Irelands most likely Olympic 2012 Medals

Irish pentathlete Natalya Coyle suffered a slight setback to her Olympic qualifying campaign, narrowly missing out on qualifying for this weekend's final of the World Cup leg in Budapest by one place. She finished in 13th, just outside the top 12 qualifying positions having slipped down from 9th place on the combined shoot/run phase. It doesn't hamper her Olympic chances too much but it will make the task of qualification a little more uncertain. Lots more chances yet for her to get back on track and I would still be very confident of her achieving qualification by the completion of the qualifying process.
Arthur Lanigan-O'Keeffe, our other big Olympic hope is in action in men's qualifying tomorrow along with Eanna Bailey.

Truman Burbank wrote: »

I didn't think they had to run the standard again; I didn't know what they had to do, in terms of assessment..........like 10ks........whatever....... to remain competitive so to speak. Will indeed know soon. Thanks. Here's something on TEAM GB selection from Steve Cram.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/olympics/17666490

Sorry, I know you didn't think that, I was addressing the point made in the article in the Independent where they mention about running the standard again. It's tough to analyse form for the marathon, usually half marathons can give some indication of an athlete's condition but at the end of the day the marathon is a whole different beast.

Here is a link to a post-race interview with Arthur:

"What has been agreed in advance, and may well need execution, is the Athletics Ireland selection document whereby if more than three athletes attain the A-standard in the one event, selection will be based firstly on quality and consistency of performances 2011 and 2012; secondly, on statistical data (ranking/performance lists, etc); and thirdly, on history of performances at previous championships."

http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/sport/2012/0414/1224314731419.html?via=othersport

Truman Burbank wrote: »

"What has been agreed in advance, and may well need execution, is the Athletics Ireland selection document whereby if more than three athletes attain the A-standard in the one event, selection will be based firstly on quality and consistency of performances 2011 and 2012; secondly, on statistical data (ranking/performance lists, etc); and thirdly, on history of performances at previous championships."

http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/sport/2012/0414/1224314731419.html?via=othersport

This is now in play as Catriona Jennings got the Marathon A standard in the marathon. First time a (fit) Irish person won't be selected for the Olympics having obained the A standard

One of Jennings, Maria McCambridge, Linda Byrne and Ava Hutchinson won't go

feargale wrote: »

What happened or what is happening to Eoin Rheinisch?

Eoin is still on the qualification trail. He has recently qualified from the Irish trials to take part at the Olympic qualifier alongside Ciaran Hurteau and Sam Curtis. Eoin has one remaining chance to qualify for London 2012, this will be at the European Championships in Augsburg 11th-15th May.
The top 2 finishers from those countries who have not already qualified for the Olympics will qualify a boat for London. On that basis Ireland are in with a very good shout for one of those two remaining berths as Ciaran almost qualified at the Worlds last year and most of the top nations have already booked their Olympic places.
The Irish women's K-1 slalom kayakers are in a similar situation and Hannah Craig should be in with a decent shout of claiming one of the 2 qualifying berths.

Joe Ward has got off to a great start at the Olympic boxing qualifying tournament in Trabzon Turkey, beating Katende of Sweden easily on a 16-6 scoreline. Positive start.

feargale wrote: »

I can get no info on Hickey's or Nolan's first round opponents.

Bios here

http://www.aiba.org/documents/site1/Olympics/2012London/2012%20AIBA%20European%20Olympic%20Qualifying%20Event%20-%20Athletes%20Biographies.pdf

Route to Olympics

Barnes
v Hungary
v Romania/Belarus

Joyce
v Wales
v Denmark/Germany
v Lithuania/Slovakia/Poland

Hickey
v Moldova
v Latvia
v Turkey/Croaita/Serbia/Czexh
Final

Nolan
v Poland
v Azerbaijan/Bulgaria
v Bosnia/Georgia/Romania/Cyprus

Ward
v Sweden - won
v Turkey
v Italy/Latvia
v Belarus/Slovenia/Greece/Finlnd

McCarthy
v Bosnia
v Hungary
v Turkey/Iceland/Moldova/Germany
Finland

I can get no info on the other Irish boxers' opponents, except that Ross Hickey's Moldovan opponent, Galagot, was one of 8 Moldovans at the 2011 Europeans. I dont know how he fared, but I found a page that expressed high hopes in advance for 5 of the Moldovans, and he wasn't one of them. However, Moldovan boxing isn't bad.
Incidentally, I see that Britain has three 60kg. contenders in Trabzon, representing England, Scotland and Wales, and also multiples at other weights. Maybe we should have four, from Munster, Leinster, Ulster and Connacht !

Hickey well beaten. Shame as himself and Moylette have been excellent at this weight for a number of years

Nolan won 14:9 (despite being knocked down in the 3rd). He faces a young lad from Azerbaijan in the next round. Now 2 wins away from London

It's a huge blow and now we've lost Con Sheehan too. Both to host country boxers I think.

In terms of the original title of this thread - genuine medal hopes as opposed to qualifiers - today has been a dreadful day, with Ross Hickey going out as well.

