Irelands most likely Olympic 2012 Medals

Dan man · 27-04-2012 10:33pm

Dan man · 29-04-2012 3:14pm

Olympic hope Alex Dolly missed out on a qualifying spot at the first World Qualification Tournament in China this weekend. Dolly who is from Indiana in the States qualifies for Irish citizenship due to the fact that his grandfather was born onboard a ship leaving Ireland for America.
Dolly who competes in the -84kg freestyle weight division performed well at last years World Championships, finishing in the top 8 and again done very well at this weekend's tournament. He opened with a victory over an Italian oponent but he came unstuck against the Venezuelan wrestler who went on to win the tournament and with it a place at the London Olympics
The defeat meant Alex went into the repechages but unfortunately he lost out to a talented Greek wrestler who finished 4th overall (just outside the 3 qualification slots).
All of this means that Alex Dolly has one final shot at making London 2012 at the final World Qualification Tournament in which he needs to finish in the top 2 to gain an Olympic berth. It will be a stern test but he is not without hope given his decent level of success on the international stage to date. His destiny will be determined after next weekend's tournament in Finland (May 4-6).

Dan man · 29-04-2012 7:52pm

The month of May is set-up to be the most crucial in determining the fate of our Olympic hopefuls. Qualification deadlines and last-chance qualifiying tournaments will be coming around thick and fast over the next couple of weeks as the qualification cycle comes to an exciting finish in a range of sports. Here is a timetable to keep you aware of the significant events coming up in the next month:

SAILING:

2012 49er World Championships (May 4th-6th), Zadar, Croatia - Ryan Seaton and Matt McGovern have already secured a place for Ireland at the 2012 Olympics in this category courtesy of their top 10 placing at the 2011 World Championships and will hope to continue their solid form at this event.
2012 Laser World Championships (May 4th-10th), Boltenhagen, Germany - Irish hopeful James Espey will compete for Olympic qualification at this regatta. The situation for him is that he needs to finish among the top 12 of those countries who have not yet secured an Olympic quota in this fleet. Signs are promising for James as he came so close to securing qualification at the World Championships in 2011 but an infringement in his last race cost him dearly and dropped him outside of the Olympic qualifying places. His racing form in 2012 has been very positive and he will be particuarly buoyed by his good showing at the recent World Cup event in Mallorca where he posted a string of top 10 places.
2012 470 World Championships (May 10th-19th), Barcelona - Irish 470 duo Ger Owens and Scott Flanagan will compete for Olympic qualification, needing to finish in the top 7 of those nations who have not secured qualification already. It is a very achievable task for this Irish pair as they recently made the Gold Fleet at the Palma de Mallorca World Cup and came very close to Olympic qualification at the World Championships in 2011.
2012 Finn World Championships (May 11th-18th), Falmouth - Ireland's Ross Hamilton will go for qualification in the Finn with 6 remaining quota places available. Hamilton didn't really come near to qualifying at last year's World Champoinships but he cannot be discounted either as he has been preparing well at recent World Cup events.
2012 Laser Radial World Championships (May 15th-20th), Boltenhagen, Germany - Annalise Murphy's 6th place finish at December's World Championships effectively ensured her place in London but as one of the country's leading medal hopes she will be looking to perform strongly in the lead up to the Games. She had a disasterous campaign at the recent World Cup event in Palma de Mallorca but will hope to bounce back with a decent performance in Boltenhagen, hopefully she can lay down a marker to her rivals.
2012 Star World Championships (May 20th-30th), Barcelona - Peter O'Leary and David Burrows have already secured an Olympic quota for Ireland in this fleet and as they are among our leading medal contenders for London they will be hoping for a positive result here as they continue their Olympic preparations.

WRESTLING:

Final World Qualification Tournament (May 4th-6th), Helsinki, Finland - Alex Dolly will see his Olympic destiny sorted out at this last-chance saloon event next weekend. There are only 2 remaining quota spots available in his division, -84kg Freestyle Wrestling, meaning he will need to be at his very best to clinch an Olympic berth. His results over the last year and indeed at the World Olympic Qualifier this weekend shows he is in with a chance but with such a limited number of places remaining it will be very difficult for him. Best of luck to him in Helsinki.

