Cormac Folan represented Ireland in the men’s heavyweight coxless four at the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games, finishing 4th in the B final – 10th overall – at the Shunyi Olympic Rowing-Canoeing Park.

The Irish heavyweight four was the first Irish crew of that type at an Olympics since Pat McDonagh and Frank Moore in 1988, having qualified the previous year with a 10th place finish at the World Championships. Folan rowed in the bow seat alongside Jonno Devlin, Sean Casey and Seán O’Neill, coached by Harald Jahrling.

From Barna in Connemara, Co. Galway, Folan came from a rowing family and began the sport aged 15 at Coláiste Iognáid in Galway. He rowed for NUI Galway Boat Club and graduated with a degree in Applied Mathematics from NUI Galway. He was part of the crew that originally qualified for Beijing before switching to the bow seat for the final selection. After retiring from rowing aged 28 he described it as time to “join the real world,” working as a digital marketer at Paddy Power before co-founding Alder & Green in London – a sustainable tailoring and menswear brand built on ethical production principles – of which he became chief executive.