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Topic: Irelands Olympic medal chances London 2012
gorgeous gus (63 Posts)	Posted: 29-Nov-2011 17:51	Quote Edit Delete Report Post Post Reply
gorgeous gus (63 Posts)	Wondering who people think will be Irelands best chances for London Olympics 2012,Katie taylor has to stand out plus other boxers,your thoughts?,maybe Ryan in womens high jump!Any other in Athletics??? Maybe some Rower or Slalom?,I dont think anyone qualified for Showjumping! This message has been edited - 29-nov-2011 @ 17:56
MC Bluntchief (444 Posts)	Posted: 29-Nov-2011 18:05	Quote Edit Delete Report Post Post Reply
MC Bluntchief (444 Posts)	Originally posted by gorgeous gus: Wondering who people think will be Irelands best chances for London Olympics 2012,Katie taylor has to stand out plus other boxers,your thoughts?,maybe Ryan in womens high jump!Any other in Athletics??? Maybe some Rower or Slalom?,I dont think anyone qualified for Showjumping! `And one of the saddest footnotes to it all is that Ciara Mageean, one of UCD’s latest athletic recruits, who originally turned down several high-profile scholarships in the US to study in Ireland, now finds herself without a running track on the campus. Indeed Mageean, who is just a couple of seconds off qualifying for the London Olympics over 1,500 metres, trained on the Belfield track last Monday evening, probably making her one of the last in the long line of Irish athletes to feel that old, tattered and yet beautifully historical and surprisingly fast tartan surface.` ____________________ _____________________ Closing the Belfield track completely off the rails In this section » __________ 26th November, 2011. - The Irish Times ATHLETICS: There are so many nonsensical aspects to this sorry story that not even a stay of exc ution would provide a suitable antidote, writes IAN O`RIORDAN THIS WAS planned as a nice, straightforward run through some of the remaining events of the year – such as tomorrow’s Intercounties cross country at Sligo racecourse, then the European Cross Country in Slovenia on December 11th – before I set off to test some high-altitude theories and other mad methods of distance running in Kenya and Ethiopia. Then they go and dig up the track at Belfield. Not since the former governing artists known as BLÉ tried to ban our leading athletes for not handing over a chunk of their earnings has there been such universal anger within the Irish athletics community. Indeed, there was no mistaking this as the shock and horror of an amputation, not the silent realisation of an old sporting facility that had perhaps run its course. So, here we go again. Instead of talking up what should be a medal-winning climax to the year (or at least if Fionnuala Britton runs true to form in Slovenia ) , all the talk now is about digging up one of the most popular if not iconic running tracks in Ireland. Why does it always have to be this way? Belfield was, after all, once a world record arena, and also witnessed many of the greatest performances during that golden era of Irish athletics in the 1980s. Even in more recent years, despite its sad and neglected state, it served an essential purpose for a lot of athletes in the south Dublin area, not to mention the largest student body in the country. Now it stinks of a heinous and horribly commercial and insensitive decision. Although this is not just about UCD, we still don’t have a proper indoor running track in Ireland, despite countless Government promises. Yet here goes one of our original and best outdoor tracks, well before its necessary replacement has even left the planning room floor. In some ways Belfield was more than just a running track. It nursed and encouraged countless junior athletes over the years, including myself, and during the long summer evenings became not just a wonderful training venue but a sort of social haven, where runners of all ages and standards would share thoughts and dreams and sometimes wild ambitions. But don’t take my word for it. Thanks to Mark Zuckerberg and Larry Page and Jack Dorsey it didn’t take long before the full realisation and impact of what UCD was doing to their beloved track went “viral”, if that is the right term. Unlike the 1980s, when BLÉ’s threatened ban was eventually leaked to an evening newspaper, this closing of the Belfield track was all over the social network by Tuesday afternoon, within hours of the diggers moving in to prepare it for some more profitable use. It saved me having to ring around to get some reaction, so, courtesy of microblogging, here’s a taste of how others are feeling: “Very sad news about the digging up of UCD track, its where it all started for me as an athlete!” – David Gillick. “I often trained at belfield, and raced all Ireland’s just before 1992 Olympics, once supervised by Noel Carroll too.” – Sonia O’Sullivan. “Records, history, my first running camp, Leinster schools. Great international competition all erased for another car park.” – Keith Kelly. “Belfield Track, the site of the WORLD 