Fintan McCarthy enjoying the move up from lightweight rowing
Michael Bolton
Having been so successful at lightweight, Fintan McCarthy is now enjoying the challenges of heavyweight rowing.
A two-time lightweight Olympic champion alongside Paul O'Donovan in Paris and Tokyo, the move up at the men’s single scull at the World Cup regatta in Seville will be a first for McCarthy.
With lightweight no longer in the Olympics, in just over two years away, McCarthy decided now was the time to move up, which has been an enjoyable experience.
"I am probably the fittest I have been, so it will be nice to go and test it out.
"It has been pretty successful. It has been nice to give rowing a new lease of life. It feels like I'm nearly starting again in the sport.
"It has been a lot of new learning and new challenges. You can definitely keep improving all the way up to regatta season and between races.
"As a lightweight, it was nearly this big rush in to get the work and strength in before regatta season comes. I probably left it to the last minute as a lightweight anyway, so there were never huge chunks of time where I was miserable."
He won World Championship medals in two crew boats last season, including gold in the novel mixed double with Mags Cremen.
McCarthy also won bronze alongside Philip Doyle, but will be by himself in the single scull event at the end of the month, as he looks forward to testing himself against the world's best.
"We do a lot of training and races against each other in singles, so it will be exciting to see what I can do.
"The best rowers in the world race in the single, so I am looking forward to see how I stack up against the big guys. It is part of keeping things exciting and fresh.
"When we come to LA, we can really feel like we checked out all the options and landed what can give us the best chances of success at the Olympics.
"This year is testing the waters for different events and see where we land."
Alongside Paul O'Donovan, the fondest memory of lightweight Olympic rowing will be their gold medal in Paris in 2024.
Combined with their heroics in Tokyo, the Skiberreen duo have given people in Ireland sporting moments they will never forget.
McCarthy has not rowed competitively with O’Donovan since Paris, and he paid tribute to their community being key to their success.
"He was probably my hero for such a long time. In the first few years, I was just sitting behind him, trying not to mess up.
"From the word go, we had this kind of trust. Sometimes, it has been described as telepathically. We know what is going on inside each other's heads in racing. It has been easy for us to slot in and make the boat go fast.
"We come from the same club. I would have grown up watching him perform and trying to learn from him. Being from the same place, having the same coach, it goes to show how important it is to have that community.
"If I hadn't had Paul and Gary and the guys back then, who knows where I would have ended up."
