McCarthy and Doyle claim bronze for Ireland at World Rowing Championships

"Every time we go out we feel better," said Philip Doyle.

Philip Doyle, right, and Fintan McCarthy of Ireland compete in the Men's Double Heavyweight Sculls  at the Shanghai Water Sports Centre in Shanghai, China. Photo by Benedict Tufnell/Sportsfile

The Irish men’s double of Fintan McCarthy and Philip Doyle has won a bronze medal at the World Championships.

Poland's Miroslaw Zietarski and Mateusz Biskup took gold, leading all the way from the blocks. Switzerland were the early chasers, but soon dropped back as Serbia and Ireland came into the picture. 

The Ireland double was in silver-medal position at 1500m, but faded a little and the Serbian double of Martin Mackovic and Nikolaj Pimenov came through to take silver, Serbia's first medal in the event.

It's a first heavyweight medal for McCarthy, having stepped up from lightweight following the Olympics.

A delighted Philip Doyle told World Rowing: "It's our fourth race together. We enjoyed it. I think every race we go we're learning, we have very different styles so we're trying to mesh that in, but some step up against the big boys. Every time we go out we feel better - the legs feel better, the boat feels better, everything feels better. So delighted today."