Lake Country can officially say they have a Olympian of their own. 

At the 2024 Paris Olympic Games, Lake Country's Fynn McCarthy was part of the Canadian men's volleyball team. While they only got to play in the round-robin portion of the tournament, it was a dream for McCarthy.

"The main goal in volleyball for me was to go to the Olympics so it was everything I had ever dreamed of, and more. It was a dream come true really," said McCarthy. "There was so many memories created that'll last a lifetime for me."

McCarthy has been playing volleyball professionally overseas for a few years now, but being his first Olympics, there was a lot to take in on the world's biggest stage.

"Honestly, I didn't know what to expect," said the 24-year-old. "Walking in there was amazing, seeing the best high-level athletes from around the world, it was special and surreal walking into the village and taking it all in."

As for McCarthy and his teammates, they went 0-3 in the tournament, losing 3-1 to Slovenia, 3-0 to France, and 3-2 to Serbia.

"It's difficult, it's the best competition in the world," said McCarthy. "We had a debrief after the last game before we all parted ways and the takeaway was that it's really hard to go to the Olympics, but to medal is a completely different thing. You really have to sacrifice a lot to go to the Olympics, but even more to medal."

McCarthy added he's excited to take his experience in the games and use it for the younger players on the team in four years, like the veterans did for him this time around.

While competing in Paris, his family was there to support him as well.

"It was amazing to have my family out there, especially my parents because they invested so much time and money into me playing sports as a young kid and to have it pay off and them to see their investment play in the Olympics was my way of kind of giving back for all their sacrifices and investment," said McCarthy.

The District of Lake Country was behind McCarthy throughout the games. Lake Country Brewing would have every one of Team Canada's games on live and the place would fill up as the community wanted to watch McCarthy together.

"It's an amazing feeling to have so much support from back home," said McCarthy. "I hope young kids in the community can take something away from seeing a local kid going to the Olympics for a sport that's maybe not as popular as basketball or hockey or baseball,"

On Friday, Aug. 16, McCarthy got to meet some of the supports as Lake Country Brewing held a meet and greet.

"It was nice to shake some hands and meet some people that were supporting me," said McCarthy.

Late Beginnings

Now for McCarthy, volleyball didn't come to him until later in his adolescence.

Born and raised in Lake Country, McCarthy started playing hockey at eight years old and loved it. He would go to 琉璃神社 Rockets games and his goal was to make the NHL. 

At 14, he was playing for the Winfield Bruins, but up an age group, playing at the Midget level instead of Bantam. Around that age, his teammates were hockey players while his friends and classmates at George Elliot Secondary School (GESS) were all volleyball players. 

In grade 10, McCarthy, while still playing for the Bruins, was convinced to join the volleyball team and did so. He tried it and fell in love with the game but just three weeks into the season, he suffered a dislocated shoulder playing hockey, ending both his hockey and volleyball seasons. However, he would still travel with the volleyball team to their tournaments to show support. 

The next year, he returned to the volleyball court and never looked back. 

"I was a little taller and a little more physical and playing better and got some interest from universities to get a scholarship so I'm like 'wow, this is special, maybe I can do something here,'" said McCarthy, who added hockey was fun but he didn't see a path to the next level as much as he did with volleyball.

His coach at GESS, Chris Frehlick, also represented Canada in men's volleyball at the 1992 Olympic Games in Barcelona. 

"I think he saw a bit of a future early on," said McCarthy. "He was always giving me a hard time and drilling me to take it seriously and grind and work hard and his coaching definitely helped me."

Now that the 2024 Olympics are over, McCarthy is preparing for the 2024-25 season overseas. This year, he's playing in the PlusLiga in Poland. 

And while not getting ahead of himself, the Lake Countrian adds it would be fun to play on North American soil in the 2028 Olympics, which are taking place in Los Angeles.

"Paris was an amazing venue and a great place to hold the games but playing in North America would be really awesome for sure."