Ward's failure to qualify is a massive blow, he is European champion and recently thwarted the Russian no.1, 2009 world champion and 2-time European gold medalist at the Chemistry Cup in Germany. He was given the best technical boxer award at the champs across all weight categories. Possibly our second best medal hope for the Olympics has just been eliminated. That shock defeat to the Iranian boxer at the worlds in Baku last year has proven very costly.

Truman Burbank wrote: »

Can yesterday's decision be appealed?
Or it it like the Chelsea non-goal?

I'm reading a lot of speculation regarding the possibility of a wildcard place invite to London 2012 but it's a real long shot to be honest. Unfortunately his chances have all but evaporated and with it a big medal chance for Ireland. We're having a terrible qualifying campaign across a range of sports when you take into consideration that another big medal opportunity in the team showjumping has gone to the wall due to failure to qualify a team for the Olympics. The hockey teams suffered heartache at the ultimate stage of qualification and we have struggled to get a quota of three-day eventing qualifiers to make a team, although we eventually secured the minimum of 3 combinations needed to enter the team competition.
It looks highly unlikely that we will qualify any boats for the rowing events and so far only 2 swimmers have achieved the (very difficult) Olympic qualifying times. We have had some welcome success stories such as Kieran Behan in gymnastics and our triathlon and modern pentathlon competitors look well on track for qualification but unfortunately a lot of our big medal hopes a year or two out from the Games have since faltered and it seems our medal potential for London 2012 has drastically been downgraded over the last year. Here's hoping the rest of the boxers can turn our fortunes around.

04072511 wrote: »

Think you are being a bit negative here:

The rowers haven't been at the races for a long time now. Nothing was expected of them. The showjumpers have never performed in the Olympics (CO'C excluded). It's gutting for the hockey teams but they would have been also rans in the Olympics. With regards medal hopes we haven't lost too many. Joe Ward is one, but we'll probably have 5-6 boxers in London, and one has to ask the question, why did Ward let it come down to a final qualification competition. He should have safely secured his passage to London long ago. For this reason I'm not convinced he was the guaranteed medal that many people have been proclaiming.

In reality our medals will come from the boxers, with the possibility of Rob Heffernan in the 50k and our sailors also. Grainne Murphy and Aileen Morrison are not strong medal contenders to be honest (hope I'm wrong). I don't think we are in much worse a situation than we were last year: We'll have a lot of boxers, the sailors are going well, and Rob is going nicely.

All this talk of 6-7 medals earlier in this thread is absurd. I'd be delighted with 3.

You start your post by saying I'm being too negative and then continue the entire post with almost all negative points regarding the Irish team calling the majority no-hopers.

To be fair, thats nonsense you're talking about Joe Ward, he was most certainly a medal hope, a big big medal hope. He was awarded the best boxer at the Chemistry Cup in Germany across all weights less than a month ago and to any following that tournament, you would know the calibre of boxers there. He beat the 2009 Russian World Champ and possibly one of the best in the world in the final.
He has been dumped out by dodgy judging decisions.
And to say he shouldn't have left qualification to the last minute is a bit of a joke, the boxers only had 2 chances and the first came at the World Championships last year and this was his only other opportunity.

And you also completely dismiss our showjumpers, I think you're the one being pretty negative. It was indeed a big blow that the showjumping team missed out on London, a medal chance lost.

I'm still positive about Ireland picking up a few medals in London, I'm just remarking that it was unfortunate that some of our hopefuls won't make it there.

04072511 wrote: »

Ah now. I'm certainly not all about the medals. I'm interested in seeing as many Irish as possible in London competing well. Success isn't measured just in gold, silver and bronze. I just remarked that of those that you mentioned, Joe Ward was the only genuine medal hope we lost out on.

It is precisely the fact that I am not all about the medals that I was disappointed. The hockey team and the others were not medal contenders, I never said they were but I am disappointed that they have not made London. I'm still positive about our chances but of course it's sad to see some of our athletes miss out. I'm going to write up a review of our Olympians now with just 100 days to go. Still plenty of positives don't worry.

Dan man wrote: »

I'm reading a lot of speculation regarding the possibility of a wildcard place invite to London 2012 but it's a real long shot to be honest. Unfortunately his chances have all but evaporated and with it a big medal chance for Ireland. We're having a terrible qualifying campaign across a range of sports when you take into consideration that another big medal opportunity in the team showjumping has gone to the wall due to failure to qualify a team for the Olympics. The hockey teams suffered heartache at the ultimate stage of qualification and we have struggled to get a quota of three-day eventing qualifiers to make a team, although we eventually secured the minimum of 3 combinations needed to enter the team competition.
It looks highly unlikely that we will qualify any boats for the rowing events and so far only 2 swimmers have achieved the (very difficult) Olympic qualifying times. We have had some welcome success stories such as Kieran Behan in gymnastics and our triathlon and modern pentathlon competitors look well on track for qualification but unfortunately a lot of our big medal hopes a year or two out from the Games have since faltered and it seems our medal potential for London 2012 has drastically been downgraded over the last year. Here's hoping the rest of the boxers can turn our fortunes around.

Thank you. This thread could be fiction such are the highs and lows. I can only feel an ounce of their pain, it must come down on them like a ton of bricks to get to that final hurdle and smash right into it. This thread rightly recognises their achievements, whether or not they get over that hurdle or not, and whether on not they get on that podium (despite the thread title).

