FINTAN McCarthy is about to step into the unknown – and instead of finding it daunting, he’s embracing it.
For years, he was the man with the plan: a fan of routine who found solace in structure. But recent seasons have taught him to live with uncertainty. Now, he’s at ease with the idea that the year ahead won’t mirror the last.
That mindset helps as he dips his oars into unfamiliar waters – he’s leaving the safe haven of lightweight rowing behind to make a splash among the heavyweights.
He’s talked about the transition since becoming a two-time Olympic lightweight champion last summer in Paris, but now it’s real – Fintan will compete in his first major international regatta as a heavyweight at the European Rowing Championships this week in Plovdiv, Bulgaria.
There’s a twist to this tale, though. Fintan will take to the water without his long-term partner Paul O’Donovan who is sitting this one out. We have to wait to watch the Skibbereen dream team square up to the heavyweights. Instead, Fintan will be joined by Konan Pazzaia (Queen’s University Belfast Boat Club) in the Irish men’s double at the Europeans.
Fintan McCarthy is stepping into a whole new world as a heavyweight rower. (Photo: Harry Murphy/Sportsfile)
A new boat. A new combination. A new weight class. Plus this is the year after the Olympics so uncertainty reigns everywhere as countries reshuffle ahead of the next Olympic cycle, but Fintan’s taking the newness all in his stride.
‘Obviously I’d love to be competitive straightaway and that is the default for me when we’re approaching racing,’ Fintan says, those competitive juices flowing after spending longer-than-normal on dry land post the Paris Games.
‘In the back of my mind I know I’ve had a big break and haven’t been training as often as usual, so it’s balancing race mode with what I have actually done this year and what I can be satisfied with.
‘It’s about finding that level where I should be at – if I pass that, great, but if I am a bit behind, that’s to be expected. It’s the unknown really.’
Fintan knows too that he needs to walk before he can run with the heavyweights. He’s not chasing dramatic gains – that’s not the goal. In his prime as a lightweight alongside Paul O’Donovan, their speed was comparable to the heavyweights – that strengthens Fintan’s quiet confidence that he can step from one world into the next.
‘It’s not about having to get bigger and having to see big changes,’ he explains.
‘I decided earlier on in the year that when we were at our quickest at lightweight we were not too far off the pace so I don’t think it would take a massive, massive change in body composition to find those extra seconds we need to compete,’ he adds, but with no need to make weight anymore, he is seeing and feeling the benefits.
Paul and Fintan celebrate with their gold medals at the Paris Olympics.
As a lightweight, Fintan couldn’t tip the scales at over 72.5kg in competition. In the lightweight double, the average weight had to be 70kg. Those rules are now gone. He doesn’t need to taper down the week before a regatta. Ahead of this week’s Europeans he doesn’t have to worry about making weight, which then impacted how he could train. Instead, he can squeeze another week of training out because he has the fuel to support the workload. Fintan has a new reality to get used to, and the early signs are encouraging.
‘I have sort of just been doing what we usually do but now there is more energy, there is more fuel,’ he says, ‘so maybe we can do more and not worry about the strength side of things coming into regattas. Before we had to take a step back from the gym to make sure we were not making any more muscle mass.
‘I am definitely stronger in the gym and recently did some body composition analysis that showed I am just as lean as I was when I was lightweight – that was really interesting. My skinfolds were pretty much the same as when I was lightweight – I have had a good five or six kilos increase in muscle mass. I am seeing that in the gym and on the rowing machine.
‘I am still in the early days but I’m starting to see a few changes – whether that will make the boat faster or not remains to be seen. The trials have been going decent enough, this new combination is coming together nicely, we are having moments of good rowing in training. There is a bit of the unknown, a bit of excitement to this.’
With all the change, there is a constant: Fintan is in a double. This is the boat he loves. He knows too he’s at the behest of Rowing Ireland High Performance Lead Coach Dominic Casey so there’s no certainty Fintan will stay in the double. In his previous life as a lightweight, the double was the only Olympic class boat so the choice was easy. Now there are six options, ranging from the men’s single scull up to the men’s eight. An Irish men’s quad of Philip Doyle, Ronan Byrne, Adam Murphy and Andrew Sheehan will compete at the European Rowing Championships. Daire Lynch and Ross Corrigan will take to the water in the Irish men’s pair. Factor in the indomitable Paul O’Donovan, too.
Fintan McCarthy and Paul O’Donovan were the best lightweight double crew in the world - but can they now rule at heavyweight?
‘The double is my preference,’ Fintan says. ‘I’ll go where the coaches put me, but I’m strong in the double. It’s home for me – I know the speeds and it’s probably my favourite boat.
‘The boat sent to Worlds and the Olympics will be the best gold-medal chance, whether that is the quad or double remains to be seen.
‘At trials, we mixed the quads and the double a lot. I’ve trained in the quad, and they’ve trained in the double with me. The Europeans are a starting point; things might change.’
Dominic Casey echoed this ahead of the Europeans: this marks the start of the next Olympic cycle, with sights set on Los Angeles 2028.
‘We’re focused on laying strong foundations and supporting this group as they grow, develop, and thrive,’ Casey said.
For double Olympic gold medallist Fintan, this is a new chapter with no-one quite sure what the end result will be. In the lightweight double, he and Paul O’Donovan were untouchable. They ruled with ruthless domination. Now, Fintan is starting over – the new guy in a heavier, deeper field.
‘Being realistic, since we don’t know everyone else’s level, I’ll be happy with solid racing and good experience at the Europeans,’ he says.
‘It’d be nice to get in the field, see where we are, and find ways to get quicker.
I’d probably be lying if I said I’d be happy not making the final,’ Fintan adds, as he rows into the unknown at the European Rowing Championships. The expectations are different. The fire is the same. The double is still home – but now, Fintan’s learning to row a new course.
