Paul O'Donovan named RTÉ Sportsperson of the Year
Dublin Picture: In By The Studios Mcshane/sportsfile O'donovan 2024 At Rté Paul Ben During Awards Rté Sports Donnybrook,
Paul O’Donovan was named RTÉ Sportsperson of the Year on Sunday night. The Corkman was part of the Irish lightweight double sculls boat, along with Fintan McCarthy, which won gold at the Paris Olympics.
In winning gold, O'Donovan became the first Irish athlete to win medals at three consecutive Olympic Games. He won silver with his brother Gary beside him in 2016 and gold with McCarthy three years ago in Tokyo. O'Donovan also won gold in the lightweight single sculls at the World Rowing Championships in August. He is the first Cork winner of the RTÉ award since Seán Óg Ó hAilpín in 2005.
"When you're talking to old people like Timmy Harnedy and Eugene Coakley around the place, they'd be saying that they wished they were younger and able to still be doing it. When you get older in life, you have plenty of time to be doing other things, like working," O'Donovan said when asked what keeps him motivated.
Róisín Ní Riain was named Young Sportsperson of the Year. The Limerick swimmer claimed silver and bronze medals at the Paralympic Games in the S13 100m backstroke and SM13 200m medley, respectively. She she also won double gold at the European Championships.
The Manager of the Year award went to Willie Mullins after a year which saw him become champion trainer at home for the 18th time and the first Irish-based trainer to win the British title since Vincent O'Brien in 1954. He also became the first trainer to break the 100-winner mark at Cheltenham. Along with Galopin Des Champs defending his Gold Cup crown, Mullins won the Champion Hurdle with State Man, the Aintree Grand National with I Am Maximus, the Scottish Grand National with Macdermott and the Sandown Gold Cup with Minella Crooner.
Katie-George Dunlevy and Linda Kelly were named Team of the Year. They claimed Paralympic gold in the time trial and silver in the road race. They also won double gold in the same events at the World Championships. Dunlevy also won silver in the pursuit event on the track with Eve McCrystal as her pilot.
1992 Olympic gold medallist boxer Michael Carruth was inducted into the RTÉ Sport Hall of Fame on Sunday night.
“It was a truly remarkable year and both the extent and nature of success for our remarkable athletes shows how standards simply keep rising," said RTÉ head of sport Declan McBennett.
"The success is now coming across so many disciplines and codes that 2024 will act as a catalyst for even greater feats in the years ahead as a new generation is inspired to replicate the heroic efforts witnessed across RTÉ channels this year.”