Heard Des Donnelly (Irish Boxing Team Manager) on Morning Ireland talking about the possibility of a 'wild card', as you mentioned, and the shock of it all per se, plus the commiserations from other nations. They would know in 5-6 weeks. So, since when were there 'wild cards'? Has The IOC always had these up their sleeve and for what? 'Natural justice'? Is there documented eligibility criteria? What sports??

Have heard so many commentators saying cos he's only 18, there's always next time. This is a tad disingenuous, not purposely, but he doesn't care right now about 2016, he's worked his ass off. When you're 18, a year is one 18th of your life, even the summers seem long. Sure, this could happen on 'The Road to Rio' too. It's soul-destroying for him,damaging to the sport and disconcerting for current, and up and coming, squad members.

With just 100 days to go now it's time to look at how things are shaping up for Team Ireland.

Athletics:
Qualified
The Irish athletes have been performing very well throughout the qualifying window and to date 16 qualifiers have made London. However, one of those 16 will miss out due to the situation in the women's marathon whereby 4 runners have achieved the qualifying standard but the maximum quota for that event is 3.

Derval O'Rourke (100m Hurdles)
It's difficult to judge Derval's form as she has had a few little niggles throughout the winter preventing her from getting into a good rhythm over the sticks in the indoor season. From reading her blog and listening to some interview I gather that she has been training really well and that she is more than happy with this aspect of her running.
Hopefully she can stay injury-free throughout the period from now and London and if her great championship pedigree does not desert her then she could still be a possible Olympic finalist. She will likely compete at the Europeans in Helsinki this June in order to warm-up for the Olympics.

Fionnuala Britton (3,000m Steeplechase)
Having qualified last season for the Olympics over the 3,000m steeplechase, Fionnuala and her coach decided after her wonderful cross-country victory at the European Championships that her most potential for London and beyond lies in the longer distances. Therefore Fionnuala is targeting qualification in both the 5,000m and 10,000m and as she is not very experienced in running these distances competitively it is difficult to analyse her chances. She achieved the B-standard for the 5,000m in the U.S last month and should have no problem upgrading to the A-time pretty soon. The 10,000m A-standard is quite hard with only 20 or so athletes worldwide having achieved that mark so far. Fionnuala should get close though and in London should she qualify for both distances should acquit herself quite well. We're not talking about medals for Fionnuala this year but a top 10 is a possibility and that in itself would be a fantastic achievement.

Stephanie Reilly (3,000m Steeplechase)
Stephanie achieved the A-standard for the steeplechase last season and went on to compete at the worlds where she failed to qualify from the heats. With 15 or so places in the final up for grabs it is not beyond her to sneak into the final in London. Hopefully her lead-up to the Olympics goes well and if she can beat her best time from last year then she just might get near those qualification positions for the final.

Deirdre Ryan (High Jump)
Our top field eventer typically does not compete on the indoor circuit during the winter and she didn't break with tradition this year either, opting instead to continue her training at her base in Germany. Deirdre really performed out of her skin at the World Championships in Daegu last year, jumping a new Irish record and with it a 6th place finish on the big stage. Her new Irish record of 1.95m would be enough to grace almost any major final but she still has a bit further to go (generally around 2.00m) to be a contender for a podium finish.
I think it would be asking a lot of Deirdre to get on the podium in London, I would be really happy to see her in the final and like in Daegu, who knows what she can achieve then.

Tori Pena (Pole Vault)
Born in California, Tori qualifies to for Irish nationality through her maternal grandmother who was from Derry, and she has been competing for Ireland since 2010. She has re-written the Irish record numbers a few times since then and with it sealed the 4.50m qualification mark necessary to compete in London. It is unlikely that Tori can go beyond the qualifying stages at the Olympics but if she can set an Irish record there it would be a good result.

Linda Byrne, Ava Hutchinson, Maria McCambridge, Caitriona Jennings (Marathon)
A wonderful situation for fans of the sport whereby Ireland has more than the full quota of qualifiers for the marathon but it will be sorry to see one of these girls miss out on an Olympics having worked so hard to achieve the standard. Linda was the first to get the qualifying time when she became national champion in Dublin last autumn. She is also the youngest of the four so she is almost a certainty for a starting place in London barring injury.
Ava Hutchinson then made the time in Houston, Texas in January followed by Maria in Rome a few weeks later and now Caitriona Jennings in Rotterdam last weekend. Too difficult to call who will get the other 2 spots but in terms of how our marathon runners will do in London well they won't set the streets of London alight with a fast time but they should do alright. A top 40 placing for any of the girls would be quite good.

Olive Loughnane (20km Walk)
A world silver medallist from the World Championships in Berlin 2009 and 7th place finisher at the last Olympics in Beijing, Olive is a formidable performer when she is at her best. Sadly, Olive has not been on top form since that silver medal in 2009 and a DNF (did not finish) at the recent Race Walking Grand Prix in Rio Maior, Portugal has not changed her fortunes for the better. There is still time for her to pull it out of the bag but I think it might be too optimistic at this stage to look for any silverware for her in London. Still capable of a top 10 though if she can re-capture a little of her old-self.

