Paul O'Donovan and Fintan McCarthy eased into the lightweight men's double sculls final with victory in their Olympic semi-final on Wednesday.
The West Cork pair set a new world best time of 6:05.33 in the process.
"It's not easy at all," Paul O'Donovan told RTÉ.
"There are somewhat tricky conditions. There's a big breeze blowing. We saw that the Norwegians fell out in the race before us, but I think that's in part because they were up late partying last night. They were a big shaky this morning. You'll miss those boys in the final. They're always strong contenders.
"I think we were rowing well ourselves. We're pleased enough with that. We're in the final now. So, we have a chance at the medals. We are looking forward to that."
28 July 2021; Fintan McCarthy, left, and Paul O'Donovan of Ireland in action during the Men's Lightweight Double Sculls semi-final at the Sea Forest Waterway during the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games. Photo by Seb Daly/Sportsfile
After a Croatian crew interjected to remind RTÉ viewers that Irishmen are the new world best time holders, O'Donovan explained how they'll be preparing for Thursday morning's final.
"We'll avoid the partying with the Norwegians for tomorrow night if we can," he said.
"We were a bit shaky ourselves this morning.
"I suppose, just get the bus home, have the lunch, the supper, a game of scrabble, maybe. The lads are teaching me how to play that. I'm not great with words so I'm learning new stuff all the time."
The lightweight men's double sculls final - which will also feature Czech, Italian, German, Uruguayan and Belgian crews - takes place at 1:50am on Thursday, July 29. Set your alarms.
Paul O'Donovan and Fintan McCarthy interview
after Olympic semi-final win
Enjoy a few games of scrabble and avoid partying with the Norwegians... Fintan McCarthy and @PaulO_Donovan give insight into how they'll prepare for tomorrow's final #olympics #tokyo2020 #RTESport
📺 Watch live - https://t.co/b2OI4OoWVJ
📱 Report – https://t.co/bA8CRboHBJ pic.twitter.com/ZUKgL7K0jR— RTÉ Sport (@RTEsport) July 28, 2021
Watch: Kurt Walker Was Buzzing After Shocking Gold Medal Favourite In Tokyo
