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Perhaps it's just me but I am very disappointed that they don't show the medal ceremonies (unless a Brit is involved). It would be so much more entertaining than Gary Lineker andvformer Olympians wittering on about something. What would people think if the World Cup Final was played and then Lineker interviewed Bobby Charlton while the presentation was being made in the background? RTE are somewhat similar as well :(Quote:
Originally Posted by Real ale Madrid
Annalise is a demon in the breeze, she's insanely fit, but we've seen today she can struggle when it gets light. Still, it was very tricky conditions, patchy and shifty, lots of people up and down. Windy forecast for the next few days so if her confidence is still intact (and it should be), we can expect a lot more from her. Good to see an Irish sailor really competing at the top, it would be great to see Gerbil Owens do well in the 470 as well.Quote:
Originally Posted by Real ale Madrid
I hope some of you find this illustrated, educational article as revealing as I did!:drool:
http://uk.eurosport.yahoo.com/photos...ean-slideshow/
The source is fine, but some workplaces may find it a little nsfw.
I don't know, I've really enjoyed swimmers and rowers analysing cycling.Quote:
Originally Posted by OwlsFan
Laughable lack of comment on the hometown decision in last nights boxing.
Got another one today,lol - gotta love olympic boxing, you really never truly know who the hell has wonQuote:
Originally Posted by Macy
I think that Ireland suffers from not having a national obsession with a sport that's in the Olympics. If GAA was in there, or rugby, or horse racing, we'd have a lot more medals in the bank. Countries like Austria, for example, 14 of their medals have been in canoeing, which is unsurprising considering their topography. They also had 17 medals before Ireland was even an independent state.Quote:
Originally Posted by ramondo
But in the end it all comes down to money. Some of the set-ups they have in other countries are incredible, everything is joined up from the very bottom to produce top athletes, which is something we don't have. Personally, I think there should be free sports clubs available for every single child in the country, with as many sports as possible on offer, not just a choice between gaelic and hurling, with the possibility of football if you live in a city. The benefits would extend far, far beyond the Olympics.
Unfortunately, we had the money and the chance to invest in something like that, with a real, lasting, positive legacy for the country, and our Dear Leaders spunked it all away. Nice one lads.
The boxing has been a shambles so far. Incompetent judging and some of the refs have been a disgrace. Fingers crossed the Irish lads don't come across any Team GB boxers or they'll be going home.
Annalise recorded a 2nd and a 10th today, now lying in second overall 1 point behind Evi van Acker of Belgium, and 2 ahead of Marit Bouwmeester of the Netherlands, with two normal races tomorrow, and the double points medal race on Monday. Still in with every chance of getting a medal if it stays windy, but I think Bouwmeester and van Acker have the beating of her if the wind drops.
We have no facilities. Until that changes it is hard to see when this will change. Take cycling for example. We restrict our chances to only 8 of the possible 18 medals because we don't have a velodrome. Nor do we have a rowing lake, or a white water facility, and we only have 1 50 pool (with one under construction in Bangor). That leaves us with events like badminton and archery that are dominated by the far east, and events we just don't have the weather for.
Hard to see what chance we will have in 20 years time if the Chinese decide they want the boxing and sailing medals.
Would a running track fit in Croke Park? Is there any way we could get the European Championships?
Whilst an admirable ideal at its most basic, the notion that it is the taking part that counts is ingrained in our national sporting psyche.
Croke Park's pitch dimensions are 144.5 by 88 metres. As far as I can make out, 176.91 by 92.52 meters are required for an Olympic-standard running track, so not viable.Quote:
Originally Posted by backtowalsall
Really disappointed with the boxing. Adam Nolan was very close in the 1st 2 rounds of his fight but was judged to be well behind. The ref warned him, early, to punch correctly - when he did, and he was taken out of his stride. Some awful officiating and a couple of refs have been suspended I believe. Happy to believe that we'll get 3 medals from boxing.
Ireland will never be a world power in sports other than those which we're genetically and socially well aligned to - boxing and, well, boxing. We could do well in any sports but, as btw says - it's down to facilities.
Not trying to be facetious as I know the west African physique is well suited to short-distance sprinting whilst the east African physique is suited to long-distance running, but which are the sports to which we are more genetically-aligned?
Boxing seems to be the most likely in terms of medals. At a guess, I'd imagine that, whatever about genetics, out cultural heritage (maintained by disgracefully low funding of sport) is towards sports that require power and physicality, rather than finesse and precision, perhaps because the latter generally require expensive personal equipment and infrastructure whereas the former only need a pair of gloves, a ball, a flat field, etc.
One reason why we don't have a fencing history for instance (last Irish olympian was in 1992) is that we never had a royal court. The powers in world fencing were traditionally Italy, Germany, Russia, Hungary, France and Spain, who did. But the rules for pistol duelling are called the Tipperary Rules - the power of the bullet versus the precision of the point, I suppose.
Poetry (Oliver St John Gogarty, 1924) and art (Jack B Yeats, 1928) were areas where we might have won a few more medals, but they were discontinued!
