With their racing heydays almost four decades apart, Seamus Downey reckons he had it easier in his day that his son Mark does now.
Seamus, a school teacher all of his working life, said when he was picked to ride for Ireland on the road at the Los Angeles Games in 1984, he could do so while holding down a full-time job.
Back then, he said, once your country picked you for the Games you were in. But he pointed to the current era, with its much more arduous qualifying process, as harder for his son Mark.
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However, Mark will ride for Ireland in the Madison with Felix English next year at the Tokyo Olympics next year; the duo having traveled all over the world to secure the qualification points.
In this video piece below by BBC Northern Ireland, father and son reflect on their careers and that of their son and brother Sean; a former top rider with An Post-Chainreaction and a Commonwealth Games medalist on the track.
Mark would normally be in Mallorca training with the Irish track team or racing in France with his new road team at present but the Covid19 crisis has seen racing suspended so he's chilling out - with some training - at home in Dromore, Co Down.
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