For the last time tomorrow morning, a boisterous Irish group of supporters will make the journey to the picturesque municipality of Vaires-sur-Marnes.
Located 35km west of central Paris, it is home to Vaires-sur-Marne nautical stadium, the world class rowing facility that opened in 2019.
Team Ireland's sole representative at the Games is the mixed double sculls crew of Katie O’Brien and Tiarnán O'Donnell, and their supporting entourage has numbered more than 100.
With the vast majority using train as the means of transport, the past two mornings has seen a green supporting cast emerge from the local station and walk the 2km to the venue, a green snake meandering through a well-heeled neighbourhood under the watchful eye of a heavy security presence and equally enthusiastic volunteers.
Tomorrow will be no different, as the pair plot to end the Paralympic debut on a high.
The fact they have made it to the line at all is something of a minor miracle.
O’Brien, who has spina bifida, qualified the boat with Steven McGowan at last year’s World Championships, but O’Donnell was rewarded for his form having come to the sport late from wheelchair basketball.
O’Brien however has endured a torrid 2024, with injuries, surgeries and illnesses meaning she only returned to training about six weeks ago. The pair have only had four weeks together in the boat, so if they had 20 sessions together, that would have been the height of it.
"We were down to one session a day," O’Donnell explains. "We had a two-week camp and a few days in Cork before we left."
Despite her pedigree – O’Brien was world champions two years in the single sculls ago – and his seamless transition into the sport, the training required to seriously challenge wasn’t there.
They stayed in the hunt for the second and automatic spot in today’s repechage, but in the final 500m, they simply ran out of juice as Ukraine and Netherlands pulled away, with France taking victory.
The crowd possibly carried them further than they had anticipated. The huge cheer from the stand for the warm-up an hour before the race drowned out those watching an earlier repechage in progress.
At the start line, there was little to choose in decibel level between Ireland and the hosts, who greatly outnumbered the fans in green.
"What’s most amazing about it is they knew coming into this the position we were in," O’Brien, who celebrated her birthday yesterday, said.
This is more than sport. Team Katie & T. The takeover at the rowing is complete 🙏🏻🇮🇪 #Paris2024 pic.twitter.com/1XHtjYc6yB
— Darren Frehill (@Darrenfrehill) August 31, 2024
"I’m sure they all held out hope for us, but they knew we weren’t at the top of our game, where we can be. It’s such dedication and I feel we are so lucky to have them."
O’Donnell is a right leg amputee. Having had a number of operations from the age of five, he was re-diagnosed with a rare tumour called a Fibro-Adipose Vascular Anomaly, becoming just the 16th person in the world to be diagnosed with the condition.
In attempting to remove part of the tumour from his leg, severe nerve damage left his leg paralysed, before the decision was made to amputate during his Leaving Cert.
From such a rocky road to the highs of Paris is not something he takes lightly, and there is still the matter of closing out Paris 2024 with tomorrow's B final (9.10am).
"It’s a dream to call this our job, for sport to be our living," he says. "To get to experience this with our families, it isn’t a job. We are so privileged to be in the position we are in.
"We are going to get to the start line and give it absolute welly again tomorrow, to experience the Paralympics one more time…until Los Angeles 2028."
"I’ve got the bug. My ceiling is just so high. If I can get up to Katie’s standard, we could be world beaters."
There is also the desire to offer encouragement to those in a similar position, shining a light on what is possible.
Among his supporters at the nautical stadium was young Jack Falvey. A fellow amputee, O’Donnell has built up a friendship with the 10-year since the National Rowing Centre in Cork has become his training base.
Jack’s Lego figurine has been a lucky charm, safely tucked away inside O’Donnell’s sock for every race.
"He’s the next generation of Paralympians, we have inspired a nation of people with disabilities to pursue their dreams."
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