4xMile WR is being torn up! this is a travesty” – Ciarán Ó Lionáird. “Heard nothing but great things about Belfield. #saveourtrack. Good luck with this.” – Paula Radcliffe. The UCD athletics club, which, ironically enough, is experiencing something of a renaissance and beat DCU in the recent Road Relay Championships, hasn’t wasted any time either in launching their “Save Our Track” campaign. They’ve petitioned UCD president Hugh Brady, claiming they were given “less than 21 hours notice of the closure of the sports facility”, and as it stands “no one has come forward to take responsibility for Tuesday morning’s action, and there has been failure to fully brief on the health and safety issues which their grounds are based on”. I got an email too from Antoine Burke, one of UCD’s best athletes in the 1990s, who won the high jump silver medal at the 1994 World Junior Championships. Even though he’s now based in Sydney, he feels the pain of someone turning their back on decades of history centred around this extremely valuable facility. “‘Slippery when wet’ is an unbelievable claim for which to shut the doors of this facility,” says Burke. “To me, it’s like removing a cooker because it’s ‘dangerous when hot’. Try running that by Jamie Oliver. “Of course it’s slippery! It rains 350 days of the year in Ireland, and the UCD Sports Department has wilfully neglected it for years. This is lowest common denominator thinking at its worst. Fail to maintain a facility for years, then when it’s in disrepair, claim it’s a hazard and needs to be eliminated. “This attitude seriously undermines the intelligence of the sporting community who’ve valued the UCD track over the past 50 years.” I could go on here. Even one of my rival sportswriters encouraged me to start digging around (no pun intended, presumably ) , yet the truth and reality of this situation is staring everyone in the face. I spoke with Brian Mullins, UCD’s director of sport, on Tuesday. And after he suggested I was presenting him with “rumour and speculation”, he asked not to be quoted on any aspect of the matter – other than to confirm “the track is now closed”. So, the plan is to build a replacement six-lane track on the Clonskeagh end of the campus, where the majority of other sporting facilities are now positioned, although this is now “subject to funding”. And as Mullins also told me, “you know the economic situation of this country as well as anyone”. Indeed I do. So if the funding crisis should have eased sometime around 2060, why dig up the only running facility on campus in the meantime, especially when only minimal funding would have rendered it “healthy and safe”? There are so many nonsensical aspects to this sorry story that not even a stay of exc ution would provide a suitable antidote. And one of the saddest footnotes to it all is that Ciara Mageean, one of UCD’s latest athletic recruits, who originally turned down several high-profile scholarships in the US to study in Ireland, now finds herself without a running track on the campus. Indeed Mageean, who is just a couple of seconds off qualifying for the London Olympics over 1,500 metres, trained on the Belfield track last Monday evening, probably making her one of the last in the long line of Irish athletes to feel that old, tattered and yet beautifully historical and surprisingly fast tartan surface. “Don’t it always seem to go,” says Joni Mitchell, “that you don’t know what you’ve got ’til it’s gone. “They paved paradise, and put up a parking lot.” www.ucd.ie/sport/facilities_athleticstrack.htm This message has been edited - 29-nov-2011 @ 19:21
Corner Back (93 Posts)	Posted: 29-Nov-2011 19:13	Quote Edit Delete Report Post Post Reply
Corner Back (93 Posts)	Taylor the only outstanding candidate. Maybe Rob Heffernan might push for one if he has a good day in the walking. Is always up there. Missed the worlds this year as he was attending his mother`s funeral. I think Ryan the high jumper would be aiming to make the final and can`t see her challenging. We`ll have two or three showjumpers in it but the team failed to qualify. Surely this is our most underachieving sport with our equine heritage. The male boxers will all have a shout of medals and would be disappointed not to come home with one or two. Don`t know how the shooting guy from up around Monaghan who things didn`t go right for the last time is doing these days. Maybe the yachting lads might have a sniff. They are always mentioned as possible medal candidates but never seem to get close. Canoeist Eoin Rheinisch came fourth the last time. He`ll be back but will do well to match that performance. Can`t think of any other possibilities
gorgeous gus (63 Posts)	Posted: 08-Dec-2011 05:46	Quote Edit Delete Report Post Post Reply
gorgeous gus (63 Posts)	Annalise Murphy in the laser radial class in Sailing has qualified for the Olympics and is fancied for a medal,Grainne Murphy has also qualified for swimming but the swimmers overall have being disapointing this year and will have to improve a lot to even get to semi-finals!!
