Road to Tokyo 2020 - Irish Olympic News

peek a boo

God, I’m still not the better after Natalya’s interview 😢 I’m enjoying the Irish performances in these games and am looking forward to a golden weekend - fingers crossed for Kellie & the golfers. The Paralympics is just around the corner and we have a good record there. I love the Winter Olympics and am wondering what’s the closest we’ve come to a medal in recent times?

Oldira

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117715488#Comment_117715488

2016 the head of IABA was from Uzbekistan and they win 7 boxing medals. 2021 Uzbekistan win one medal.

for some reason you seem to be taking implied digs at Mick Conlan. If you genuinely can’t see he was robbed there no hope for you.

peek a boo

McCormack currently 24th in the marathon. Superb running from this lady! Ah heck, I’ll have to stay up now

Oldira

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117715241#Comment_117715241

I don’t know. It’s just notable that two countries that imposed strict quarantines and few inward visitors happen to hoover up medals many in power sports. But in fairness both countries have clean records and do tend to target their medals. But if it was a country like Russia you can be sure fingers would be pointed.

Kunta Kinte

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117717954#Comment_117717954

In the Winter Olympics that would be Clifton Hugh Lancelot de Verdon Wrottesley to give his full name who finished in 4th place in the skeleton competition in Salt Lake City 2002 Winter Games. 

Joe_ Public

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117718021#Comment_117718021

To be fair the Uzbeks had a sh!t hot team in 2016. Dusmatov, flyweight I think, i remember getting the Val Barker for best fighter, absolutely outstanding. Obviously not so good this time. The head of the AIBA was Chinese.

But still rotten to the core, of course! I'd be looking more towards the Azerbaijanis personally.

Strazdas

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117717954#Comment_117717954

I hope Natalya reconsiders her decision to retire from the Olympics after these Games. She's still only 30 and would be perfectly capable of competing very well in Paris.

Oldira

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117718202#Comment_117718202

The silver medalist today is 37. But Natalya has given a decade to winning an Olympic medal. Maybe she wanted to do other things in life. But with this Olympiad being only 3 years I really hope she’s gives it one more go.

peek a boo

Sineád Diver (running for Australia) came 10th in the marathon. She’s 44 years old. I think McCormack came 25th. Very brave running in tough conditions. Cooke withdrew.

Strazdas

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117718263#Comment_117718263

Well she doesn't need to rush a decision. She could take six months or a year out of the sport, recharge her batteries and then aim for qualification again. Interesting to see if her fiancé Arthur is interested in Paris too, having unfortunately missed this one due to injury after qualifying.

Cosmo Kramer

Would you bother though, after that? You could put another three years into it, reach Paris in peak physical condition, storm your way through the fencing and swimming again and get knocked out once more through no fault of your own just because you were given a dud of a horse in the jumping section.

I wouldn't let my kids anywhere near modern pentathlon to be honest, what's the point when the whole sport is designed around one event every four years and is then just left largely down to luck to pick the winner once you get there?

Strazdas

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117718474#Comment_117718474

Though Natalya points out that she had a lot more luck in London and Rio, so it's swings and roundabouts I guess.

Looks like Stephanie Meadow finished in the top six or so on 12 under - play suspended due to bad weather. Good showing from her.

peek a boo

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117718485#Comment_117718485

That’s some performance from Stephanie. All out golfers have done us proud. Well done to them

Oldira

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117718485#Comment_117718485

One thing to note is that Natalya was in 4th before the riding. There were some really fast runs in the final part and no matter how fit she was there is no guarantee she would have medaled.

walshb

Poor owl horse let Natalya down

And Natalya let herself down by her hostile dismount and not a sniff of respect/kindness to an animal serving her..

Not even a customary pat to the horse.

Cosmo Kramer

Natalya Coyle on flag duty for the closing ceremony - nice way for her to finish out her Olympic career - although the decision will have been made easier by most of our competitors having long since left Japan at this stage and Kellie Harrington having a fight to focus on tomorrow.

