Latest news with #Pazzaia
Irish Independent
29-06-2025
- Sport
- Irish Independent
‘There is still stuff to improve on' – Ireland medal on the double at World Cup regatta in Lucerne
Fiona Murtagh, who switched to single sculling before the European Championships last month, raced superbly to take silver. Fintan McCarthy and Konan Pazzaia took bronze in the openweight double. Paul O'Donovan and Daire Lynch did not get hold of the race and finished fifth. Both medal-winning crews matched their placings at the Europeans, and both have reasons to see plenty of room for improvement. Pazzaia told the Irish Independent that he had been nursing a back injury which had curtailed training for this double. Murtagh may take the most from her performance. Under the guidance of lead coach Dominic Casey, she made the jump from a successful career in sweep rowing – she was a key part of the bronze-medal four at Tokyo 2020 – to mark herself out as a real prospect in the single, one of the core events in the rowing programme. Britain's Lauren Henry took gold at both the Europeans and in Lucerne, but Murtagh's competitiveness had gone up a level from their last encounter, and Henry had to pull out the stops to beat the taller Murtagh. The Moycullen woman said she felt good. 'It was the same result (as the Europeans), but it was a very different race.' With coach Denise Walsh, one of the things she had been working on was executing a better start and performing better in the first 1,000 metres. 'I feel like I executed that really well. It's just fine tuning and efficiency that I am lacking,' she said. 'I'm raw; I'm rough around the edges. I do not have slickness; I feel that was what let it slip (away).' She felt that the race was a positive, learning experience. 'My time will come!' McCarthy and Pazzaia blasted off the start and looked well set for a win for much of their final, only to be hauled in by Serbia and New Zealand coming to the line. 'Mixed emotions,' Pazzaia said. 'Obviously really happy to come back with a bronze medal. It's been a tough few weeks for the combination. I was suffering a bit of an injury so we did not have that much time in the boat together.' He added: 'We weren't able to bring back the gold this time, but there's definitely a massive fire in my belly now to do better.' He said they had a lot of work to do before the World Championships in Shanghai (September 21st to 28th), but it was good to know that another step up was possible. 'In a way it's really good for us to know that there is still stuff to improve on. But even at our 70 per cent we can still medal.' Do they take encouragement from the fact that they took out the Olympic champions, Romania, in the semi-final? 'I have a double Olympic champion in the boat as well, you know!' Paul O'Donovan has been concentrating on his medical career and was competing for the first time this season. He and Lynch were sixth with 500 metres to go and could do no more than improve their standing by one place. The standout amongst the remaining crews on the final day was the eighth-place finish for the men's quadruple. The crew built around young talent finished their B Final like a train, and were just .33 seconds behind winners Czechia. The women's four took third in their B Final, 9th overall, while the double of Mags Cremen and Zoe Hyde finished 6th in the B Final, 12th overall. In the week ahead, a combination of the two Ireland doubles – McCarthy, O'Donovan, Pazzaia and Lynch – head for Henley Royal Regatta in a self-created quadruple. If they make it through the quarter final they are set to take on the British quadruple in the semi-final. Britain won gold in Lucerne. Pazzaia sees Henley as a recreational outing. 'We are going (there) to have a bit of a good time rowing,' he says. Murtagh will not go to Henley, but has targeted the Irish Championships in mid July. 'I've never won the senior single sculls. It's something I've never won and thought I'd never race.' New to her, she will be the favourite - as befits the World Cup and European silver medallist.
Irish Daily Mirror
31-05-2025
- Sport
- Irish Daily Mirror
Irish double Olympic champ claims first international medal since major change
Double Olympic gold medallist Fintan McCarthy has won his first international medal in an openweight boat after joining forces with Konan Pazzaia to claim bronze in the European Rowing Championships. McCarthy and Paul O'Donovan topped the podium in the lightweight double sculls in the Tokyo and Paris Olympics but that category no longer exists as an Olympic sport. With O'Donovan continuing his medical studies, McCarthy has teamed up with Pazzaia and together they have claimed Ireland's first medal at the Europeans in Plovdiv in the men's double sculls. Under dry conditions and a strong tailwind, they remained in medal contention throughout the race, exchanging positions with Italy and withstanding a late surge from Romania. Crossing the line in third place, it marked McCarthy's first international medal in an openweight boat and a first senior championship medal for Pazzaia of Queen's University. McCarthy's brother Jake finished fourth in the lightweight men's single sculls, finishing fourth with the fastest final 500 metres of the race and in a time of 7:01.45. Meanwhile, Ross Corrigan and Daire Lynch placed third in the B final of the men's pair with a time of 6:26.50 in a tightly contested field. In the lightweight women's single sculls, Izzy Clements impressed on her senior international debut, finishing fourth in the A final. Clements held second for much of the race before being overtaken in the sprint finish. In the women's double sculls, Mags Cremin and Zoe Hyde also secured a fourth-place finish in a fast-paced A final, narrowly missing out on the podium in one of the closest races of the day. Rowing Ireland CEO Michelle Carpenter said: "This really feels like the start of a new chapter for Rowing Ireland. "We're building a strong team and a solid programme for the years ahead, and it's great to see that coming to life on the water. "I'm absolutely delighted with all of the athletes' performances today, but to come away with a podium finish on the first day of finals is very special. Huge credit to the athletes, coaches and support staff for the work that's gone in behind the scenes.' Women's fours bronze medallist Fiona Murtagh competes in the women's single sculls final on Sunday. Also in action are the women's quadruple sculls team of Alison Bergin, Aisling Hayes, Natalie Long and Claire Feerick in the B final, the men's quadruple sculls - Philip Doyle, Ronan Byrne, Adam Murphy and Andrew Sheehan – in the B final.