TRIATHLON:
With Aileen Morrison already qualified for London and Gavin Noble in a strong position in the men's Olympic rankings it seems that the rest of the qualifying period may well be somewhat of a formality for our hopefuls. Gavin however, cannot be too complacent and just needs to remain consistent at the next couple of events. Here are some of the events with Olympic qualifying points at stake some of which Gavin will likely target:

ITU World Cup race, Huatalco, Mexico (May 6th)
ITU European Cup race, Antalya (May 6th)
ITU World Championships Series race, San Diego (May 10th, May 12th)
ITU World Championships Series race, Madrid (May 26-27th)

The World Championships Series races are most valuable in terms of Olympic points yield followed by the World Cup events and the European Cup races.

A notable date for the triathlete hopefuls is May 31st which is the date the qualifying period for triathlon officially comes to an end thus finalising the Olympic rankings. 40 quota places are available in this ranking system and over the course of the next few weeks we will keep an eye on Gavin's progress in particular. Looks very good for him currently, just needs to get through the next 4 weeks or so and he's there!

SWIMMING:

Marathon Open-Water Swim 10km race Final Qualifier, (May 9th-10th) - Ireland's Chris Bryan is a formidable performer internationally and he will have one final crack at making the Olympic team in Portugal in just over 1 week's time. He is a hugely talented swimmer and last season was one of the leading performers in the open water world series over 5km. He is yet to get it just right over the Olympic distance but with 9 quota places available in the final qualifier Chris should be in with a decent chance. Water temperatures could be a big issue however but hopefully he can come through this test.

BOXING:

AIBA Women's World Boxing Championships, (May 9th-20th) Chongqing, China - This is the one tournament that I'm sure all Irish sports fans will keeping a close eye on. Katie Taylor will finally get her chance to stake a place at the Olympic Games when she enters the women's lightweight division as the 3-time defending World Champion. A place in the quarter-finals is the minimum that Katie needs for Olympic qualification with 8 quota places available but with continental quotas across all weight categories she will probably need to get to the semi-finals just to make 100% sure. Katie however will be gunning for gold and anything less she would not be happy with. Fingers crossed for Katie, she will hopefully be an Olympian very soon.

CANOEING:

2012 European Canoe Slalom Championships (May 9th-13th), Augsburg, Germany - Ireland will send a team of 3 men and 3 women with the aim to qualify for the K1 Slalom events in London. Eoin Rheinisch who placed 4th at the Beijing Olympics will head to this event which will serve as the final qualifier for the London Olympics. There are 2 quota places available in both men's and women's K1 categories and the top 2 boats amongst those nations not yet qualified for London will make the Olympics. This gives the Irish a decent chance of sneaking into the qualifying positions as most of the paddlers from the strong canoeing nations have already qualfied meaning there is more scope for a successful campaign. Although Eoin is our most well known paddler, in fact another Irishman, Ciaran Heurteau finished ahead of him at last year's World Championships and in fact just narrowly missed out on securing a boat for Ireland in the K1 Slalom category for the Olympics. They will be accompanied at the European Championships by Sam Curtis who will be our third K1 representative. Our best chance in the women's K1 Slalom would probably be Hannah Craig and she will be joined in Germany by Aisling Conlon and Helen Barnes.

ROWING:

Final Olympic Qualification Regatta (May 20th-23rd), Lucerne, Switzerland - our Olympic prospects for rowing are very limited this time around but nevertheless there will be a team of Irish rowers sent out to Lucerne to battle it out for the final Olympic quota places. There is a maximum of 3 places available in the rowing categories but in reality there are as few as 1 or 2 places left in most of the events. This makes an already difficult task even tougher. I will update on any news on our rowers when I get it but I am unsure at the moment as to which combinations are being sent to Lucerne.

