One of Ireland's gold medal heroes, Fintan McCarthy, has revealed what his Olympic training regime was like before the Paris Games this month.
Skibbereen rowers McCarthy and Paul O'Donovan sensationally won their second consecutive Olympic gold medal as a duo in the lightweight double sculls in Paris
Rowing, from the outset, looks really tough, but McCarthy stated that the duo spent their training sessions varying between high intensity and lower intensity. He stated that it was about finding the right balance before Paris.
"We do tend to push the limit. If it's going to have low intensity, there is going to be a large amount of it," McCarthy told Irish radio outlet Off the Ball this week.
"With the higher-intensity stuff, we do push the limits in terms of intensity or duration. We will go for pretty long at a high intensity, or we will really hit it hard if it’s a bit shorter.
"It worked for us before, and it was just that during the winter, we were really pushing it.
"I was doing more than I knew of anyone else ever doing, and Paul was doing more than me, so it was an exercise in finding the limits.
"It was working for a long time. I was seeing really good results from training, and my speeds were getting better every week.
🗣️ 'I was doing more than I knew of anyone else ever doing, and Paul was doing more than me.’ 😅
🗣️ ‘In terms of numbers, my biggest week this year was around 400k.’
Fintan McCarthy talks through his intense training regime. | 🛶
Link to full pod : https://t.co/UoMFggn4tr pic.twitter.com/KbGz4SXMMO— Off The Ball (@offtheball) August 14, 2024
"But it was fine until it wasn't. I was getting sick, and I had a back injury for a while.
"That was the wake-up call that I needed to rein it in a little bit."
In endurance sports, incremental progress is key for many athletes. For example, runners will increase their distance or speed as they get closer and closer to big events.
McCarthy claimed that his most intense week of training before the Olympics was around 400k, but this was only done less than three times. O'Donovan, for example, hit that number on more than one occasion.
"In terms of numbers, my biggest week this year was around 400k. I probably only did that once or twice," he added.
"I know Paul was probably hitting close to that or more for a lot of weeks."
The next Olympics in LA in 2028 will not have lightweight double sculls. When asked how it felt to be a double Olympic champion in a sport that won't be at the next games, the Cork native admitted it was nice.
"Pretty cool to be the last ever Olympic champions but more sad to be saying goodbye to a boat class that’s given me so many opportunities to live the dream along with some savage racing and top-class competitors. Maybe it’s time to eat up, though?"
