Road to Rio 2016 - Irish Olympic News

Dan man

Strazdas wrote: »

Indeed and that type of pressure can lead to more mistakes.

It's really up to the three Irish lads to do the business now (though that opening four faults could prove to be not particularly damaging in the long run if the Danes and Spaniards were to mess up.....let's wait and see)

Fingers crossed. As I said yesterday though, it is our lack of clear rounds which costs us..... most other top teams seem to be able to put in clear rounds more regularly, even if they do have the odd disaster in between. All those 4 faults have a habit of adding up to a not so decent total in the end. Clear rounds are so important.

Dan man

4 faults for Greg..... meaning one clear round could do it for us. We have put the pressure on anyway.

Dan man

17 faults for Denmark and they are gone.

Dan man

Only 4 faults for Spain, after a 9 yesterday from this rider..... not good news for us, but it's so close.

Dan man

The final two Spanish riders yesterday had a 5 and a 0 between them. That's decent form.

Dodge

Looking like a shoot out between Ireland and Spain for last spot (unless Swiss have disaster with 3rd and 4th riders).

Strazdas

Dan man wrote: »

The final two Spanish riders yesterday had a 5 and a 0 between them. That's decent form.

We could really do with two clears ourselves at this point.

Dodge

Well Cian has 4 so we need Spain to start messing up and a clear from Denis

Dan man

We need Spain to have two fences down with one of their riders.... lack of clear rounds killing us.

Skid X

Any chance Cian O'Connor might get to take his round again after that idiot on the course almost jumped in front of his horse?

Dodge

Skid X wrote: »

Any chance Cian O'Connor might get to take his round again after that idiot on the course almost jumped in front of his horse?

Lets hope so

With one rider to go. We need Denis to beat the Spanish lad by a fence

Dan man

A clear round is now a must.

Skid X

The tension in team Showjumping is unique. Every fence has the potential to unravel a good team performance.

Fingers crossed Denis can go clear and put it up to the Spanish rider.

Stheno

Great updates thanks!

feargale

Dan man wrote: »

A clear round is now a must.

Is a clear round essential Dan? I'd rather be depending on O'Connor or Allen for that.

Dan man

feargale wrote: »

Is a clear round essential Dan? I'd rather be depending on O'Connor or Allen for that.

Well I think so..... you never know but the Spanish rider was clear yesterday. Can't be relying on him to have 2 fences down.

Dodge

We now need Spain to have 1 fault or more or Switzerland to have 8 or more.

Anything less and we're gone

Skid X

Dodge wrote: »

We now need Spain to have 1 fault or more or Switzerland to have 8 or more.

Anything less and we're gone

That last Spanish rider picking up a time fault might be crucial yet.

Fingers crosed.

Dan man

This is cruel..... tense, tense, tense.

Skid X

Spain go clear and qualify.

Swiss rider is our last hope.

Cosmo Kramer

Gone. So unlucky.

Skid X

Cruel to come so close. It wasn't to be.

feargale

What's this about two more places available for Rio? If that is so surely we have an overwhelming moral argument.

Cosmo Kramer

feargale wrote: »

What's this about two more places available for Rio? If that is so surely we have an overwhelming moral argument.

Oh no, it's team 33 all over again...

Dan man

feargale wrote: »

What's this about two more places available for Rio? If that is so surely we have an overwhelming moral argument.

2 individual spots.... team quota is gone. Three missed Olympics in a row, serious review needs to be taken here as that is just way beyond the worst nightmares.

Skid X

https://twitter.com/TeamIRLEq/status/634774311098839041

Skid X

Thanks for the updates lads, the commentators on TG4 are out of their depth and don't seem to have any idea about the Olympic Qualification.

Dan man

To all similarly heartbroken Irish fans, there will be better days ahead.

We have more than our fair share of disappointments and things are far from ideal but when the good days do come, they are certainly all the more special for it.

What I wouldn't give though to have a more efficient sports structure here though, one we could be proud of and deserve. Our athletes certainly deserve a better shot at success.

Bring on the next stop on the rollercoaster....

Strazdas

Dan man wrote: »

2 individual spots.... team quota is gone. Three missed Olympics in a row, serious review needs to be taken here as that is just way beyond the worst nightmares.

Our form was rather sloppy over the three days.

You're right though, something's not at all right here. We're supposed to be a top equestrian nation with an incredible tradition in the sport and we can't even qualify for the third time in succession.

Cosmo Kramer

An appeal hearing has now commenced regarding the O'Connor incident.

Dan man

Strazdas wrote: »

Our form was rather sloppy over the three days.