Joe_ Public

Very entertaining Madison race there. Was expecting GB lads to go a bit sooner, pipped by a point in the end.

walshb

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117718923#Comment_117718923

Really exciting.

breezy1985

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117718923#Comment_117718923

That drive themselves and the Belgians before made had my heart pounding. Came pretty close to flipping the whole race.

3 worthy medalists but you would feel sorry for the Belgians after going so close to the podium

Joe_ Public

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117718954#Comment_117718954

3 points in it in the end, not one as I thought. All the little twists and turns and teams making those little breaks, it's fascinating. Thought the French might get a lap at one point too. One of most entertaining Olympic event for me, not even that complicated once you've watched a few laps of it.

Joe_ Public

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117718744#Comment_117718744

Of course, the horses should be respected and cared for and loved, which i know they are, but cutting an athlete some slack right at the moment she has seen 5 years of blood, sweat and tears all go down the tube on something so cruel and random wouldn't seem like a very difficult thing to do imo. She let nobody down, least of all herself.

Cosmo Kramer

The Irish track cycling team have been very disappointing to be honest - probably the poorest of all the teams we have sent this time around. An indoor velodrome has to be a high priority for us if we want to continue in the discipline, there's really no point sending track cycling teams that are at that much of a disadvantage to the other nations. If that's not possible then we'd be best focusing on other cycling events and other sports.

walshb

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117719187#Comment_117719187

No, not cutting any them slack. You have a poor event, you show character, composure and poise. You pull yourself together and you show sportsmanlike qualities. She still had the run and shoot to go. She showed poor form there in how she showed contempt to that horse. Just excuses about showing slack.

No different than a boxer refusing to shake hands with his opponent when losing. Sour grapes.

breezy1985

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117719188#Comment_117719188

Downey and English race track year round its their full time job. They were not sent they qualified so who are you or anyone else to tell them they can't go or the country has decided by decree that they need to change job to something easier to win

Joe_ Public

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117719203#Comment_117719203

I can see the headline: "Irish athlete slammed for not patting horse." This is satire, right? It's like a Fr Ted episode. And is that an attempt to bring Mick Conlan into it? Good god, do you ever let up about That?

walshb

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117719248#Comment_117719248

No, just standards.....nothing more or less...Conlan has nothing to do with it. I juts used boxers as an example. You see it in boxing a bit......see it everywhere I guess

walshb

What are thoughts for tomorrow's gold medal bout? Brazilian will be sight favorite. I hope Kellie gives her all, makes things happen, creates scoring chances and capitalizes. Isn't afraid to give it all, move out comfort zone if she has to. The hallmarks of a great boxer is adaptability.

First round is key: Win it, and she can allow the Brazilain to press, whilst countering as best she can.

No nicer person in boxing...

Cosmo Kramer

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117719212#Comment_117719212

Limited funding is available to support our Olympians and needs to be allocated to maximise outcomes. Ireland's performances so far in track cycling are DNF, DNF and 17th out of 20. Downey and English have finished their games now so won't be improving on that. If they are entirely self funded that's fine and they should absolutely go if they have qualified, however if they are funded from public money we should definitely be asking whether there is value in continuing in this discipline until such time as we have the facilities to allow us to be competitive.

Joe_ Public

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117719254#Comment_117719254

You keep amazingly high, almost puritanical standards. Good for you. I don't personally claim to understand the enormous pressures these athletes are under and the emotions churning through their bodies at such moments as everything they have strived to achieve comes undone. I just know they are human, like me and so I am perfectly willing to cut them some slack if their immediate reactions don't fully meet the exacting standards of decorum you and others demand. That is all.

breezy1985

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117719279#Comment_117719279

Time to ditch all the swimmers, runners and while we are at it we might as well give up on international soccer and tell all the weightlifters to take a hike too.

If we went by your expert standards the badminton, gymnastics and the rowing lads would have never been allowed go to an Olympics in fact we would send no one except boxers

The cyclists had a terrible games by their standard but ending Irish track cycling at the Olympics would put Irish track cycling and the velodrome back years and anyway English and Downings performance had nothing got to do with the lack of velodrome as they are on velodromes all the time