Brothers Gary and Paul O'Donovan turned in an impressive performance in Rio, taking silver in lightweight double sculls to give Ireland its first ever medal in rowing. They finished the 2,000-meter race in 6 minutes, 31:23 seconds, just 0.53 seconds behind the winning French duo.
But the brothers from West Cork truly excelled afterward, setting a new Olympic standard for the best post-competition interview when they spoke with Irish broadcaster RTE Sport. Here they are shortly after receiving their medals Friday.
Sorry we don't have a full translation. But at one point, Paul described one of the more annoying aspects of being an Olympic medal winner.
"I had to go and do this doping control thing, so I was there for an hour or two trying to take a pee then into a cup for them so, after about 10 liters of water as well so, full up now to be honest. Gary, it's like great craic though, isn't it."
Translation: As soon as athletes finish a competition, they're greeted by a monitor who remains by their side until the athlete can produce a urine sample. The monitor must have an unobstructed view of this. The sample is for the doping test, and the monitor's close scrutiny is intended to prevent an athlete's using a sample produced by someone else.
And, "craic," by the way, is an elastic Irish term that can mean gossip, fun or entertainment.
The brothers became instant heroes in Ireland. But even before they won silver, they were getting the full media treatment in Ireland.
Here's another medal-worthy interview with RTE sport, where they discuss dining in the Olympic Village — "You can have steak for breakfast, lunch and dinner, with spuds if you like" — and confess they don't really have a racing strategy.
Heck, they don't even know what time the Olympic final starts.
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