MC Bluntchief (444 Posts)	Posted: 08-Dec-2011 11:20	Quote Edit Delete Report Post Post Reply
MC Bluntchief (444 Posts)	If there was an Olympic event for a 100 mile Antarctic Run - this Galway man would win the Gold for us. The Brits are unlikely to have any interviews with `Ireland`s Ironman` - Richard O`Donovan on their TV news channels - as he has put the achievements of their Arctic and Antarctic explorers in the shade. ____________________ www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/breaking/2011/1207/breaking50.html _____________________ An ultramarathon runner has braved some of the coldest temperatures on the planet to set a new record running 160 km (100 miles ) in a day. Richard Donovan, from Galway, ran through wind-chill of minus 25 degrees, snow and ice on Antarctica for 24 hours 35 minutes and two seconds. It is the furthest distance anyone has ever covered on foot in a day on the frozen continent. Donovan suffered only minor injuries in the epic endurance test despite fears of severe frostbite and snow blindness. “I did feel one of my eyes freeze and I certainly had blurry vision for a short time, but nothing much came of it,” he said. “I thought I’d have a little snowblindness as my eyes were completely bloodshot at the finish, but nothing developed. “In fact, my lips and nose appear to be the only body parts showing the physical impact of the cold - they are swollen, scabbed and weather beaten, but will heal in a few days.” Speaking from the Chilean capital Santiago en route home, Donovan said the real pains did not kick in until 136km (85 miles ) into the race. “I actually felt very good until then when accumulated fatigue and a sore hip and knee bothered me, but that was to be expected,” he said. “I dragged my injured leg around over the remaining distance and felt remarkably well at the end of it.” Two other competitors in the Antarctic challenge were put on intravenous drips after the race. Donovan, who has run the length of Ireland in just over five days, dedicated his historic run last weekend to his brother Denis who died suddenly last year. The polar running expert, who organises both the North Pole and Antarctic Ice Marathons, was the first person in history to run 26 miles at both poles in 2002. Two years ago, he ran seven marathons on seven continents in a world record five days 10 hours and eight minutes. This message has been edited - 08-dec-2011 @ 11:33
Mannie (398 Posts)	Posted: 08-Dec-2011 12:31	Quote Edit Delete Report Post Post Reply
Mannie (398 Posts)	Grainne Murphy Swimming?
Arkle (1,357 Posts)	Posted: 08-Dec-2011 14:31	Quote Edit Delete Report Post Post Reply
Arkle (1,357 Posts)	Originally posted by gorgeous gus: I dont think anyone qualified for Showjumping! Ireland didn`t qualify as a team. However, there are two Irish riders ranked in the top 10 in the FEI SJ rankings, Denis Lynch and Billy Twomey. Both can compete as individuals as the top 30 individuals not already qualified as part of a team get to compete, and most of the top 50 in the rankings would already be part of a qualified team, so they shouldn`t have any trouble qualifying (unless a horse gets injured or some such ) . Both would be in with a shout at a medal, probably our best chances at any kind of Olympic medal.
Corner Back (93 Posts)	Posted: 08-Dec-2011 15:01	Quote Edit Delete Report Post Post Reply
Corner Back (93 Posts)	Originally posted by Arkle: , probably our best chances at any kind of Olympic medal. surely katie taylor is our best chance
Arkle (1,357 Posts)	Posted: 08-Dec-2011 15:05	Quote Edit Delete Report Post Post Reply
Arkle (1,357 Posts)	Didn`t realise that women`s boxing was an Olympic sport.
Corner Back (93 Posts)	Posted: 08-Dec-2011 15:26	Quote Edit Delete Report Post Post Reply
Corner Back (93 Posts)	it is from next year, just 3 weight divisions
jaorta (561 Posts)	Posted: 08-Dec-2011 16:40	Quote Edit Delete Report Post Post Reply
jaorta (561 Posts)	Originally posted by Corner Back: surely katie taylor is our best chance Katie Taylor is by far and away our best chance of a gold medal and if anyone deserves it, it is this model professional...
Paddy's Wigwam (127 Posts)	Posted: 08-Dec-2011 17:58	Quote Edit Delete Report Post Post Reply
Paddy's Wigwam (127 Posts)	Originally posted by gorgeous gus: Irelands Olympic medal chances London 2012 a few good belfast boys are rowing for team GB....
gorgeous gus (63 Posts)	Posted: 08-Dec-2011 19:23	Quote Edit Delete Report Post Post Reply
gorgeous gus (63 Posts)	Originally posted by Paddy`s Wigwam: a few good belfast boys are rowing for team GB.... We wont be shouting for them!!!
gorgeous gus (63 Posts)	Posted: 12-Dec-2011 07:41	Quote Edit Delete Report Post Post Reply
gorgeous gus (63 Posts)	Finnoula Britton won the European cross country yesterday,i dont think she is qualified for the Olympics,but what would be her Olympic distance.
