IT'S GOLD! Paul and Fintan are double Olympic champions

WHAT A WIN! Paul O'Donovan and Fintan McCarthy are Olympic gold medallists once again!

The Skibbereen pair defended their Olympic title in style, passing the finish line in the men's lightweight double sculls final ahead of Italy in second and Greece in third to become double Olympic champions on a special day for Irish rowing.

With victory, Paul O'Donovan has cemented his place as Ireland's greatest-ever Olympian, becoming the first Irish athlete to medal at three Olympic games. Fintan McCarthy becomes only the fifth Irish athlete to win two Olympic medals. This is an historic pair.

The Tokyo gold medallists stamped their class on the men’s lightweight double with a brilliant semi-final win on Wednesday morning, firing a statement of intent to the pretenders to their crown, including European champions Switzerland.

They followed through on that intent this Friday morning, dominating the field once again to win in a time of 6:10.11.

A huge crowd gathered at Skibbereen Town Hall to cheer on O'Donovan and McCarthy as they showed their class and experience to pull away in their usual style during the second half of the race.

Drink this in – they have won the last-ever Olympic lightweight men’s gold medal as this event is being cut from the schedule after these Games; they’ll be reigning Olympic champions forever after adding another gold to their incredible haul that also includes three World gold medals. 

The countdown now begins to the homecoming in Skibbereen.

Don't miss next week's Southern Star – in shops and online from Thursday, August 8th – for all the best local reaction to an incredible achievement.