was not getting his contract renewed with Rowing Ireland. Both Lambe and Lynch expressed their disappointment at the time, but the cycle must move on.
McLachlan has relocated to Australia while back in Ireland, his replacements have been appointed.
“He’s a huge loss and I know that Australia will be a huge opportunity for him and I know he’ll be snapped up by the Australia High Performance before long but he was very sad to leave.
“He got on very well with the Irish and I think he would have loved to stay in Ireland if he could have but he had to go where he had the opportunities too.
“There is a new head coach, they’re kind of sharing it out. Dominic Casey is looking after the lightweight men and women and then ex-International rower Sean Casey I think is looking after Sanita (Puspure) and the heavyweight rowing development.
“I haven’t (met them yet), I’ve been so busy. I’m going to allow Christmas to get myself organised and then decide what I want to do. I’m working 60 hour weeks and then I have the girls and everything so it’s been absolutely flat out.”
The RTÉ Sportsperson of the Year shortlist sparked a controversial reaction this year when rowing doubles pair and Olympic silver medalists Gary and Paul O’Donovan didn’t make the cut together.
Paul, who won a gold medal at the World Rowing Championships, was named on his own, and while Lynch says that the exclusion of Gary is a shame, she can understand the logic behind Paul’s nomination.
“I can see the two sides of it. It was very much a team effort and it’s very unfair that one of the team was left out.
“But if you were to pick someone from rowing who has done the most, well Paul has the silver medal and the World Championships so he’s obviously achieved more this year than Gary has. So, if you were to pick the best person from rowing to go for the overall award, you would say that that’s justified.
“But it is a shame that Gary didn’t get nominated, especially since the two girls (Eve McCrystal and Katie-George Dunlevy) did. But I can see why, if you split the two, then Paul would have achieved more this year.”
Looking to 2017 Lynch is undecided about what, if any competitive rowing she will be doing. Triathlons are also an alternative choice and she will also be speaking at another GP conference in Dublin in January to offer her perspective as a high performance athlete.
And with just two years to go in her GP training, Tokyo 2020 is not an impossible prospect.
“I haven’t completely decided yet. If I could row (next year), that would be amazing to get back in. If I can’t do that, I’d love to do a few triathlons and I could be quite competitive in that with all the cycling and running I’ve done. I certainly want to compete but I just don’t know yet what I’ll compete in.
“I’d love to get back in with Claire. I don’t know if it’ll happen this year with her being in Cambridge but I’d love if we could team up again.”
Maybe the book isn’t quite closed yet.
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