Excitement is building around the county about the prospect of a first Olympic medal in 92 years.
Clonmel’s Daire Lynch alongside his teammate Philip Doyle are in the Men’s Double Sculls rowing final in Paris at 10.30am on Thursday morning.
Hopes are high that the pair can win a medal after they finished with the fastest time of the two semi-finals on Tuesday.
The last Tipperary person to win a medal at the Olympics was Nenagh’s Bob Tisdall who won gold in the 400m hurdles at the 1932 LA games.
Clonmel rowing club PRO Paul Nugent says Daire’s success so far is great for the club:
“Jimmy Fennessy has been coaching down there for the last 25 or 30 years and he’s been bringing on young boys and girls and getting them into rowing.
“Jimmy, working with Pat Kinsella and other coaches Helen McNamara and Branwen Kelly, there’s been a lot of people that have looked after a lot of young people, teaching them how to row and making them progress up along the ladder over the years.
“It’s a great reward for them to see somebody eventually come through the ranks and hit the big time and hit the Olympics and really have a great chance of winning a medal.”
Thursday’s final at 10.30am will be shown live on the big screen in Kickham Plaza, Clonmel with all welcome.