MODERN PENTATHLON:

Modern Pentathlon World Championships (May 22nd-30th), Rome - Ireland's star performers Natalya Coyle and Arthur Lanigan-O'Keeffe will be battling for qualification on two different fronts at this tournament. Firstly significant Olympic ranking points are at stake in Rome but with automatic qualification for the top 3 finishers in both the men's and women's races for those athletes not yet qualified, then this will prove to be a huge event for the talented duo. Eanna Bailey who finished 14th at the recent World Cup event in Rostov, Russia is unlikely to qualify via the Olympic rankings but he still has a slim chance of making London 2012 and would qualify if he finished in those top 3 positions in Rome.
Modern Pentathlon World Cup Series Grand Final (May 26th-27th),Chengdu, China - having performed exceptionally well at the World Cup series event in 2012 both Natalya Coyle and Arthur Lanigan-O'Keeffe have been invited (qualified) to compete in the Series Grand Final in China. There is big Olympic qualifying points on offer at this event so it is hugely significant to their Olympic hopes that the pair have qualified for the Series final.

The modern pentathlon qualification period comes to an end after this event and the Olympic rankings are finalised on June 1st. The top 7 pentathletes in both the men's and women's Olympic rankings not yet qualified for London will claim the remaining Olympic spots. Very exciting but tense times ahead for the Irish pentathletes, best of luck to them.

So lots of events coming up over the course of May and all of huge significance. Badminton's qualification system is on the verge of completion as the World rankings finalise on Thursday, May 3rd. I anticipate that Scott Evans will be joining Chloe Magee on the list of Irish qualifiers when those rankings are published.

K_1 · 29-04-2012 8:41pm

Dan man wrote: »

CANOEING:

[*]2012 European Canoe Slalom Championships (May 9th-13th), Augsburg, Germany - Ireland will send a team of 3 men and 3 women with the aim to qualify for the K1 Slalom events in London. Eoin Rheinisch who placed 4th at the Beijing Olympics will head to this event which will serve as the final qualifier for the London Olympics. There are 2 quota places available in both men's and women's K1 categories and the top 2 boats amongst those nations not yet qualified for London will make the Olympics. This gives the Irish a decent chance of sneaking into the qualifying positions as most of the paddlers from the strong canoeing nations have already qualfied meaning there is more scope for a successful campaign. Although Eoin is our most well known paddler, in fact another Irishman, Ciaran Heurteau finished ahead of him at last year's World Championships and in fact just narrowly missed out on securing a boat for Ireland in the K1 Slalom category for the Olympics. They will be accompanied at the European Championships by Sam Curtis who will be our third K1 representative. Our best chance in the women's K1 Slalom would probably be Hannah Craig and she will be joined in Germany by Aisling Conlon and Helen Barnes.

To add to this:

Canoe Sprint - European Olympic Qualifier - Poznan, Poland - May 16th -17th 2012
Three events will be contested by Irish athletes in the final selection event for Canoe Sprint. In 1000m Mens K1, Neil Fleming has been selected to compete for one of only two available spots in London. However the top 9 athletes, most of whom were European have already been selected at the 2011 World Championships.
In 200m Mens K1, Sean Marchetti will be looking for one of only two spots also. Serious competition from all countries will make qualification here very difficult.
500m Womens K1 is probably the best chance for Irish qualification where Jenny Egan will compete. Again, only two spots are available, but Jenny posted some very impressive times last year, so she has a decent shot at qualification.

Dan man · 29-04-2012 9:21pm

K_1 wrote: »

To add to this:

Canoe Sprint - European Olympic Qualifier - Poznan, Poland - May 16th -17th 2012
Three events will be contested by Irish athletes in the final selection event for Canoe Sprint. In 1000m Mens K1, Neil Fleming has been selected to compete for one of only two available spots in London. However the top 9 athletes, most of whom were European have already been selected at the 2011 World Championships.
In 200m Mens K1, Sean Marchetti will be looking for one of only two spots also. Serious competition from all countries will make qualification here very difficult.
500m Womens K1 is probably the best chance for Irish qualification where Jenny Egan will compete. Again, only two spots are available, but Jenny posted some very impressive times last year, so she has a decent shot at qualification.

