FINTAN McCarthy finished third in the B final of the men’s single sculls at Rowing World Cup I in Seville.

This was the first time the Skibbereen rower competed in this event at heavyweight level, and his ninth-place finish overall is viewed as a positive step in his development in this new class.

McCarthy won his heat on Friday morning (7:08.46) and later that day finished second in his quarter-final (6:58.57) to qualify for the A/B semi-finals on Saturday. Here, he finished fourth, just 1.3 seconds behind Belgium in third.

The double lightweight Olympic champion led in the early stages of his hotly-contested B final on Sunday, was second at the halfway mark, and was back in front with 500 metres to go.

However, strong finishes from Portugal (7:04.90) and Slovenia (7:06.38) meant McCarthy had to settle for third place (7:07.07).

Rowing Ireland came home with three medals – Izzy Clements won silver in the lightweight women’s single, the women’s double of Mags Cremen and Zoe Hyde claimed bronze, and single sculler Fiona Murtagh also won a bronze medal.