Paul Hession (200m)
"Hesh" as he is often referred to by Irish fans, has been talking up his chances over the winter and with a move back home to Ireland, from his previous base in Scotland, he believes that he can still make an Olympic final, having missed out by one place in Beijing 4 years ago. His Irish record of 20.30 secs has not been threatened for quite some time and he will need to re-write those figures if he is to get to the final (top 8) in London. I think a place in the semis is a more realistic target and would be nice to see him get close to his Irish record in the process.

Ciaran O'Lionaird (1,500m)
If some of the other Irish athletes are hard to judge in terms of Olympic prospects, then Ciaran O'Lionaird is a bit of an enigma. He came out of nowhere last year to reach the World final and finish a magnificent 10th and completely changed his training regime where he now trains under the tutelage over world-acclaimed coach Alberto Salazar and alongside Mo Farah (world 5,000m champ) and top Americans such as Galen Rupp and Dathan Ritzenhein. His indoor form was terrific and he ran a lightning fast indoor mile just before the World Indoors in Istanbul. There he was way out of sorts, trailing in well behind the field in his heat and a big shock to the system. At his best (whatever his best is!) he is a potential Olympic finalist and has been exciting athletics fans over the last few months in terms of his huge Olympic potential. I wouldn't be putting him in the medal frame but who knows how he'll do, as I say, he's a bit of an enigma.

Alistair Cragg (5,000m)
One has always got to seek caution when appraising Alistair Cragg's chances but after all he has already achieved 2 Olympic finals over the 5k and is in sparkling form of late, most recently setting a new European record for 5k on the roads. He has said he wishes to target qualification in the 10,000m also after his marathon campaign didn't get off the ground. In the 5,000m he is again capable of making the final which would be magnificent. How many athletes can say they have reached 3 Olympic finals?

Robert Heffernan (20km/50km Walk)
Rob, despite his slender frame, is certainly the heavyweight performer of Irish athletics. He is a serious medal hope for the Olympics over the longer 50km distance where his potential is still vastly unexplored. He intends to go for a double and he is definitely a top 10 20km performer but his medal chances lie mainly in the 50k. Just hope that the tight turnover between events doesn't harm his chances too much as the 20km comes some 7 days before the 50km final, perhaps not ideal but he knows what it entails having tried both events at the European Championships in 2010, placing an incredible 4th in both on a 6-day turnaround between races.
All Irish fans need to keep track of Rob as he is one of our best chances but it will still be hard for him to get on the podium given how some of his rivals have been performing recently.


Brendan Boyce (50km Walk)
Young Brendan Boyce could be a big player in the future in this event but the fact that he has qualified for London (having achieved the time on 2 occassions) is testament enough to his future potential. He is still in the early stages of his walking career when you consider he is in his mid-20s and some top race walkers don't peak until mid-30s. It would be great to see him get inside the top 40 in London.

Mark Kenneally (Marathon)
Mark looks like he will be the sole Irish representative in the men's marathon and will be looking to get near to his best time at the Olympics. A top 50 placing would be a good result in an event dominated by the East Africans.

Not yet qualified
Joanne Cuddihy (400m)
Blighted by injury in the lead-up to Beijing, Joanne was unable to do her huge talent any justice at the last Olympics. She has struggled since to re-gain her form and has not got anywhere near her Irish record in the last few years. There is great hope though that this season she is returning to her best. Her early season form has been very encouraging and already she is knocking on the door of the A-standard time. On that basis by the time the summer gets into the swing of things, not only should she get the A-time but she could even challenge her Irish record with continued improvement. In such form she is easily a semi-finalist in London and her Irish record would not be too far behind what would be needed for a place in the Olympic final.

Women's 4x400m relay
The Irish team lies in 12th place in the world rankings with the top 16 going to the Olympics when the qualifying window closes in June. The ranking is based on the aggregate of the 2 best times from the last 2 seasons and the 12th place finish in the World Championships last year where they broke the Irish record has put them in a very strong position.
With Joanne's continued improvement and Marian Heffernan's (wife of walker Robert Heffernan) big push to improve this year, the Irish team may make the final.

David Gillick (400m)
There is still a real possibility that Gillick won't feature in London. His 2011 season was a write-off due to injury and he is in a race against time to get the tough A-standard time of 45.30secs, a time that at his best he has beaten frequently. He is gearing up for his season by running a few early races in America before a long summer on the European racing circuit.
I am hopeful that he will make London and if at his very best is a potential finalist. Really hard to know yet though how it will pan out for him.

Jason Smyth (100m)
Paralympic Champion in Beijing over 100m/200m, Jason has achieved the B-standard for the London Olympics. Training alongside top sprinters such as Tyson Gay in Florida is paying dividends for Smyth and we could well see him in an unprecedented Olympic/Paralympic double. Should he make the Olympic team he would be automatically into the first round proper (by-passing the qualifying round) and one good race could see him into the semi-finals, although a little unlikely.

Swimming:
Qualified
Grainne Murphy (200m Free, 400m Free, 800m Free, 200m IM, 400m IM)
Grainne's best event on the Olympic programme is undoubtedly the 800m freestyle and is an event where she can genuinely hope to achieve a place in the final. Despite a training camp alonside the World Champion Lotte Friis of Denmark which has helped to focus her preparations it would be a little too optimistic to be hoping for medals. Rio 2016 should be her big chance.