Thanks for the heads up K1. I notice there's a notable absentee, Barry Watkins. I would have assumed that he would be going to this event. Any info on this K1?
Jenny Egan is a class act, particularly suited to the longer distances which is a pity given that longest race in London is 500m.

feargale · 30-04-2012 2:01am

Dan man, your trojan work here is to be commended. I'm going abroad for two weeks. What do I punch in to connect with this board?

Dodge · 30-04-2012 8:43am

Fionnuala Britton qualifies for her 2nd event, the 10,000m, running 31:29.22

She'll probably run this in London

Dan man · 30-04-2012 10:44am

Dodge wrote: »

Fionnuala Britton qualifies for her 2nd event, the 10,000m, running 31:29.22

She'll probably run this in London

That's such a promising time for her first serious 10,000m track race. In time she could well be dipping under 31 mins for this event...excited about her prospects of a possible top 10 placing in London.

knockcon · 30-04-2012 11:12am

Dan man wrote: »

Dodge wrote: »

Fionnuala Britton qualifies for her 2nd event, the 10,000m, running 31:29.22

She'll probably run this in London

That's such a promising time for her first serious 10,000m track race. In time she could well be dipping under 31 mins for this event...excited about her prospects of a possible top 10 placing in London.

Ah hand on now Dan!! You can't raise our hopes of a top 8 and then downgrade to a top 10 immediately!!

Dan man · 30-04-2012 12:05pm

knockcon wrote: »

Ah hand on now Dan!! You can't raise our hopes of a top 8 and then downgrade to a top 10 immediately!!

Haha, I'm playing it safe! I'll compromise and say top 9 then. Seriously though, top 10 would be superb and there's nothing to say she can't get into top 8 either but there's still a lot of tough east African runners and some very decent American runners also.

a_non_a_mouse · 30-04-2012 1:14pm

Great thread.
Well done to Dan Man and everyone else contributing to this.

Sparks · 30-04-2012 4:33pm

Derek Burnett has secured a quota place for London!

Dan man · 30-04-2012 5:51pm

Sparks wrote: »

Derek Burnett has secured a quota place for London!

That is terrific news, such a welcome addition to the Irish Olympic team. A fourth Olympics for Derek, a true veteran of Irish sport in the nicest sense of the word.

K_1 · 30-04-2012 10:35pm

Dan man wrote: »

Thanks for the heads up K1. I notice there's a notable absentee, Barry Watkins. I would have assumed that he would be going to this event. Any info on this K1?
Jenny Egan is a class act, particularly suited to the longer distances which is a pity given that longest race in London is 500m.

Both Barry and Neil were going for the same K1 1000m spot, as only one Irish paddler can compete in each event at the Qualification event. The selection event was part of a sprint regatta in Nottingham last month, where Neil finished ahead of Barry, selecting him to compete at the qualification event.

Unfortunate that theres no 1000m womens race, or even better 5000m at the Olympics for Jenny, but the opinion of the ICF is that the gap between women over 1000m tends to be very big. However her times last year for 500m were exceptional, she broke her personal best and national record every few weeks for a while last summer!

Dan man · 30-04-2012 11:04pm

K_1 wrote: »

Both Barry and Neil were going for the same K1 1000m spot, as only one Irish paddler can compete in each event at the Qualification event. The selection event was part of a sprint regatta in Nottingham last month, where Neil finished ahead of Barry, selecting him to compete at the qualification event.

Thanks for keeping us up to date K1, best of luck to all the Irish paddlers in Augsburg and Poznan over the coming weeks.

SSK · 30-04-2012 11:36pm

Wow only come across this thread now, fantastic work Dan much appreciated

Fidge13 · 02-05-2012 11:22am

apologies if this question is answered elsewhere in this thread, but does Phil Murphy still have a chance of qualifying for Olympics or has he retired completely?

