Olympic bronze medallist Philip Doyle has been speaking to the Banbridge Chronicle about his time at the Paris 2024 games.
The 31-year-old returned home with a bronze medal in the men's double sculls along with his rowing partner Daire Lynch.
Philip said it felt "phenomenal" to be an Olympic medallist and said he was looking forward to sitting down and processing his remarkable French feat.
The 31-year-old returned home with a bronze medal in the men's double sculls along with his rowing partner Daire Lynch.
Philip said it felt "phenomenal" to be an Olympic medallist and said he was looking forward to sitting down and processing his remarkable French feat.
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00:00Well, welcome home. What a month, week, couple of weeks you've had.
00:06Yeah, it's been entertaining. My voice is gone because I was shouting for all my teammates.
00:11Yeah, phenomenal. You can't really, I haven't really sat down to appreciate it.
00:16We only got in last night and we're trying to inspire every Irish pub in Paris over the last eight or nine days.
00:22So I haven't really had too much time to really sit and process and think about it.
00:27So it'll be interesting and enjoyable over the next few days being able to do it.
00:31It seemed to be a great welcome. You just got back in Dublin as well yesterday. What was that like?
00:36Yeah, it was phenomenal. I've never seen so many people on Locano Street.
00:40And it was just like the amount of people who came out to support all the athletes.
00:44And it was kind of a Kelly Harrington farewell. You know, she's the key to the city and they love her down there.
00:51So she was getting great big cheers and phenomenal to be part of that.
00:55Obviously Dublin's not Banbridge and it's not home, but it was just phenomenal to be part of that Irish experience
01:00with everyone who came out to see us on a Monday afternoon.
01:04You know, it's not easy to get into the city centre, so it meant so much, the effort they went to.
01:09Well, we're home now. What is the welcome like here back in Banbridge?
01:14Quiet, yeah. Just a few friends and family, close friends who knew I'm home
01:19came up and threw balloons out the front of the house there and saying well done.
01:23And people bringing their grandkids to hold the medal and things.
01:26And went down to town to get an antibiotic because I wasn't feeling well.
01:29And got a few nods going down the street, people just saying congratulations.
01:33So it's nice that sort of lower key recognition of it almost means as much as a huge big parade.
01:40And the people who have always been giving me the head nods are the ones that mean the most, which is great.
01:45I'm sure everybody back here was roaring you on. I'm sure there was a big family get-together.
01:51What were the messages like coming through to you whenever you were in person?
01:54Too many, to be honest. It was phenomenal, the support.
01:58The messages, some of them I haven't even sat down to reply to because you just have to keep yourself in that focus.
02:04You really have to block out all the sound.
02:06And there's maybe only two or three people in the world that you'll ever respond to the night before an Olympic final.
02:10And the morning of the Olympic final there's only maybe one or two max.
02:14So you just have to keep that focus.
02:16And then you can reply to all the messages when you have the result.
02:19And hopefully you're saying thanks and they're saying congratulations.
02:21And this time it did work out, which was brilliant.
02:24But yeah, that last, that support.
02:26And to be honest, most of the family flew out when we started doing well.
02:29And most of them had planned to be there anyway.
02:31So probably the watch party was in the stands over in Verestermaren.
02:35So it was great to have them all there.
02:37Talk me through the day of the final. What was that like?
02:41Yeah, it was grand.
02:43We were in a lovely hotel near the course.
02:45You know, we've been in A finals a lot in the last two years, myself and Dara.
02:51So we're getting quite used to it.
02:53And I always thought I got a little bit nervous, to be honest.
02:56And I didn't realize I've never been nervous before until that morning.
02:59Because that was genuine nervousness.
03:01I pride myself on using nerves as positive energy and preach this nervous energy is energy.
03:08But that was proper nerves that time.
03:10And the breakfast was hard to keep down.
03:13I had to take the carbohydrates as a drink because the food wasn't really sitting.
03:17Like the breakfast I had the day before, which was lovely, all of a sudden tasted like puke.
03:21So I had to cut the cut the food and as much as I could,
03:25because you had to force some energy into the body.
03:27And then once I got over that, then we got into the routine with a very strict schedule.
03:32We go through on race day.
03:33You know, we do this at that time and this at that time.
03:36Get the slushie, get on the row machine, get out in the water.