You're right though, something's not at all right here. We're supposed to be a top equestrian nation with an incredible tradition in the sport and we can't even qualify for the third time in succession.

It's a difficult situation and I'm not one to call for change for the sake of it. At the end of the day, no matter what happens it's up to the riders and horses to perform on the big days. But having said all that, top class professional sport is cut-throat. You need to set standards and when they aren't met then there has to be repercussions. You need to keep looking forward with a fresh approach and reward success, and analyse, analyse, analyse whether in victory or defeat and make strategic investments to offer better chances of success in future. Three missed Olympics in a row.... surely, it's time for all parties to seriously look at implementing reform at all levels. And action is what is required, not words.... we have seen plenty of "action plans" and "2016 / 2020 / 2024 strategies" and post-Olympic reviews. It's still a fact that Ireland are way behind where we need to be across almost all Olympic sports in comparison with similar nations across the world, and lag way behind our European counterparts. There is a tendency thanks mainly to the local media for us to imagine we punch above our weight, but it's very far from the truth, being brutally honest.

And this is no reflection on our athletes or coaches..... they are to be commended given the situation that prevails here.

Strazdas

Cosmo Kramer wrote: »

Oh no, it's team 33 all over again...

Wouldn't there be a case for this in fact? Demoting the Spanish would be incredibly harsh but an extra team being added to the list of qualifiers would have no real impact on the competition. It's not the same as the World Cup where there have to be groups of four teams.

Skid X

The appeal was rejected, now Ireland have made a second appeal.

I would be surprised if the appeal works. Even if Ireland are successful Spain would make a counter appeal.

Strazdas

Skid X wrote: »

The appeal was rejected, now Ireland have made a second appeal.

I would be surprised if the appeal works. Even if Ireland are successful Spain would make a counter appeal.

I could imagine a scenario where the appeal would be successful. A person running across the line of horse and rider (to the point where there was nearly a collision), thus distracting both of them is no trivial incident.

Edit : this second appeal has been going on for over three hours so it seems it has been taken very seriously.

Strazdas

Appeals committee are still deliberating after five hours. Looks like the Irish team may have had a pretty strong case otherwise this second appeal would have been dismissed relatively quickly.

locum-motion

I've just got home from a family event where I was talking to my aunt (a National-level showjumping judge) and my uncle (a National-level showjumping course designer who jumped on the Irish team in his day), and when I compared it to the Henri handball and said that they're not going to retrospectively alter a result, they told me I was wrong. The rules of showjumping actually do allow for a result to be changed afterwards. Here's hoping!

Strazdas

locum-motion wrote: »

I've just got home from a family event where I was talking to my aunt (a National-level showjumping judge) and my uncle (a National-level showjumping course designer who jumped on the Irish team in his day), and when I compared it to the Henri handball and said that they're not going to retrospectively alter a result, they told me I was wrong. The rules of showjumping actually do allow for a result to be changed afterwards. Here's hoping!

Even looking at that video clip that's doing the rounds, you can see it was a fairly serious incident. The guy had to run at high speed and practically dive out of the way to get away from the horse, that's how close they came.

Another factor is that no other horse had that fence down today, it was one of the easiest on the entire course : the suspicion has to be that the horse and rider were distracted.

I wouldn't be surprised if the decision went Ireland's way. Nearly six hours of deliberations now, suggesting O'Connor has a serious case.

feargale

On a happier note, Britain beat Russia 10-1 last evening in the European men's hockey, almost certainly ensuring that Russia are out of the way. Let's hope Ireland likewise dispatch France commencing 8.30 this evening.

feargale

Strazdas wrote: »

Wouldn't there be a case for this in fact? Demoting the Spanish would be incredibly harsh but an extra team being added to the list of qualifiers would have no real impact on the competition. It's not the same as the World Cup where there have to be groups of four teams.

This was not what I had in mind when I asked about two unassigned places, the latter impression having been wrongly conveyed by a TG4 commentator. But since you mention it, why not? You are right in saying it is not as complicated as the World Cup. But I wonder if it might be complicated by the fact that the IOC and FEI are different bodies, and the former might not be enthusiastic about taking dictation from the latter.
Another thing that worries me is that according to a Cian O'Connor interview in last night's news he has been told that according to FEI rules he should have pulled up and asked to jump again. That seems harsh. All credit to him for regaining his composure after the incident.
The incident was so blatant that it's hard to credit it to stupidity. Am I the only cynic here?

Strazdas

Update from Aachen : the decision has been upheld by the appeals committee. Horsesport Ireland are considering appealing it to the Court of Arbitration for Sport.