Dan man · 02-05-2012 11:48am

Fidge13 wrote: »

apologies if this question is answered elsewhere in this thread, but does Phil Murphy still have a chance of qualifying for Olympics or has he retired completely?

Derek has earned Ireland a quota spot in men's trap and according to the ISSF Olympic qualifying rules the Irish national federation (I.C.P.S.A.) are free to dispense this quota place to any of their top international trap shooters (Philip Murphy included). However it is my understanding that Derek will likely get the place. As far as I'm aware this would mean Philip Murphy would have no chance if that scenario follows through as Ireland did not pick up an additional quota spot in any of the qualification events.
He's not retired however, he represented Ireland recently at a world cup event in London a couple of weeks back.
I'll defer to Sparks' superior knowledge on these matters though, he'll be able to give you a more definitive answer when he gets a chance.

makl · 02-05-2012 4:42pm

K_1 wrote: »

Yeah serious medal contender if the passport comes through in time.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andrzej_Jezierski

is he aiming to quality on 16-17 may too?

K_1 · 02-05-2012 10:30pm

makl wrote: »

is he aiming to quality on 16-17 may too?

Haven't heard anything lately and the official team selection isn't out, my previous posts were based on the selection event for the Irish team last month. As there are no other C1 paddlers in Ireland he wouldn't have to race for selection, so we won't know until the official document is out.

Dodge · 03-05-2012 9:43am

Joanne Cuddihy qualifies with a 41.45 in the 400m in Japan

Dan man · 03-05-2012 9:55am

The qualification period came to an end today for the sport of badminton and unfortunately Scott Evans is not amongst the list of Olympic qualifiers in the rankings. This means Scott must sweat it out to see if others above him drop out in order to gain an Olympic berth for London. He missed out by 2 places and must now rely on re-distribution of unused quota places to make his second Olympics.

Dan man · 03-05-2012 11:55am

UPDATE:
Two more Irish qualifiers have come since I last updated this table. Derek Burnett earned a quota place for Ireland in the men's trap shooting and he will likely be the shooter who is nominated by the I.C.P.S.A. to fill this quota place in the London Olympics. Derek will get Longford off the mark on the list of qualifiers by county and will join the list of Olympic veterans who will compete at a fourth Olympics this summer. Derek also becomes the oldest member of the Irish team at 41 years of age.
Secondly, 400m runner Joanne Cuddihy continues to return to her very best and as expected she has dipped under the A-qualification standard of 51.55secs when she posted a season's best of 51.45secs at an athletics meet in Japan yesterday. She becomes Kilkenny's second qualifier for London and will add to the list of returning Olympic athletes.

All of this means that so far Ireland has secured 42 quota places for the London Olympics.
* denotes the fact that the current number may reduce by one when the women's marathon team is finalised.

County|Number of athletes qualified|Details|
Dublin|8*|Linda Byrne, Ava Hutchinson, Maria McCambridge, Deirdre Ryan, Annalise Murphy, Mark Kenneally, Barry Murphy, David Burrows
Cork|5|Derval O'Rourke, Olive Loughnane, Robert Heffernan, Ciaran O'Lionaird, Peter O'Leary
Antrim|4|Ryan Seaton, Michael Conlan, Paddy Barnes, Lisa Kearney
Donegal|3*|Brendan Boyce, Chloe Magee, Caitriona Jennings
Down|2|Matt McGovern, Martyn Irvine
Kilkenny|2|Darren O'Neill, Joanne Cuddihy
Wexford|2|Grainne Murphy, Adam Nolan
Wicklow|2|Fionnuala Britton, Stephanie Reilly
Derry|1|Aileen Morrison
Galway|1|Paul Hession
Longford|1|Derek Burnett
Westmeath|1|John Joe Nevin
Other/Abroad|3|Alistair Cragg (South Africa), Kieran Behan (England), Tori Pena (U.S.A.)