Barry Murphy (100m Breastroke, 50m Freestyle)
Has swam a very decent time in the 100m breastroke but has faltered at big championships. He could certainly make the semi-finals in that event but anything beyond that would be a pleasant surprise.

Not yet Qualified
Sycerika McMahon
This young girl from Northern Ireland is a huge potential going forward. She has achieved the Olympic selection time (effectively like a B-standard) in a number of events and may be part of the relay team should they qualify. London will be too early but even now she could sneak into a semi-final given the fact that she is constantly improving meet on meet. Rio 2016 will be her big time.

Women's 4x200m Freestyle
The Irish team narrowly missed out on a qualifying spot at last year's World Championships (top 12) but there are still 4 places up for grabs for the 4 non-qualified teams with the fastest times on the world rankings. Ireland are up there and I fancy that they will make the Olympics.

Equestrian:
Showjumping
Only two individuals will represent Ireland in London this year but at least we should have big hopes for their chances. It is widely accepted that if they keep in the kind of form that saw them shoot up the world rankings last year that Denis Lynch and Billy Twomey will likely be the 2 riders to go to London. Both have won big big events on the world stage and should be in the mix. The negative is that Ireland traditionally under-perform at the Championship events and no Olympic medals to date highlights this problem.

Three-Day Eventing
Ireland has secured the mininum of 3 combinations needed to enter the team competition and if they can get another 2 combinations (as is thought possible due to other riders withdrawing) it would help bolster the team and a top 8 minimum is achievable. We also have combinations capable of an individual top 20 and on the day anything can happen.

Triathlon:
Qualified
Aileen Morrison
This woman has what it takes to compete with the world's best and a top 10 placing in London is achieveable. On the day she could actually go better than this but given the small margins separating those at the top of this sport she could also finish well outside of the top 10.
She was 28th at last weekend's World Series event in Sydney but that does not do justice to how well she performed. She was exceptional on the swim and on the bike and dropped back on the run but she says that she is close to getting it right. Usually she is weaker on the swim but she actually exited the water 4th in Sydney so it is all about her getting the balance right for London. One to watch certainly.

Not yet Qualified
Gavin Noble
Gavin finished 35th in Sydney last weekend and is on the verge of qualification via the Olympic ranking process. He is capable of doing very well on a good day, top 15 is even achievable. But anywhere near top 20 would be a respectable performance for Gavin.

Cycling:
Road Race
Ireland has secured 3 riders for the men's road race event and with riders of the calibre of Nicholas Roche, Dan Martin, Matt Brammeier and Philip Deignan, then we can expect to be in the mix. The Olympic road race is often a bit of a lottery but it is very hard to get into the medals. Not sure the course suits Dan Martin so I would suggest Nicholas will be our guy to watch. Has the potential to sneak a medal but I really wouldn't rely on this event for a medal, it is way too unpredictable.
Caroline Ryan (who won a world bronze medal on the track recently) will try and qualify for the women's raod race but she faces a real uphill battle to do so.

Track Cycling
Martyn Irvine is our sole representative in the track cycling and he will go in the Omnium (track cycling's equivalent to the Decathlon but with 6 events). Irvine is a constant in the top 10 of World Cup races and in the World Championships in Melbourne a couple of weeks ago placed an encouraging 7th. He should be able to replicate this in London and who knows, maybe he can pull something really big out of the bag. He essentially has only one bad event, the men's elimination race, and if he can get that right on the day it would be very interesting.

Sailing:
Qualified
Annalise Murphy (Women's Laser Radial)
Murphy is one of the best in the world in her fleet and has the potential to medal but her lack of consistency is a real worry. She has too many bad races which you just can't afford if you are to step onto the podium at the Olympic Games. Nevertheless, you have to be really optimistic about her chances given her pedigree on the Weymouth waters, where the Olympic regatta will take place. Has the talent to get a medal but don't bet your life savings either. I would caution against getting carried away, she needs to cut out the inconsistency if she is to have any chance.

Peter O'Leary and David Burrows (Men's Star)
I think they are Ireland's best hope of a sailing medal and there will only be 14 on the startline in their fleet so their chances are strong from the off-set. They have proven that they can challenge for a podium place and are up there with the best, but like Annalise they are prone to the odd bad race that often scuppers their medal ambitions. Really hopeful given the location of the Olympic regatta. Could be a medal here.

Matt McGovern and Ryan Seaton (Men's 49ers)
They are still getting to grips with racing with each other given the fact they have only recently paired up for a successful qualifying campaign. A top 10 is certainly achievable for this duo.

Not yet Qualified
Ger Owens and Scott Flanagan (Men's 470)
This pair weren't too far off the qualifying positions at the World Championships and have every chance of getting to London. Not medal contenders but capable of putting in some good scores.

James Espey (Men's Laser)
Agonisingly missed out on Olympic qualification at the Worlds when an infringement seen him drop out of the qualifying positions. His form this year has been encouraging and he should make it there.

Badminton:
Qualified:
Chloe Magee (women's singles)
Although not officially on the list of Olympic qualifiers, there is no way that Chloe can fall out of the qualifying places having accumulated a sufficient number of ranking points over the last year. Chloe is very talented and could get through a few rounds in London. Last 16 is not beyond her, depending on the draw of course.