03:38This many minutes, that many minutes.
03:40You know, it's all written down as a strict timetable.
03:42So you just go through the process step by step.
03:45And it's the same way, you know, if you're going up the stairs,
03:47you don't think, God, I have to go 40 meters up.
03:49You have to go one step, two steps, three steps, four steps.
03:52And you look up and you're at the top.
03:53So we always keep that mentality and that's just how we did it on the day.
03:57Got there in the end, whenever it was over.
04:00How did it feel to know you have a medal in your hand?
04:03Phenomenal.
04:05Usually, when I finish a race, I give a big whoop and slap the water and go nuts.
04:10And I did that after the semifinal.
04:13But when I did it and when it happened in the final,
04:15the reaction was just completely internal almost.
04:18I was watching the video back afterwards and my face is almost blank
04:22because I was counting the boats.
04:25I was like, there's three still going, which means we're in the top three.
04:29And then I knew the Dutch were beside us.
04:31And I was like, well, we'll be beaten by one.
04:33And I looked around and I saw the Romanians and I was like, bronze.
04:36I'll take bronze.
04:37An Olympic medal is just phenomenal.
04:41You've got bronze and you mentioned family and everybody out there.
04:45But I know you mentioned your dad afterwards and how you dedicated your medal to him.
04:49I'm sure he had a big influence on your life and your career.
04:52He had a massive influence on my life.
04:54Just the independence he sparked in me.
04:57Some people say it's one of my worst traits because I don't take help from people easily.
05:02I always have to go out alone and always have to do everything myself.
05:05So he promoted unbelievable problem solving and independence in me.
05:09We broke down a Citroen 2CV and the bits in the engine,
05:12rebuilt it completely in the garage.
05:15He's not a mechanic.
05:16He's just tinkers and he learned and he changed.
05:19And it's always something I'm proud of myself in,
05:21is being able to figure things out and be independent on my own.
05:24So I feel over the last few years,
05:26especially when I'm working full time and training on my own,
05:30that stick-to-itiveness and that comprehension of what I need to do
05:34and seeing the job through, it comes from him.
05:39So in terms of what happens next,
05:42how do you think having that medal on your neck will change things for you?
05:46To be honest, I hope it doesn't change too much.
05:49I hope it leaves a bit of a legacy for heavyweight male rowing in Ireland.
05:53It's the first ever medal that the heavyweight men's team has brought home.
05:59I hope it inspires more kids who don't have access to rowing clubs
06:03when they're young to get into it when they're older.
06:05I hope it inspires more sport, more funding into sport
06:09and more general guys just being healthier and happier in their life
06:13by keeping their bodies fitter and more active.
06:16Ultimately, I would love to leave that legacy
06:20of something positive in my wake
06:23and use it maybe as a platform in the future
06:25to improve public health in Northern Ireland and Ireland as a whole.
06:28But for me at the moment, personally,
06:31I hope it doesn't change too much
06:33because I was having a good time beforehand
06:35and I hope to have a good time afterwards.
06:37In terms of your other career,
06:39what are you going to do in terms of the medical profession?
06:42Well, I was filling out my licence application today
06:45so I had an Irish Medical Council licence
06:47for the last two years working down in Cork
06:49but I've moved home to Banbridge now
06:51and I'll get to work for a while,
06:53see how it goes and over the next few months
06:57I'll make a decision what to do with rowing going forward
07:00but I think the career needs to take the next step.
07:02So if I can go back to rowing
07:04a step further down my medical career
07:06then that'll give me a bit of experience both ways
07:08and help me down the line.
07:10So it's not off the cards yet?
07:12It's not off the cards, it's not on the cards.
07:14There's a few conversations that need to be had
07:16especially with loved ones because it's a lot of time away.
07:18You're living away from families and friends
07:20and you're missing stag do's and weddings
07:22and christenings and birthdays
07:24and I don't think I've been at home
07:26for my mother's birthday since she turned,
07:28a few years ago, I'll not put it out there
07:32but you miss those things
07:34and at the end of the day when you're sitting there
07:36in the house, those are the things that matter.
07:38The family are the ones who have to come first
07:40so the inspiration and the legacy,
07:42if it can come with it, then I'll take it along with me.
07:45Listen, congratulations and everybody in Banbridge
07:47is very proud of what you've achieved.
07:49Thanks very much.