Philip Doyle on the Head of The Charles Regatta, his Indoor training and golden ambitions for 2026

After securing bronze in the men’s double sculls at the World Rowing Championships, Irishman Philip Doyle shares his training plans and ambitions for the upcoming Head of the Charles Regatta and next year’s rowing season.

Welcome back from the World Rowing Championships! Do you have time to relax, or do you dive straight back into training?

Philip Doyle: Today, I biked to get moving again after the long journey from China. But tomorrow, I am going to start indoor rowing to prepare for the Head of the Charles Regatta (HOCR). For my training sessions, I have to cover twenty kilometres with bursts of five minute efforts. This means that I plan on rowing the regatta distance four times every day. In the EXR rowing app, I train on the Race of The Charles route because it takes you through most of the regatta hotspots. On this course, you have three speed segments where Simon van Dorp set all these ridiculously fast records, which depresses me a little bit, because I am not that fast, but it helps me practise.

What do you find the most challenging aspect about training on the erg?

I hate the first twenty minutes on the rowing machine. Often, you need something to be able to mentally distract you from the torture of it. I like listening to Irish music and EDM or simply rowing in silence if I have something to think about. Later, you get some sort of runners high and even longer indoor workouts of up to two hours are manageable because you find your rhythm. And having HOCR coming up is just a good reason to get back on the rowing machine.

 Like at the World Championships, you will be competing with Fintan in the men’s double sculls at HOCR. What makes you such a good team?

Fintan and I are competitive by nature and love putting in the hard work. I took far too much time off after the 2024 Olympics and had to train hard to come back to the top of the national team. I promised myself I was never going to slack off like this again. Especially after our success in Shanghai, we want to win in the double at HOCR. Our competitiveness unites us and divides us at the same time, because we were competitors until we were teammates. So we needed to make the switch from wanting to beat each other to beating everyone else together.

What were the highlights of last year’s edition for you?

I had my first sweep race since 2015 for which I did not train at all. I raced a four with the Swiss pair who had won bronze earlier. Luckily, a few days before the race, Simon van Dorp mentioned that the alumni eight of the University of Washington were two rowers short for their training sessions. I jumped in, but only if I could practise rowing stroke side. I also have not been in an eight since 2015. It was just so much faster than a double and great fun!

How does racing on the Charles River feel like?

Last year, I had my very first HOCR race in a single and it was just chaos. I do not know why, but they sent me off first. I was watching the guy behind me, and he was always in a completely different part of the river than I went up, and I thought “I’ve done it all wrong”. Besides the difficult course, there are so many people shouting at you and buoys reminding you to steer clear of the pontoon and bridges. You really have to look out for all the corners and obstacles!

How does the regatta compare to other competitions, like the World Championships, for example?

At the World Championships, athletes are in race mode and everyone is very aware that they are representing their country on the global stage. This means that people will be serious and quiet. Only when the racing is over, they will be chatty and relaxed. We also fly home directly after it is over, so there is no real chance to socialize. In comparison, the Head of the Charles Regatta feels more like a big community meetup than a competition. This year, Fintan and I will also race in the quad, just for a bit of fun.

What are your plans for the off-season?

Especially over the wintertime, the rowing machine is my lifeline, because my town has no rowing club, there is no lake nearby, and the Irish team’s training centre in Cork is about four hours away from where I live. With EXR, you have a visual input of seeing other people passing on the virtual course, really making it the future of indoor rowing. Its challenges and races help you get back in for the winter training. And this year, I am definitively going to do winter training, not like last year, so I will be in a much better shape!

So we can expect a lot from you in 2026?

Philip: Yes! My number one goal is winning the World Championships. Up until this year, I always thought that winning silver or bronze is possible, but to win gold you would have to be far more talented at rowing than I am. But I think what I may lack in talent, I can make up by being a workhorse. I did well with the little training I had this year, and I think that I’m starting to really understand how to win races. I just need to get as fit and strong as possible.

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Copy thanks to Ami Kucharek