The 2008 Pre-Olympics thread

So the Olympic games in Beijing are only a couple of months away I’d thought I’d start a thread that hopefully will lead up to an Irish medal or two. Realistically there aren’t too many medal hopes but anyway, here are the athletes/sports that have already qualified.

QUALIFIERS AS AT 18 June

Athletics
Male
100m, 200m – Paul Hession
400m – David Gillick
1,500, 5,000m, 10,000m – Alistair Cragg (will choose event(s) at a later date)
Marathon – Martin Fagan
20K walk – Robert Heffernan
50K walk – Jamie Costin
20k/50K walk - Colin Griffen (will choose event at a later date)

Female
100mH – Derval O’Rourke
400m – Joanne Cuddihy
3,000m SC – Roisin McGettigan, Fionnula Britton
20K Walk – Olive Loughnan
Hammer – Eileen O’Keefe

Badminton
Mens Indicidual - Scott Evans
Womens Individual - Chloe Magee

Boxing
Light Flyweight – Paddy Barnes
Bantamweight – John Joe Nevin
Light Welterweight - John Joe Joyce
Middleweight - Darren Sutherland
Light Heavyweight - Ken Egan

Canoeing
K1 Slalom – Eoin Rheinisch

Cycling
Men’s Road Race – 2 places
Men’s Mountain Bike – Robin Seymour
Men's Track Individual Pursuit - David O’Loughlin

Fencing
Women's Sabre - Siobhan Byrne

Rowing
Mens heavyweight 4 – team TBD
Mens Lightweight 4 - team TBD

Sailing
Mens 470 – Gerald Owens, Philip Lawton
Mens Keelboat Star - Max Treacy, Anthony Shanks
Women's One Person Dinghy - Laser Radial - Ciara Peelo
Open Finn – Tim Goodbody


Shooting
Men’s Trap – Derek Burnett

Swimming
Breastroke events – Andrew Bree

Triathlon
Emma Davis

Badminton
Mens singles- Scott Evans
Womens singles- Chloe Magee

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Originally Posted by DmanDmythDledge

Badminton
Mens singles- Scott Evans
Womens singles- Chloe Magee

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Not confirmed yet. Evans should be soon. Magee was listed as a reserve in the last rankings

Won't be confirmed officially until May 1. Magee is 76 in world rankings so very close to the cut off- hasn't played many tournaments lately though which has pushed her outside the qualifying. Both are very young (Evans 20, Magee 18) and both hope to be pushing for a medal in 2012.

Hammer – Eileen O’Keefe
I've been hearing great things about Eileen, she's quite hotly tipped for a medal
she took silver in the WUG last year

I was only talking about this to a friend the other day.
With athletics highly under the microscope currently, any Irish athlete who reaches the finals of their event should be lauded. I really used to love watching international athletics up to the Sydney games but find it hard to have faith in it at all now. I'd believe that the vast majority of our athletes to be clean, so I'd be delighted to see any make the final of their event and anything after is a bonus.

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Originally Posted by Kingdom

I'd believe that the vast majority of our athletes to be clean, so I'd be delighted to see any make the final of their event and anything after is a bonus.

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Making a final would be success. I would expect athletes to get close to or beat PB to justify Olympic place. Can see few if any medal chances (boxers if get good draw) but that is what attracts the publics attention. Unless athlete has chance of getting close to final maybe he/she should not at the Olympics?

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Originally Posted by pete

Making a final would be success. I would expect athletes to get close to or beat PB to justify Olympic place. Can see few if any medal chances (boxers if get good draw) but that is what attracts the publics attention. Unless athlete has chance of getting close to final maybe he/she should not at the Olympics?

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Think its just reward for any swimmer/boxer/whatver if they give up their life for their sport and represent their country. I absolutely despise armshari critics (who are usually no good at anything, saying that an athlete that ranks 30th in the world is a disgrace and shouldn't be in the olympics). Imagine if we a footballer who's 30th best in the world? We've one golfer in top 30 in world and about 10 of then would be well known.


And this isn't a reply to you Pete, just a mini rant

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Originally Posted by Dodge

And this isn't a reply to you Pete, just a mini rant

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I know that. I think some sort of policy has been implemented in recent years where we don't send kids to the Olympics until they have proven themselves at "lower" championships. Compared to what is spent on some four legged sports its is fairly insignificant cost to sent athlete to the Olympics anyway.

While I was in america in January, I met a lovely girl in a bar, who turns out has 2 Irish parents. She's a marathon runner who ran 2:43 in her first and only marathon. She's qualified for the US olympic trials, but is unlikely to make their team for Beijing. I tried to convince her to run for Ireland, but she said she'll stay with America and hopefully make the olympics in 2012 or 2016. Michelle Gallagher's her name. One to keep an eye out for. Can't find anything on the net bout what time she'd have to run to qualify for Beijing for Ireland.

Oh yeah, she's pretty cute too :)
http://iona.facebook.com/photo.php?p...0#pid=30388444

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Originally Posted by pete

I know that. I think some sort of policy has been implemented in recent years where we don't send kids to the Olympics until they have proven themselves at "lower" championships

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No, we send pretty much anmyone who qualifies

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Originally Posted by Dodge

No, we send pretty much anyone who qualifies

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I thought they were putting younger athletes into Europeans & such before exposing to the Olympics?

Bad policy so. Pointless seeing sprinter eliminated in round 1 as bad for public image.

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Originally Posted by pete

I thought they were putting younger athletes into Europeans & such before exposing to the Olympics?

Bad policy so. Pointless seeing sprinter eliminated in round 1 as bad for public image.

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the standards are very very high though. We'll have 15 athletes max, and all are there on merit.

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Originally Posted by pete

Bad policy so. Pointless seeing sprinter eliminated in round 1 as bad for public image.

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Is it not worse for public image to have nobody representing us at all?

I don't really get the Olympics

I know the standard is high for Olympics athletics but I just think is bad PR to see someone lose badly in the first round.

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Originally Posted by Seagull-4-life

I don't really get the Olympics

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It is a big competition held every 4 years with the majority of sports represented e.g. Athletics, Swimming etc... There is a summer version & also a Winter one for snow & ice based sports.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by pete

I know the standard is high for Olympics athletics but I just think is bad PR to see someone lose badly in the first round.



It is a big competition held every 4 years with the majority of sports represented e.g. Athletics, Swimming etc... There is a summer version & also a Winter one for snow & ice based sports.

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Off the back of this slightly facetious reply, I remember some discussion recently that due to the falling popularity of the Winter Games and the rising scale of the Summer Games they wanted to change the Winter ones to be the Winter and Indoor Games. The idea was that Gymnastics, Table tennis etc would be added to the Winter Games to give them more global appeal (and probably to make room for Golf/Cricket/Rugby etc in the Summer Games). Not sure if anything is coming out of this.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by pete

I know the standard is high for Olympics athletics but I just think is bad PR to see someone lose badly in the first round.

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Lots of countries get "token" places in varios sports so in athletics, for example, its unlikely our athletes will "llose badly in the first round". Unlike some countries we only accept athletes with the A stnadard. Under IOC rules if we have no athletes with the A standard, we can enter one athlete in each event with the B standard. We choose not to use this.

Robin Seymour confirmed as our Mountain Bike cross country entry

david O'Loughlin finished 6th in the Individual Pursuit at the Track Cycling World Championships last week and now looks like being selected. if he keeps his rate of improvement up he's a genuine medal chance

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