GOOD things are coming – that’s the prediction from Fintan McCarthy after his 11th place finish in the men’s single sculls at the World Rowing Championships.

Context is everything when reflecting on McCarthy’s performances in Amsterdam.

This is the Skibbereen man’s second year at open weight, having left the lightweight pool to join the world of giants with long levers. So far, the double Olympic lightweight champion has held his own.

In 2025, his first year as a heavyweight, McCarthy won three medals in the men’s double – bronze in the European Championships and the World Cup regatta in Lucerne alongside Konan Pazzaia, and bronze at the Worlds with Philip Doyle.

A change of plan this year saw the Skibb rower take to the water in the men’s single scull, racing against the world’s best, including Germany’s Oliver Zeidler, the reigning Olympic champion.

So, these Worlds were always going to be a challenge.

McCarthy navigated his heat, finishing second behind the USA’s Samuel Melvin. Into the quarter-finals on Friday, a third-place finish was enough to send him into the semi-finals and guarantee a top-12 finish. Zeidler won the race, Switzerland’s Kai Schaetzle was next, with McCarthy comfortably in third.

Aisling Hayes and the Irish women's four in action in Amsterdam. (Photo: Conor Lyall)

‘Top 12 in the world,’ he said with a smile afterwards.

‘I am not going to say that was my final, because I think I can go more. But that felt really good, felt a lot better than the heat. It was an important one for me, to get confidence.

‘A few of those guys beat me earlier in the season so I knew it was going to be a tough quarter-final to get through. It will prime me well for the semi-final.’

On Saturday, McCarthy lined up in the first semi-final, and found himself in fourth place after 500 metres. With the top three to advance to the medal race, he needed to finish third, at worst. But with Zeidler leading the way, and American rower Melvin and Uruguay’s Bruno Cetraro Berriolo battling for second and third, McCarthy couldn’t close the gap. He finished in 6:55.45, almost ten seconds behind winner Zeidler and, more importantly, almost five seconds behind Cetraro Berriolo in third, who crossed the finish line in 6:50.64.

‘I felt really good yesterday, so I thought maybe it could be my day, and I could make the final. I just went as hard as I could and came up short this time. It was tough,’ McCarthy said.

For a man who dominated the lightweight world alongside Paul O’Donovan in the legendary Irish double, now navigating the men’s single scull on his own is a new challenge.

To finish in the top 12 is a step in the right direction.

‘Good things are coming,’ he added.

‘I’m just not there yet, but that doesn’t mean we’re not going to be there.’

In the B final on Sunday, McCarthy came fifth to secure an 11th-place finish. To highlight the calibre of rowers he was up against, Zeidler won a fourth world title in the medal race, with Yauheni Zalaty, a silver medallist from the Paris Olympics, in second.

At championships where Zoe Hyde and Mags Cremen were crowned world champions in the women’s double sculls, Fiona Murtagh powered to silver and Cremen and Konan Pazzaia brought home silver in the mixed double, McCarthy’s performances will go under the radar, but it’s another step in his journey before thoughts move to the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics.

Emily Hegarty, right, and the Irish women's quad finished ninth. (Photo: Conor Lyall)

For his first season in this boat, it was encouraging.

The same can be said for two more Skibbereen Rowing Club athletes who flew the West Cork flag in Amsterdam, as Tokyo Olympic bronze medallist Emily Hegarty was with the Irish women’s quad, while Aisling Hayes was in the women’s four.

Hayes, who was with Claire Feerick, Emma Waters and Emma Fagan, finished her week on a high with a brilliant win in the B final. Second in their heat, a fourth-place finish in their semi-final saw them miss out on the A final, but they bounced back in style, winning the B final in 6:26.34, well ahead of New Zealand (6:29.00) with AIN third in 6:35.44.

‘We had a vision that we were going to be in the A final so we had to right that wrong,’ Hayes said.

‘We knew we had to go out there and make a statement, and we did that confidently.

‘The girls were just so good, we couldn’t ask for any more from them, we were composed and relentless.’

For Hegarty and the Irish women’s quad of Izzy Clements, Sophia Young and Alison Bergin, a ninth-place finish overall was also encouraging. This combination only came together before these championships. Third in their heat, fourth in their semi-final, they secured third in the B final in 6:18.56, behind Switzerland (6:13.73) and France (6:15.22), and ahead of China, Canada and Greece.

Reflecting on the week, Rowing Ireland High Performance Director Niall O’Carroll said: ‘We arrived in Amsterdam wanting to put athletes and combinations into the most demanding racing available, to find out where we genuinely stand against the best crews in the world and to learn what needs to improve before Olympic qualification at the 2027 World Championships in Lucerne. Amsterdam has given us plenty of answers.’