So a Bangor swimmer might medal like a Maghera cyclist or Coleraine rowers?Quote:
Originally Posted by backtowalsall
Genetically there is no advantages for boxing - it's down to weights. If you look at weightlifting it's got alot to do with physical structure (genetics) and a heap of "help". Same with sprinting, long distance running etc. I think we just need to get our drugs right, though I think I'd rather stoners on our streets than masculine chicks and steroid freaks.Quote:
Originally Posted by DannyInvincible
I know your probably hoping for someone to rise to the bait, but it won't be me. I am absolutely delighted for Alan Campbell and the Chambers brothers. The Maghera cyclist didn't win anything as there is no medal for first reserve on a cycling team.Quote:
Originally Posted by Gather round
But here's the thing. The Coleraine rowers and Maghera cyclist live in London, Maidenhead and Cornwall. How many medals would be coming back to Ireland (whatever colours the athletes are togged out in) if our best chance wasn't relying on people who have emigrated to places with proper facilities?
Annalise came 3rd and 7th today and is down to third overrall before the medal race on monday.Quote:
Originally Posted by peadar1987
It's really close.
Dutch girl first on 33 points
Chinese girl second on 33
Annalise third on 34
Belgian girl fourth on 34.
It's between those 4.
I work out that if annalise wins the medal race she gets gold
If she comes second she is guaranteed silver at least.
If she finishes ahead of one of the above 3 sailors she will get a medal. The other 3 have been more consistent in the last few days. for example they finished 1-2-3 in the last race while Annalise dropped from 3rd to 7th.
On the other hand she seems to be better in the first race of the day so a once off medal race might suit her.
Anyone else think she is nailed on for fourth?:mad:
The top 4 girls are all within a point of each other, and the medal race is worth double points, can't be discarded, and is also used as the tiebreaker if points are level at the end of the series, so essentially, the order the girls finish in the medal race is the order they finish in the overall standings.Quote:
Originally Posted by paudie
Annalise just goes better in the breeze, she's had her poorer results in the more technical, tactical stuff, by and large. If we're being honest, van Acker, Bouwmeester, and the Chinese girl are all probably better sailors on a technical and tactical level than her, she's just very tall and very fit, which gives her the edge when things get a little hairy. And the forecast for the medal race? Not particularly breezy.
Heart says silver, head says a still-very-impressive 4th place. If she hadn't taken 4 bullets in the opening 4 races, we'd be jumping for joy at the thought of a 4th place.
btw, this is the nub of it and also a practical solution. An Irish solution to an Irish problem - export them!Quote:
Originally Posted by backtowalsall
1. How much would it cost to build and maintain a world class velodrome? What chances are that it will result in dozens (or even half a dozen) world class track racers?
2. How much would it cost to build a rowing lake? And as above but rowers in for racers.
It is cheaper and more efficient to send them abroad. In many cases we don't have the brainpower to develop the athletes at home. Plus, if an athlete really wants to make the breakthrough, they'll go for it somewhere else. Support them, facilitate them, educate them and organise their careers, but make sure they know where they're from and tie them up with a contract.
Handwringing and whinging from pundits is largely self-serving nest feathering. Track and field athletes go abroad in winter for warm weather training, regardless of indoor facilities available to them - yet I heard the 3 talking heads on RTE complain that they "have to" go in the winter. What do we do, effect a weather changing machine? Others I heard complaining that the facilities "just aren't there", there's a reason. In your tiny sport there isn't the critical mass to invest tens of millions to build something to keep YOU in a job!
I know I'm being as much of a whinger as the nodding dogs on tv and in the media, but please spare the the madness that we hear once in four about "facilities". If it was just that then Ireland would be a world class tennis power........
I was watching Team GB and South Korea last night in the football and noticed that Giggs started the run-up for his penalty from outside the 'D'. For some reason, I'd always thought the 'D' was a marker within which the penalty-taker's run-up was to be confined and assumed that Giggs had gotten away with scoring a foul penalty. I had a further read around the purpose of the 'D' though and it appears that this may not be the case. In fact, from what I can make out, it marks an exclusion zone for other players, in order to keep them outside of the box and arc as a penalty is being taken, rather than to keep the taker inside. It seems the taker can start his run-up from wherever on the pitch he likes. Can anyone confirm this to be the case?
Also, if Ramsey had started his run-up from outside the 'D' for one of his penalties during the game, would an opposing player have been within his rights to stand in the path of Ramsey's run-up, just so long as he was interfering outside of the box and the 'D'? And does it mean that two players could theoretically begin a run-up towards the ball on the penalty spot from outside the 'D' in order to confuse the keeper with only one following on through into the 'D' and box to take the kick?
But just how pivotal were the facilities at home to their achievements?Quote:
Originally Posted by Gather round
Had read that alright; she's better in windier conditions due to her weight and strength. Unlikely she'll take the gold then if the forecast is calm.Quote:
Originally Posted by peadar1987