Irish Daily Mirror
31-05-2025
- Sport
- Irish Daily Mirror
Olympic champion wins medal with new partner at European Rowing Championship
Fintan McCarthy and Konan Pazzaia have won bronze for Ireland in the men's double sculls at the European Rowing Championships in Bulgaria. It's a first medal at heavyweight for Skibereen legend McCarthy, while for Queens University star Pazzaia, it's a first major medal. McCarthy has famously won gold medals for Ireland at Olympic Games alongside longtime rowing partner Paul O'Donovan, but with O'Donovan unavailable, Pazzaia stepped in and helped get the job done. Miroslaw Zietarski and Mateusz Biskup of Poland took home gold in Plovdiv, while Ireland's duo had to settle for third place in a time of 6.05.48 as they took home the bronze medal. For McCarthy, it is a first medal in the heavyweight class after years dominating the lightweight division with O'Donovan. The pair won gold in the lightweight double sculls at the 2024 and 2021 Olympic Games, and the duo also have three World and two European golds at lightweight.
Irish Examiner
31-05-2025
- Sport
- Irish Examiner
Fintan McCarthy and Konan Pazzaia win bronze for Ireland at European Rowing Championships
Fintan McCarthy and Konan Pazzaia have won bronze for Ireland in the men's double sculls at the European Rowing Championships on Saturday morning. The duo took to the water in Plovdiv, Bulgaria and following an excellent display McCarthy and Pazzaia finished in third, with the Skibbereen rower claiming his first major medal at heavyweight. Pazzaia was stepping in for the absent Paul O'Donovan, who is currently concentrating on his medical studies, and he helped the Irish boat to come home in a time of 6:05.48. In the end Ireland finished just behind the Romanians while the Polish crew of Miroslaw Zietarski and Mateusz Biskup raced clear to the gold medal. Earlier in the day, Mags Cremin and Zoe Hyde finished fourth place in the final of the women's double scull, crossing the finish line in a time of 6:55.73. . Izzy Clements also came in fourth in the women's lightweight single sculls in what was an impressive performance on her senior Irish debut. Finally and there was also a fourth placed finish in the lightweight men's single sculls for Jake McCarthy, the brother of Fintan, who just missed out on a medal after recording a time of 7:01.45.
Irish Independent
29-05-2025
- Sport
- Irish Independent
Lightweight Olympic gold medallist Fintan McCarthy makes mark at Europeans after switch to heavyweight
Fiona Murtagh, also an Olympic medallist, won her heat in her new discipline of single sculling in what was generally a good day for day for Ireland crews. McCarthy and Pazzaia took second in their heat, 1.46 seconds behind Poland. On Friday, the semi-final for McCarthy's new crew will be another big test, as they face Romania, who set the fastest time in the heats. Pazzaia, a Swiss who has an Irish mother, has competed successfully for Ireland at underage level. Lightweight rowing is no longer an Olympic discipline, and McCarthy and Paul O'Donovan, who is not competing in Plovdiv, have chosen to compete as heavyweights. Murtagh's initial venture into the world of single sculling was certainly not without dangers. The Galway woman (29) took bronze at Tokyo 2020 in a four and was eighth in a pair at Paris 2024. However, out on her own for the first time, she was up against two talented 'Independent Neutral Athletes' – a Russian and a Belarussian – along with the German Alexandra Foester. Just two would qualify directly for the semi-finals. Foester led early on, but the tall Murtagh powered into the lead coming up to 900 metres and did not relinquish it. It proved a wise move, as Tatisana Klimovich (formerly Belarussia) and Kira Iunchenko (who has competed for Russia), moved past Foester to finish second and third. Dominic Casey, the interim head of Irish international rowing, has experimented across the board with forming new crews. He warned that instant success was unlikely in this first year of the Olympiad. For all that, just one crew – the new women's quadruple – does not remain in the medal hunt in Plovdiv after the first day. Mags Cremen, who, like McCarthy, was stepping up from lightweight rowing, and Zoe Hyde also took a solid second in their heat of the women's double and go directly to Saturday's A Final. The men's pair had to wait on the result of other heats to see whether they had qualified. The new combination of Ross Corrigan and Daire Lynch, a bronze medallist in Paris in the double, finished fourth in the first of three heats. Only the top two from each of three heats qualified directly for semi-finals. Since repechages have been dispensed with by World Rowing, the Irish crew faced dropping into the C Final if they were not amongst the six fastest losers – but they made it. Austria and Turkey missed out. It was a similar story for the Ireland men's quadruple. The combination of Andrew Sheehan, Adam Murphy, Ronan Byrne and Olympic medallist Philip Doyle is novel. Two crews, in this case the Netherlands and Croatia, set the pace, and Ireland could not match it. They finished fourth, but made it through to the semi-finals as one of the fastest which did not qualify directly. However, the new Ireland women's quadruple found the going too tough in their heat. France and Britain fought it out at the head of the field and qualified directly for the A Final. The Ireland crew of Claire Feerick, Natalie Long, Aisling Hayes and Alison Bergin took fifth and will compete in the B Final. The morning had started very well for the Ireland team, with good results in non-Olympic events. Izzy Clements, who comes from Scotland but qualifies for Ireland through her mother, had a fine Ireland debut, taking second in a preliminary race in the lightweight single. Jake McCarthy then matched that placing in the men's lightweight single heat, qualifying directly for the final. Like his twin, Fintan, he can be pleased with his day.