Tom Graney (543 Posts)	Posted: 12-Dec-2011 08:48	Quote Edit Delete Report Post Post Reply
Tom Graney (543 Posts)	Originally posted by gorgeous gus: Finnoula Britton won the European cross country yesterday,i dont think she is qualified for the Olympics,but what would be her Olympic distance. 3000m steeplechase - Already qualified should make the final - and Good luck to her!!!!!
Columbanus (237 Posts)	Posted: 12-Dec-2011 09:41	Quote Edit Delete Report Post Post Reply
Columbanus (237 Posts)	Originally posted by Arkle: Ireland didn`t qualify as a team. However, there are two Irish riders ranked in the top 10 in the FEI SJ rankings, Denis Lynch and Billy Twomey. Both can compete as individuals as the top 30 individuals not already qualified as part of a team get to compete, and most of the top 50 in the rankings would already be part of a qualified team, so they shouldn`t have any trouble qualifying (unless a horse gets injured or some such ) . Both would be in with a shout at a medal, probably our best chances at any kind of Olympic medal. Why are horses allowed to enter the Olympics? Why not allow greyhound racing as well?
irishmagic (1,945 Posts)	Posted: 12-Dec-2011 11:20	Quote Edit Delete Report Post Post Reply
irishmagic (1,945 Posts)	Originally posted by Columbanus: Why are horses allowed to enter the Olympics? Why not allow greyhound racing as well? We would probably win the gold and then be stripped of the title because of a drug test which would detect the poitin which was rubbed into the winning dog
batter burger (1,950 Posts)	Posted: 12-Dec-2011 13:03	Quote Edit Delete Report Post Post Reply
batter burger (1,950 Posts)	Its an awful shame but i don`t think i could bring myself to watching Katie Taylor in action, perhaps in the olympic final i might make an exception.
farmerjohn (351 Posts)	Posted: 12-Dec-2011 16:40	Quote Edit Delete Report Post Post Reply
farmerjohn (351 Posts)	Womens triathlon in London should be wide open - with perhaps 6 to 7 women capable of winning it. Irelands Aileen Morrision has had a couple of podium finishes over the last year or two and has a decent chance of emulating that in London. Besides that the boxers are perhaps the only other hope
gorgeous gus (63 Posts)	Posted: 15-Dec-2011 08:40	Quote Edit Delete Report Post Post Reply
gorgeous gus (63 Posts)	Ryan Seaton and Matt McGovern have qualified in the 49er class in sailing!
Tom Graney (543 Posts)	Posted: 15-Dec-2011 09:05	Quote Edit Delete Report Post Post Reply
Tom Graney (543 Posts)	Originally posted by Tom Graney: 3000m steeplechase - Already qualified should make the final - and Good luck to her!!!!! Also going to try to get 5000m and/or 10,000m standard which will suit better - no hurdling for the wee girl and she is wee!
murraymarmalade (2,008 Posts)	Posted: 15-Dec-2011 13:53	Quote Edit Delete Report Post Post Reply
murraymarmalade (2,008 Posts)	Originally posted by Columbanus: Why are horses allowed to enter the Olympics? Why not allow greyhound racing as well? The horses could do well if we can keep them off the wacky baccy
gorgeous gus (63 Posts)	Posted: 13-Jan-2012 10:33	Quote Edit Delete Report Post Post Reply
gorgeous gus (63 Posts)	Some Behan lad has qualified for Gymnastics,is this a first for Ireland??
stones_off (2,815 Posts)	Posted: 13-Jan-2012 10:40	Quote Edit Delete Report Post Post Reply
stones_off (2,815 Posts)	Originally posted by Tom Graney: Also going to try to get 5000m and/or 10,000m standard which will suit better - no hurdling for the wee girl and she is wee! Why is there no cross country in the olympics. Seeing as they have a load of makey-uppy "sports" like indoor cycling.
An Carta Bui (277 Posts)	Posted: 13-Jan-2012 11:27	Quote Edit Delete Report Post Post Reply
An Carta Bui (277 Posts)	We are fairly pathetic when our only hope is a medal in women fighting. What cresibility has that "sport" in all honesty ?

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