Not Yet Qualified:
Scott Evans (men's singles)
I don't think anyone can argue with the notion that Scott Evans has seen a real drop in his form over the past 24 months. Thankfully though he seems to be almost there in terms of Olympic qualification but it will be a case of falling over the line rather than finishing strongly. Scott needs to get some confidence back in his game as he is talented enough to get through a couple of rounds at an Olympics.

Sam and Chloe Magee (mixed doubles)
The siblings are just outside of the qualifying positions and time is running out for them to qualify. Only 16 pairs make it to London so that is what they are up against, but still achievable.

Modern Pentathlon:
Ireland have 2 great hopes for Olympic qualification: Natalya Coyle in the women's event and Arthur Lanigan-O'Keeffe in the men's.
Both are looking good to qualify and given their recent good form could actually place top 20 in London should they make the team. Big talents for the future.

Judo:
Lisa Kearney is on the verge of qualifying for the women's -48kg class and it would be great to see an Irish judoka take part in London. A medal is out of the question but there is always a bigger picture to these things.

Gymnastics:
Kieran Behan surprised everyone by claiming an Olympic berth at the final qualification event earlier this year. To be honest, I could not do justice to him by analysing his chances in London. Firstly, I am just not sure as to his chances as my gymnastics knowledge is very limited and secondly, his representation in London is enough in itself to be proud of this lad. Really inspiring story, hope he goes well in London.

Canoe/Kayak:
Eoin Rheinisch who placed a surprising 4th in the K1 Slalom in Beijing is still on the qualification trail and he has one more chance at it in the European Championships in Augsburg, Germany next month. He needs to finish in the top 2 nations not already qualified for London, and whilst this sounds like an unlikely outcome, it is in fact not too difficult given the fact that all of the top nations have already qualified. Ciaran Hurteau will also look to stake a claim for this qualifying spot.
The women's K1 girls are in a similar situation and Hannah Craig would be our best shot at qualification.

Shooting:
Derek Burnett in the men's trap has one chance at qualification remaining. It would be great if he could make it as he is still a valuable international performer for this country.

Rowing:
It's hard to assess our chances as I'm not sure what the set up looks like for this season in terms of crew combinations. However it would be very optimistic to suggest we might have a qualifier for London. Siobhan McCrohan and Claire Lambe had been performing so well internationally in 2010 but since then things have gone a bit pear-shaped and recent news on the duo doesn't heighten our hopes.
Sanita Purspure and Lisa Dilleen were doing alright in the women's pair but perhaps Sanita is going it alone this year, I'm actually not sure.


I'm not going to go through our boxing chances at the moment, it would be a little premature given the fact that there is a final qualifying tournament underway right now. All that needs to be said is that we will have a boxing medallist in London and more likely than not, will have at least 2 medals coming from this sport.

So that's a general review of our chances, there are others such as Alex Dolly in wrestling and other athletes and swimmers still in with a chance but I'd be here until the opening ceremony in London discussing every individual hopeful. Still hopeful that we will have one of our best Olympics in ages and still confident that we will hear Amhran na bhFiann in August.
All of those boxers that qualify still have a chance, even those who qualify at the last chance tournament. In Beijing, I think all three of our medals (Ken Egan's silver, Paddy Barnes' bronze and Darren Sutherland's bronze) came from those boxers who achieved qualification at the last opportunity so there is still great hope for all boxers. Hopefully as many as possible will qualify.

17:9. he won all 3 rounds. great news

Adam Nolan does the business in his Semi and is going to London. Five Irish boxers qualified, still a chance for McCarthy but it will be tough.

Tommy McCarthy beaten by 3 in his semi-final, unfortunately he won't be going to London.

So we now know we have five confirmed men's boxers at the Olympics with Adam Nolan and Paddy Barnes this week joining our three qualifiers from the worlds last year. This equals our number of qualifiers at Beijing four years ago where we got all of our three medals in boxing of course.

Hopefully Katie Taylor can qualify also and bring our total number of boxers to six and I still haven't given up hope of seeing Joe Ward there as well through the wildcard place.

Adam Nolan wins gold on countback in Trabzon, fantastic stuff from Nolan, one to watch in London!

The Turk that beat Joe Ward easily won his final at 81kg. Billy Walsh said in an interview this afternoon that it will be a month before we find out whether Ward gets to go to London but discussions are ongoing and his case is being made.

Irish triathlete Aileen Morrison had another very impressive result this weekend with silver in the ITU World Cup Race in Ishigaki, Japan. Although not as competitive as the World Series races, the World Cup races are a good hard test and Morrison will no doubt be pleased with another silver medal (having also won silver here last year). Gavin Noble took another step towards London 2012 with a solid 24th place finish in the men's event to continue keeping a healthy look to his Olympic ranking. Good weekend for our triathletes.

Time to update some tables as the Olympic qualification trail continues to draw to an exciting climax. With the outdoor season in track and field getting underway, performances are beginning to come through thick and fast now. Here is the latest update with some of the results from various U.S. meets as well as a notable inclusion in the women's marathon where there is a 4th Irish qualifier. This will present the selectors with a dilemma as only three of those four can contest the Olympic marathon come August.


