PAUL O’DONOVAN
UCD Sport
Our youngest Alumni Award winner ever, Paul, 23, is a world-class sportsman and the only Irishman to win both World Championship and Olympic medals in the same year. With his brother Gary, he won silver in the Men’s Lightweight Double Sculls at the 2016 Rio Olympics, the first rowing medal won by Ireland at the Olympics. Two weeks later, he became World Champion in the Men’s Lightweight Single Sculls at Rotterdam. A UCD Ad Astra Sports Scholar from the age of 18 and throughout his undergraduate degree, Paul’s work ethic and ability to balance a demanding degree with an even more demanding rowing schedule is an inspiration.
