While there was no medal at the end of it for Ross Corrigan and Nathan Timoney, the Irish pair can hold their heads high as they finished sixth in the final of the Men’s Pair in Paris last Friday.

The Fermanagh duo have done the county proud making it through the heats and semi-finals to take place in the A Final against the very best in their event but they could not repeat the heroics of last year’s World Championships and take a medal.

With the dust settled and their participation in the games at an end, Ross and Nathan were able to take in the sights of Paris and meet up with some of those who travelled over from Fermanagh to cheer them on. They also plan to take part in the Games' Closing Ceremony.

And while there was no medal to take home, Ross does not feel like the A Final was a “let down”.

“I didn’t feel like we had our absolute best race on the Friday,” he reflected.

“We had a flying race on the Wednesday and even Sunday was savage.

“It felt like we never really fully got into it on the Friday. From the outside, it didn’t look as bad a race as it felt. It was still a decent race, we attacked it.

“Our issue was we maybe attacked it too much. We really tried to go for it and we went out to try and win the thing and sometimes when you do that it doesn’t go your way and that’s kind of what happened.

“At the same time if we didn’t do that we could have been further back in the pack.

“I’m proud of everything we put together and how far we have come, myself and Nathan and the coaching team. Just being part of the whole thing. It has been the best experience and regatta I have been to.”

What made the experience all the more special was the huge support the pair received from Fermanagh and those who travelled to Paris.

Enniskillen Royal Boat Club and Roche’s Bar in Kinawley held watch parties to cheer the pair on.

"First part of the experience, the Irish fans were unbelievable," said Nathan.

"When they called out the Irish boat for myself and Ross you could hear the roar of the crowd coming from 1,000 metres away.

Ross added: “It has been insane and the support behind us from back home and everyone who came out, it means the world to us.

“And also to see how much of a lift and how much everyone enjoyed it and had such a great time watching us meant a lot to us.”

While it was not to be their day on the water last Friday, Ross believes that the achievement of qualifying for the A Final in the Men’s Pair for the first time shows that Irish Rowing and Team Ireland are on the right trajectory when it comes to winning medals at Olympic Games.

“I think it is one of those things. It has become more normalised now for the rowing team and Team Ireland to be on the hunt for medals.

“It’s a good sign you are coming away from an Olympics a final and you are disappointed because you wanted a medal and you thought you were in with a decent shot at a medal.

“It just shows you where the standard of the team is. A couple of years back, not that I’m absolutely delighted to make the final, you would have just been content with a sixth place in a final and now we are pushing on looking for more and expecting more of ourselves and that is only a good sign.

“It means high expectations and we will eventually come through with a medal.”

Nathan echoed these thoughts and with assurances from the gold medallists, the Croatians, that time was on their side, the goal towards another Olympics in 2028 is firmly in their sights: "Two months ago we were saying if only we can get to the Olympics.

"Then when you get to the Olympics you are saying last week if only we can get to a final.

"Then you get to the final and you set the bar higher and want to achieve a medal and when you don’t reach that or fall short there is going to be a bit of disappointment.

"Over the last few days we've had time to reflect and to be really thankful for where we are and understand it is still early days.

"We have four years to get it right, four years to mature as athletes, four years to become more consistent racers, have more experience round our belt and that will be the biggest thing that will really help us moving forward."

The medals last Friday went to Croatia, Team GB and the Suiss.

The Team GB pair led for most of the race with Romania close by but in the final 500m, the Croatians sprinted to the line and went in front with metres to go.

For Corrigan and Timoney in the Team Ireland boat, they were among the pack for the first 1,000m or so and at one stage were in third place but they could not maintain their effort and eventually finished in sixth position in a time of 6.30.49.

It brought an end to a memorable debut Olympic games for the duo who had to overcome injuries and sickness to make the Paris games and although the ultimate goal o f taking a medal home to the shores of Lough Erne did not happen they gave all who have followed them in their journey something to be immensely proud of.

But that journey is not over yet according to Ross. He points to other Irish Olympians such as Mona McSharry, Daniel Wiffen and Philip Doyle who did not win a medal at their first Olympics but came through in Paris. The Kinawley man hopes to do the same.

When asked about the Olympic Games in Los Angeles in 2028 he had a simple answer: “Definitely, I don’t plan on stopping anytime soon.

Nathan added: "As long as we stay humble and thankful and take away from this time is on our side and move forward and not dwell on the disappointment that will give us space to set a new direct path to Los Angeles.

"We've ticked one box, we've made the Olympics, made the final. It leaves us in a good position for the next four years to Los Angeles."