Episode 3186: Gold On The Water: Fintan McCarthy Live From The National Rowing Centre In Cork

What sweeter way to send our World Service members into the weekend than with a broadcast from our nation’s one true capital? At first light yesterday morning, Murph and Eoin laced up their journalising boots and got on a train headed to that great oasis in the south to meet one of our Olympic all-timers, Fintan McCarthy.

Part of a group of Irish double gold medalists small enough to be counted on one hand, Fintan chats to us about making the move from lightweight to heavyweight ahead of LA 2028, his relationship with Paul and how they reached the point of not needing to communicate or even follow a game plan during a race, and leaving behind the feelings of inadequacy he dealt with after winning their first gold in Tokyo.

He also describes how 2024 transformed from being potentially disastrous to being another golden Olympics, and how his uncle’s passing shortly after Paris changed his perspective on rowing and the legacy he’d like to leave behind.

©INPHO/Morgan Treacy

Plus there’s memories from Lake Albano and McDevitt’s metronomics.

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