Strazdas

feargale wrote: »

This was not what I had in mind when I asked about two unassigned places, the latter impression having been wrongly conveyed by a TG4 commentator. But since you mention it, why not? You are right in saying it is not as complicated as the World Cup. But I wonder if it might be complicated by the fact that the IOC and FEI are different bodies, and the former might not be enthusiastic about taking dictation from the latter.

You would think that if there was a clear miscarriage of justice, a sensible option would be to add the aggrieved team to the event.....nobody would be particularly discommoded by it.

Aidan Holland

I normally don't comment in this thread but the frustration over what happened today has gotten the better of me.To all those people who say we overachieve at the Olympics in terms of performance look at new zealand they should be our template for success.3 gold in Beijing 6 in London. The kiwis target certain sports like rowing kayaking slalom and invest heavily in showjumping. Their target for rio is 14 medals. We waste far to much money in athletics aside from English heffernan and aileen Reid the rest of them are not medal hopes. John treacy should go over there and examine their system. We have a proud Olympic history with athletes winning medals as far back as 1894 the first Olympic tennis champion was an Irishman. Im sick of us settling for mediocrity.

Dan man

Aidan Holland wrote: »

I normally don't comment in this thread but the frustration over what happened today has gotten the better of me.To all those people who say we overachieve at the Olympics in terms of performance look at new zealand they should be our template for success.3 gold in Beijing 6 in London. The kiwis target certain sports like rowing kayaking slalom and invest heavily in showjumping. Their target for rio is 14 medals. We waste far to much money in athletics aside from English heffernan and aileen Reid the rest of them are not medal hopes. John treacy should go over there and examine their system. We have a proud Olympic history with athletes winning medals as far back as 1894 the first Olympic tennis champion was an Irishman. Im sick of us settling for mediocrity.

Denmark too will be targeting 10-15 medals in Rio across a variety of sports (team and individual)... handball, rowing, canoeing, sailing, badminton, swimming, athletics, shooting, archery, fencing, golf, tennis, cycling (various forms of cycling, BMX, track, etc.).... all of which they have won medals in at World Championships during this Olympic cycle (except tennis and golf of course). They've qualified for the men's football too.

Denmark have won 4 golds 10 silvers and 13 bronze in world championship Olympic events already in this Olympic cycle.

That's the bar we should be aiming for. In comparison Ireland have won 2 golds 1 silver and 1 bronze (across two sports, athletics and boxing). We have the potential but we need a completely different mindset to sport in this country.


Edit: New Zealand have won a total of 17 golds 14 silvers and 7 bronze in Olympic events in this cycle....plus they are gods of rugby. That's quite a comparison and makes for sobering reading.

Th0mas Shelby

Strazdas wrote: »

Update from Aachen : the decision has been upheld by the appeals committee. Horsesport Ireland are considering appealing it to the Court of Arbitration for Sport.

Crazy, totally crazy that this sort of mess-up can happen at such a big stage! Surely a case for the Court of Arbitration.

Cosmo Kramer

Ireland win 4-3 against France in the hockey.

Strazdas

Th0mas Shelby wrote: »

Crazy, totally crazy that this sort of mess-up can happen at such a big stage! Surely a case for the Court of Arbitration.

You would think so. You'd wonder how they would have reacted if Germany had been prevented from qualifying by such an incident.

Royal Legend

O'Connor rides for himself not for Ireland, he lost an Olympic medal before for cheating, most of these show jumping types are just rich egomaniacs, you can see O'Connor's tantrum at the end of the round, throwing his toys out of his pram, because "he" clipped a fence. The steward should not have been there, but it was before the horse even turned into the fence.
If it had been anyone else except O'Connor that it happened to I would have some sympathy.

As for someones comment above that we send athletes to games who have no chance of winning a medal, first and foremost athletes deserve to go if they have met the qualifying criteria, secondly they need to gain experience of championships before they could possibly compete for medals and lastly, i have no issue with us spending money on these athletes rater than on pompous rich people riding horses.

feargale

Cosmo Kramer wrote: »

Ireland win 4-3 against France in the hockey.

Not wonderful, but it will do. France actually led for a few minutes in the middle of the game. Anyway, that should hopefully see France off. France are unlikely to beat Belgium and won't beat Germany.
P.S. My mistake re. the time of the Ireland-France game. Apologies.

dogcat

Hopefully we can win some medals here, we have the potential but not the right resources in many sports sadly.

Dodge

Arthur Lanigan O'Keeffe is European champion in the modern pentathlon!!

Top 8 qualified for Rio but he only went and won the gold!!

Amazing performance