The lightweight class in which Paul O’Donovan and Fintan McCarthy won their gold medals is no longer an Olympic event
Fintan McCarthy and Paul O’Donovan celebrate with their gold medals following the lightweight men's double sculls final at Vaires-sur-Marne Nautical Stadium, Paris. Photograph: Morgan Treacy/Inpho
The lightweight class in which the pair won their gold medals is no longer an Olympic event, leaving Ireland holding a little bit of history. O’Donovan and McCarthy’s lightweight boat was the last to win an Olympic lightweight title. However, following the Irish win on Friday in the Vaires-Sur-Marne Nautical Stadium, high performance director Antonio Maurogiovanni was already thinking about LA’s challenge to his most successful crew.
Surrendering a clear weight advantage to the British heavyweight pair of Matthew Haywood and Samuel Meijer, U-23 world champions at the time, the Irish crew won the race. O’Donovan also raced at heavyweight or open class this year with no real adjustments and competing as a lightweight. But adding muscle also adds weight and getting it wrong could mean the net speed of a heavier athlete in the boat could be slower than a lighter athlete. Bigger, stronger heavyweight rowers must pull bigger, heavier bodies through the water and that takes more energy. Making the transition from lightweight to heavyweight is an issue of finding the balance.
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