Team Ireland rowers Phillip Doyle and Daire Lynch have made history by winning a remarkable Olympic bronze medal in the Men’s Double Sculls (M2x) final at the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris.

Prior to today, Ireland had won three Olympic rowing medals: one gold (LM2x Tokyo), one silver (LM2x Rio), and one bronze (W4- Tokyo). Today’s bronze is the first-ever men’s heavyweight Olympic rowing medal for Ireland, securing Phillip Doyle and Daire Lynch’s place in history.

In a final contested under faster conditions with a slight tailwind at Vaires-sur-Marne, the favored Dutch crew was overtaken by the Romanian double, who claimed gold. The Irish duo out-sprinted the Americans to secure the bronze medal.

Phillip Doyle (Belfast Boat Club) and Daire Lynch (Clonmel Rowing Club), coached by Fran Keane, have been competing together since the 2023 European Championships and have appeared on international podiums four times: bronze at the 2023 World Cup III and World Championships, bronze at the 2024 World Cup I, and gold at World Cup III. They also won gold in the final World Cup of the season, the first-ever gold for a heavyweight men’s crew in Irish history.

Phillip Doyle referenced in his RTÉ interview straight after coming off the water that he felt he made a slight mistake coming to the line, here he explains: “There was actually a bit of a wash the whole way down and a bit more of a headwind than we thought. We were being pushed a little bit over, kind of overworking one side. I’ve a bit of neck thing that’s been at me all year and it just sort of then started seizing up.

“But we were on the red line and then I kind of just lost the handle a little bit in one of the strokes and I looked and I was like, ‘Jeez, please not now!’ and I looked up and I was like, ‘oh the Americans are far enough back.’

“We were moving on the Dutch but look, what can you do? You push yourself to the line. Sometimes you fall over it but you just manage to rectify the glitch. You just try and smooth it out and then relax a bit more, because if the body gets tense, then you’ll overwork it.”

On winning an Olympic medal just 15 months after they first got together as a crew Daire Lynch gave this take: “Yeah, I was over America until the March last year and then when I came back, like I didn’t really know what to expect when I came back, I was just hoping to get into a boat. Straight away we started going very well and really, since then, we haven’t really been touched, and, like a lot of crews you have your ups and downs but we’ve been extremely consistent.”

Phillip added: “It’s all about synchronising, working together, making the most out of each other as a pairing and I think we’re ying and yang personalities maybe a little but we’ve found the best way to match together and work off each other’s strengths. The things I lack he brings, and the things he lacks I bring. It seems to work and it’s been a great partnership over the last 15 months which has born fruit again and again.”

Daire admitted he was in New York working and decided to start training again on the rowing machine in his apartment building morning and evening and was getting fitter and decided he’d try for the Olympics: “Who would have known a year and a half ago that I’d be getting a bronze medal!” he said.

Their journey, from initial trials to the Olympic podium, exemplifies resilience and synergy, celebrating a proud chapter in Ireland’s rowing legacy.

Alison Bergin and Zoe Hyde Achieve Top 10 Finish in Olympic Double Sculls
Alison Bergin from Fermoy Rowing Club and her double sculls partner Zoe Hyde of Tralee Rowing Club secured a top 10 finish at the Olympic Games in Paris by placing fourth in the B final of the Women’s Double Sculls (W2x) with a time of 6:55.62. Competing at the Vaires-sur-Marne Nautical Stadium, they delivered a commendable performance in today’s final, finishing behind Australia, Czechia, and the USA, while ahead of Italy and China.

Women’s Four Clinch Victory in B Final
The Women’s Four, featuring Emily Hegarty (Skibbereen Rowing Club), Imogen Magner (Carlow Rowing Club), Eimear Lambe (Old Collegians Boat Club), and Natalie Long (Lee Valley Rowing Club), capped off their Olympic Games with a stellar performance by winning the B final in the Women’s Four (W4-) with a time of 6:34.74. This triumphant finish places the Women’s Four seventh overall at the Games.

Crews Gear Up for Grand Finale in Paris
Irish rowing crews are set for an exciting day of competition on Friday 2nd August. Fiona Murtagh and Aifric Keogh will kick off the day in the Women’s Pair B Final. Following them, Ross Corrigan and Nathan Timoney will vie for medals in the Men’s Pair A Final. Tokyo 2020 winners Fintan McCarthy and Paul O’Donovan will compete in the Lightweight Men’s Double Sculls. Finally, Margaret Cremen and Aoife Casey will race in the Lightweight Women’s Double Sculls A Final.

Women’s Pair Final B: Fiona Murtagh & Aifric Keogh
Lane 1 | Time: 9:54 am IST / 10.54 am CET

The lineup for the B Final includes:
Lane 2: Great Britain
Lane 3: Denmark
Lane 4: Chile
Lane 5: Spain
Lane 6: Czech Republic

Men’s Pair Final A: Ross Corrigan & Nathan Timoney
Lane 6 | Time: 10:30 am IST / 11.30 am CET

Lane 1: Spain
Lane 2: Switzerland
Lane 3: Croatia
Lane 4: Romania
Lane 5: Great Britain

Lightweight Men’s Double Sculls Final A: Fintan McCarthy & Paul O’Donovan
Lane 3 | Time: 11:02 am IST / 12.02 am CET

Lane 1: Czech Republic
Lane 2: Greece
Lane 4: Italy
Lane 5: Switzerland
Lane 6: Norway

Lightweight Women’s Double Sculls Final A: Margaret Cremen & Aoife Casey
Lane 1 | Time 11:22 am IST / 12.22 CET

Lane 2: Greece
Lane 3: Great Britain
Lane 4: Romania
Lane 5: New Zealand
Lane 6: USA

We wish our crews the best of luck as they compete for medals at the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris tomorrow! We extend our sincere gratitude to all our supporters, sponsors, family, and friends for their unwavering encouragement and dedication, which have been instrumental in bringing them to this prestigious stage.