He hasn’t changed a bit.
After a day that nobody will ever forget last Saturday, Paul O’Connell became the first man to captain an Irish team to back to back Six Nations titles since 1949.
The Limerick legend continued a tradition of winning things that dates back to his formative years when he was competitive and successful at pretty much everything he turned his hand to, from swimming to golf and of, course rugby.
Apparently he owned tip the can too, nobody could touch him.
Swimming had to take a back seat when rugby started to get a bit more serious in O’Connell’s teens but he’ll have plenty of fond memories of his time in the pool, not least when he won an under-10 swimming competition at Askeaton Swim Club in Limerick in 1988.
Pic via Facebook/Askeaton Swim Club
The picture above surfaced on the club’s Facebook page earlier this week and although he’s filled out a bit since, he hasn’t changed a whole lot in the intervening years.
It’s fairly obvious that the lads in second and third actually look happier than O’Connell was at the time; even then he had his eyes on bigger prizes ahead.
Hat-tip to John Griffin from Askeaton Swim Club for sending this one our way
