By:
Conor Martin
Olympic medallist Paul O’Donovan will not compete at September’s World Rowing Championships in Shanghai thanks to the talented rower needing to put his work commitments at Dublin’s Mater Hospital first.
O’Donovan has found the World Championships a happy hunting ground in the past; he’s won seven golds that sit alongside his silver and duo of Olympic gold medals.
In 2023, he graduated in medicine at University College Cork, hence the reason why he’s missing out on this year’s Championships.
Rowing Ireland’s lead coach, Dominic Casey, confirmed O’Donovan will not be travelling to China when announcing his team on Wednesday.
O’Donovan’s heavyweight double partner, Daire Lynch – a medical student – is also out. Lynch is also an Olympic medallist, having won bronze at Paris 2024 in the men’s double sculls alongside Philip Doyle.
Paul O’Donovan’s absence at World Championships confirmed
Paul is working in the Mater Hospital… so he unfortunately can’t make the World Championships,” Casey said when talking to RTÉ Sport.
“Daire is the same, he’s doing medicine.
“We’ll definitely see them back. They’re just taking a few weeks off.”
O’Donovan not featuring in the squad is a massive blow for Ireland. His technical precision, strategic mindset, and timing are considered world-class. The rower often dictates the pace and shape of the race, especially in tight finals. Losing that edge is significant and could hurt Ireland’s medal chances.
However, despite losing O’Donovan, there are still several Irish rowers who can do the business for their country and are worth having a look at with Irish bookmakers. Fiona Murtagh, for example, has an excellent chance in the Women’s Single Scull.
Another medal hopeful is Doyle, as previously mentioned, who has enjoyed success, and this year is paired with Olympic champion Fintan McCarthy in the men’s double scull. And Doyle said, “I’m excited; we have such a wealth of talent. I was focusing on the career this year. I’ve come back, I’m delighted to finally fight my way to the top and to get in the boat with him and see what we can do. I’m learning every day off Fintan.”
IRELAND TEAM FOR THE WORLD ROWING CHAMPIONSHIPS
(September 21-28)
Lightweight Women’s Single Scull (LW1X): Siobhán McCrohan
Women’s Single Scull (W1X): Fiona Murtagh
Women’s Double Scull (W2X): Margaret Cremen and Zoe Hyde
Women’s Pair (W2): Aoife Casey and Emily Hegarty
Women’s Four (W4): Aisling Hayes, Imogen Magner, Emma Waters and Natalie Long
Lightweight Men’s Single Scull (LM1X): Jake McCarthy
Men’s Single Scull (M1X): Konan Pazzaia
Men’s Double Scull (M2X): Fintan McCarthy and Philip Doyle
Men’s Pair (M2): Ross Corrigan and Nathan Timoney
Men’s Quad Scull (M4x): Andrew Sheehan, Adam Murphy, Brian Colsh & Ronan Byrne
PR2 Mixed Double Scull (PR2 Mix 2x): Sadhbh Ní Laoghaire and Tiarnán O’Donnell
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