UPDATE:

• Caitriona Jennings becomes the fourth Irish woman to run the Olympic A-standard for the marathon. She ran 2:36:17hrs in the Rotterdam marathon, dipping under the required 2:37hrs.
• Fionnuala Britton achieved the B-standard for the 5,000m at a meet in California. This effectively qualifies her for this event providing no other Irish athlete runs the A-standard for this event.
• Laura Reynolds knocked almost 1 minute off her previous 20km walk P.B. at a race walking meet in Naumburg, Germany. Her new best time of 1:34:40hrs is just 70 secs outside of the A-standard time of 1:33:30hrs which she needs in order to join Olive Loughnane in London.
• Joanne Cuddihy edged even closer to the A-standard in the women's 400m with a season's best run of 51.69secs at the Australian National Championships in Melbourne and she is now just 0.14secs off the required time. Surely it is only a matter of time now before she cracks the time and I would expect her to be sub 51 seconds at some stage this season.
• Steven Colvert opened up his season with an impressive time of 20.93secs for the 200m at the Bryan Clay meet in California. It is his fastest opening to a season so he could be challenging the qualifying time at some stage this year. His P.B. is 20.76secs but needs to go as low as 20.55 to make London. Not impossible given his good start to the year but it will be difficult.

Athletes in bold have achieved the A qualifying standard.
Athletes in red have achieved the B qualifying standard.
(A) = A standard
(A*) = A standard but selection not guaranteed as more than the maximum quota of athletes have met the A-standard for that event.
(B) = B standard
(B*)= B standard but A standard has been achieved by another athlete in that event.


MEN:ATHLETE|EVENT|OLYMPIC STANDARDS|2012 SEASON BEST|2011 S.B.|PERSONAL BEST|
Jason Smyth|100m|A=10.18secs;B=10.24secs||10.22secs (B)|10.22secs|
Jason Smyth|200m|A=20.55secs;B=20.65secs||20.94secs|20.94secs|
Paul Hession|200m|A=20.55secs;B=20.65secs||20.51secs (A)|20.30secs|
Steven Colvert|200m|A=20.55secs;B=20.65secs|20.93secs|20.76secs|20.76secs|
David Gillick|400m|A=45.30secs;B=45.90secs||46.64secs (injured)|44.77secs|
Brian Gregan|400m|A=45.30secs;B=45.90secs|46.66secs (indoor)|45.96secs|45.96secs|
Thomas Chamney|800m|A=1:45.60mins;B=1:46.30mins||injured|1:45.41mins|
Paul Robinson|800m|A=1:45.60mins;B=1:46.30mins||1:47.31mins|1:47.31mins|
Mark English|800m|A=1:45.60mins;B=1:46.30mins|1:49.49mins (indoor)|1:47.09mins|1:47.09mins|
David McCarthy(1983)|800m|A=1:45.60mins;B=1:46.30mins||1:46.62mins|1:46.62mins|
Darren McBrearty|800m|A=1:45.60mins;B=1:46.30mins||1:47.79mins|1:47.79mins|
Dave Campbell|800m|A=1:45.60mins;B=1:46.30mins||1:51.13mins (injured)|1:45.59mins|
Ciaran O'Lionaird|1,500m|A=3:35.50mins;B=3:38.00mins||3:34.46mins (A)|3:34.46mins|
Thomas Chamney|1,500m|A=3:35.50mins;B=3:38.00mins||injured|3:36.83mins|
Rory Chesser|1,500m|A=3:35.50mins;B=3:38.00mins||3:42.94mins|3:40.08mins|
Paul Robinson|1,500m|A=3:35.50mins;B=3:38.00mins|3:40.50mins|3:42.29mins|3:40.50mins|
Dave McCarthy (1988)|1,500m|A=3:35.50mins;B=3:38.00mins|3:40.48mins (indoor/split time in 1 mile race)|3:43.66mins|3:40.48mins (indoor/split time during 1 mile race)|
John Travers|1,500m|A=3:35.50mins;B=3:38.00mins||3:42.07mins|3:42.07mins|
Darren McBrearty|1,500m|A=3:35.50mins;B=3:38.00mins|3:43.75mins|3:42.68mins|3:42.68mins|
Dave Campbell|1,500m|A=3:35.50mins;B=3:38.00mins||injured|3:39.18mins|
Alistair Cragg|5,000m|A=13:20.00mins;B=13:27.00mins||13:03.53mins (A)|13:03.53mins|
Mark Christie|5,000m|A=13:20.00mins;B=13:27.00mins||13:28.21mins|13:28.21mins|
Mark Kenneally|Marathon|A=2:15:00hrs;B=2:18:00hrs||2:13:55hrs(A)|2:13:55hrs|
Sean Connolly|Marathon|A=2:15:00hrs;B=2:18:00hrs|2:16:42hrs (B*)|2:17:23hrs (B*)|2:17:23hrs|
Gary Thornton|Marathon|A=2:15:00hrs;B=2:18:00hrs|2:17:29hrs (B*)|2:19:29hrs|
Thomas Fraser|Marathon|A=2:15:00hrs;B=2:18:00hrs|2:20:00hrs|2:19:42hrs|2:19:42mins|
Ben Reynolds|110m Hurdles|A=13.52secs;B=13.60secs||13.75secs|13.75secs|
Thomas Barr|400m Hurdles|A=49.50secs;B=49.80secs|53.20secs|50.06secs|50.06secs|
Robert Heffernan|20km Walk|A=1:22:30hrs;B=1:24:30hrs|1:20:39hrs (A)|1:20:54hrs(A)|1:19:22hrs|
Robert Heffernan|50km Walk|A=3:59:00hrs;B=4:09:00hrs||3:49:30hrs(A)|3:45:30hrs|
Brendan Boyce|50km Walk|A=3:59:00hrs;B=4:09:00hrs|3:57:53hrs (A)|3:57:58hrs (A)|3:57:53hrs|
Colin Griffin|50km Walk|A=3:59:00hrs;B=4:09:00hrs||no time recorded|3:51:32mins|
Michael Doyle|50km Walk|A=3:59:00hrs;B=4:09:00hrs||no time recorded|no time recorded|
Jamie Costin|50km Walk|A=3:59:00hrs;B=4:09:00hrs||no time recorded|3:50:51hrs|


