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Podcast 298: From Pain Cave to Podium: Fintan McCarthy's Rowing Journey to Gold
On this week’s episode, WHOOP Founder and CEO Will Ahmed is joined by two-time Olympic Gold Medalist Fintan McCarthy.
The Irish Lightweight rower has been dominating the sport for a number of years now alongside his partner Paul O’Donovan. McCarthy started rowing professionally when he was 15 and has won 3 European Championships, 3 World Championships, and two gold medals at the Tokyo and Paris games.
Will and Fintan discuss how he became a rower, breaking through the pain threshold, how to effectively train, breathwork techniques, Olympic experiences, winning gold with his partner Paul O’Donovan, his WHOOP data in Paris, and more.
Episode chapters:
- 1:45 - Fintan’s intro and how he became a rower
- 3:54 - Breaking through the pain threshold
- 5:03 - How to effectively train for rowing
- 6:35 - Training cadence as a pro
- 8:16 - Breathwork in rowing
- 13:10 - Fintan’s Olympic experiences
- 18:35 - Fintan’s WHOOP data at the Olympics
- 22:30 - Fintan’s Sleep Tips
- 26:17 - Inner Ad
- 26:51 - Winning Gold and partnering up with Paul O’Donovan
- 31:17 - External factors to consider when rowing
- 33:09 - In-race communication tactics
- 37:46 - Fintan’s guide to Recovery
- 40:55 - Winning a gold medal
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