What’s another year? Byrne leaves Olympic heartache in his wake

Ronan Byrne remembers exactly where he was and what he was doing on March 23rd of this year. In between sessions at the National Rowing Centre in Ovens with the rest of his Irish teammates, Byrne was putting the final touches to a hectic year-long training schedule ahead of the run-in to the Tokyo Olympiad. One Twitter notification later and a dream that had been years in the making was suddenly snatched away, with the news that the 2020 games had inevitably fallen victim to the pandemic. Speaking exclusively to University Express, Byrne disclosed that the postponement news was taken badly by the more senior members of the Irish squad, with a number of them planning post-Olympic retirements. Byrne, who intends to carry on rowing next year anyway, reveals he wasn’t as adversely impacted by the revelation. The postponement came at a time when Byrne was making quite the name for himself on the international stage, with World Championship silver in the double sculls and European U23 gold already in his back pocket from 2019, the latter accolade being successfully defended three weeks ago in Germany. In the middle of an impressive run of form, Byrne was in a great position ahead of boarding the flight to Tokyo, but the Sea Forest Waterway in Tokyo Bay will have to wait another year to witness this promising athlete.The Ballinlough native admits that it’s tough committing to another year of the same training plan, particularly during the winter months. He adds that many of his Irish teammates have put their degrees and careers on hold to row for Ireland and that it’ll be a challenge to keep it going for another year. The 23-year-old enters his 4th year of Nutritional Sciences in UCC this week and is so far managing the study-sport balance quite well. Byrne, a Quercus Sports Scholarship recipient, praises the Quercus program for allowing him to focus more of his attention on the water, especially in the build up to competitive action. A typical week pre-competition consists of training at least twice a day, with water-based sessions in the morning and then long stints on the rowing machines or weightlifting in the evening. Impressively, this schedule was maintained throughout the lockdown measures that were imposed in March and April. Occasionally, Sunday is taken as a rest day which Byrne devotes to his second loves, motorcycling and swimming, but a day-off is a rarity for this ambitious Corkonian with medals on his mind.So, what constitutes a successful 2021? Byrne tells University Express that as long as he gets faster, he’ll consider 2021 a successful year, it’s that simple. Reluctantly, he discloses that there is still no certainty as to whether the delayed games will go ahead as planned next July, but says the national squad are training with the assumption that they will be. Despite the heartbreak of this year’s cancellation, he sees the extra year as a big opportunity for the Irish rowing squad. He divulges on how Irish rowing could excel under the given circumstances as it is a small and focused squad which quickly adapts to changes, unlike some of the other big nations which rely on consistency. Despite the setback, Byrne’s optimism is infectious and he’s already looking forward to next year’s start date of July 23rd. There’s conviction in his claim that the extra year will see a much stronger Irish team compete at the games next year, alluding to the stellar trajectory that Irish rowing has taken since the Rio games in 2016. Ireland has four boats already qualified for the games, with the chance to add to that tally through the remaining qualification regattas.The 2020 frustrations are plentiful, but Byrne possesses a cool and collected temperament that has already switched its focus to next year’s action. It’s a mindset that presents a striking resemblance to his sporting hero, one Roy Keane. Since first joining Shandon Boat Club in 2011, where his brother introduced him to the waters, Byrne has lit up the national rowing scene, and his arrival on the international stage comes at the height of an Irish rowing revolution, started 4 years ago by a brazen pair of brothers from Skibbereen. Rowing has been the sleeping giant of Irish sport since the turn of the millennium, with 4th place finishes at the ‘76 and ‘96 games the hallmarks of Olympic success up till 2000; finally, potential is being reached. With the majority of his Olympic rivals almost 5 years older than him, Byrne has youth on his side and is primed to figurehead the Irish rowing juggernaut that has seen Pušpure, O’Donovan and O’Driscoll become household names across the country in recent years. It might not be all plain sailing for this young Olympian, but after the Olympics being taken away so abruptly in March, next year will be all the sweeter.