WOMEN:ATHLETE|EVENT|OLYMPIC STANDARDS|2012 SEASON BEST|2011 S.B.|PERSONAL BEST|
Ailish McSweeney|100m|A=11.29secs;B=11.38secs||11.89secs (injured)|11.40secs|
Amy Foster|100m|A=11.29secs;B=11.38secs||11.49secs|11.49secs|
Amy Foster|200m|A=23.10secs;B=23.30secs||23.53secs|23.53secs|
Niamh Whelan|200m|A=23.10secs;B=23.30secs||23.87secs|23.30secs|
Joanne Cuddihy|400m|A=51.55secs;B=52.35secs|51.69secs (B)|51.82secs (B)|50.73secs|
Ciara Mageean|800m|A=1:59.90mins;B=2:01.30mins||2:02.31mins (mixed race, not recognised by IAAF)|2:02.31mins (mixed race)|
Ciara Mageean|1,500m|A=4:06.00mins;B=4:08.90mins||4:07.45mins (B)|4:07.45mins|
Fionnuala Britton|5,000m|A=15:20.00mins;B=15:30.00mins|15:28.22mins|15:21.45mins (mixed race, not recognised by IAAF)|15:21.45mins (mixed race)|
Mary Cullen|5,000m|A=15:20.00mins;B=15:30.00mins||injured|15:19.04mins|
Fionnuala Britton|10,000m|A=31:45.00mins;B=32:10.00mins||no time recorded|no time recorded|
Mary Cullen|10,000m|A=31:45.00mins;B=32:10.00mins||33:02.74mins|32:21.42mins|
Linda Byrne (A*)|Marathon|A=2:37:00hrs;B=2:43:00hrs||2:36:20hrs (A)|2:36:20hrs|
Ava Hutchinson (A*)|Marathon|A=2:37:00hrs;B=2:43:00hrs|2:35:33hrs (A)|2:42:48hrs|2:35:33hrs|
Maria McCambridge (A*)|Marathon|A=2:37:00hrs;B=2:43:00hrs|2:36:37hrs (A)|2:40:26hrs (B*)|2:35:29hrs|
Gladys Ganiel-O'Neill|Marathon|A=2:37:00hrs;B=2:43:00hrs|2:40:56hrs (B*)|2:41:22hrs(B*)|2:40:56hrs|
Caitriona Jennings (A*)|Marathon|A=2:37:00hrs;B=2:43:00hrs|2:36:17hrs (A*)|2:43:08hrs|2:43:08hrs|
Breege Connolly|Marathon|A=2:37:00hrs;B=2:43:00hrs|2:40:25hrs (B*)|2:50:35hrs|2:40:25hrs|
Fionnuala Britton|3,000m Steeple Chase|A=9:43.00min;B=9:48.00mins||9:37.60mins (A)|9:37.60mins|
Stephanie Reilly|3,000m Steeple Chase|A=9:43.00min;B=9:48.00mins||9:42.91mins (A)|9:42.91mins|
Roisin McGettigan|3,000m Steeple Chase|A=9:43.00min;B=9:48.00mins||no time recorded|9:28.29mins|
Derval O'Rourke|100m Hurdles|A=12.96secs;B=13.15secs||12.84secs (A)|12.65secs|
Jessie Barr|400m Hurdles|A=55.50secs;B=56.65secs||56.62secs (B)|56.62secs|
Deirdre Ryan|High Jump|A=1.95m;B=1.92m||1.95m (A)|1.95m|
Tori Pena|Pole Vault|A=4.50m;B=4.40m|4.50m (A)|4.40m (B)|4.50m|
Kelly Proper|Long Jump|A=6.75m;B=6.65m|6.34m (indoor)|6.45m(indoor)|6.62m (indoor)|
Olive Loughnane|20km Walk|A=1:33:30hrs;B=1:38:00hrs|1:32:26hrs (A)|1:31:55hrs (A)|1:27:45hrs|
Laura Reynolds|20km Walk|A=1:33:30hrs;B=1:38:00hrs|1:34:40hrs (B*)|1:35:34hrs (B*)|1:34:30hrs|