Additional Info:

So far the team is made up of 22 men and 16 women and 5 unknown equestrian riders. The number of women qualifiers however will be reduced by one when Athletics Ireland choose their marathon team.
Qualifiers by province: Leinster (16), Ulster (10), Munster (5), Connacht (1)
Kieran Behan (gymnastics qualifier) although born in London, England has Irish parents: mother is from Monaghan and father from Dublin.
Tori Pena was born in California but competes for Finn Valley A.C. in Donegal and her grandmother was born in Derry.
Maria McCambridge has been living in Donegal for the last few years and competes for Letterkenny A.C. She is married to Letterkenny runner Gary Crossan and she is now living in Donegal with her family. Caitriona Jennings rather ironically hails from Letterkenny but runs for Rathfarnam A.C. in Dublin.
So far, just as many Corkmen as Dublin men have qualified (3 a-piece).
7 qualifiers were born in Northern Ireland.
Lisa Kearney will be Ireland's first ever female judoka to take part in the Olympic Games.
Perhaps unsurprisingly, Murphy is the most common surname, with 3 Murphys on the team.
Trap shooter Derek Burnett is the oldest member of the Irish Olympic team at 41 years of age. Maria McCambridge is the oldest women on the team, she will be 37 when the Olympic Opening Ceremony takes place and the youngest being Grainne Murphy who is just 19. Flyweight boxer Michael Conlan is the youngest male on the team at just 20 years of age.
The average age of our women when the Olympics get underway is 28.6yrs for women and 28.3yrs for the men. Overall the average is 28.4yrs for our Olympians.
21 of the qualifiers will be first-time Olympians in London; 8 qualifiers are returning for a second time with 7 of these 8 having previously competed in Beijing in 2008 and Maria McCambridge returning after having competed in Athens 2004; 2 qualifiers (Derval O'Rourke and Alistair Cragg) will be appearing in their 3rd consecutive Olympic Games; and a total of 4 Olympic veterans will be returning to the Olympic stage to make a 4th appearance, namely Robert Heffernan, Olive Loughnane and Derek Burnett who will travel to their 4th consecutive Olympics and David Burrows, who made his Olympic debut way back in Atlanta in 1996 (missed out on Beijing).

Dan man · 04-05-2012 11:48am

Some encouraging news today from the opening Rowing World Cup of the season in Belgrade, where Ireland's Sanita Puspure has made it into the semi-finals of the women's single sculls. She finished 2nd in her heat today advancing her directly to tomorrow's semi-finals and a place in either the A/B final on Sunday. Good work Sanita and a glimmer of hope that we may actually have a competitive boat this season for which to challenge for Olympic qualification.

Dan man · 04-05-2012 12:27pm

Just a few updates to this table including Fionnuala Britton's A-standard for 10,000m, Joanne Cuddihy's A-time over 400m and Mark English's S.B. over 800m.

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|21.05secs|20.51secs (A)|20.30secs|
Steven Colvert|200m|A=20.55secs;B=20.65secs|20.89secs|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|1:48.19mins|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|3:42.92mins|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|13:32.76mins|13:03.53mins (A)|13:03.53mins|
Mark Christie|5,000m|A=13:20.00mins;B=13:27.00mins|13:37.32mins|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|53.21secs|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|24.24secs|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|51.45secs (A)|51.82secs (B)|50.73secs|
Ciara Mageean|800m|A=1:59.90mins;B=2:01.30mins|2:11.2mins|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|4:21.61mins|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|31:29.22mins (A)|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|58.19secs|56.62secs (B)|56.62secs|
Deirdre Ryan|High Jump|A=1.95m;B=1.92m|1.70m|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|1:34:42hrs (B*)|1:35:34hrs (B*)|1:34:42hrs|

Dan man · 04-05-2012 6:14pm

Alex Dolly's Olympic dream came to an end today as he failed to progress at the Final Olympic Qualifying Tournament for the sport of wrestling in Helsinki today. The -84kg Freestyle Wrestler lost his opening bout to his Moldovan opponent and because his victor failed go any further in the tournament it meant that Alex's hopes of getting a second bite at the cherry via the repechages were gone. Hard luck to Alex, hopefully he will still be around to challenge for a place in the Rio Olympics in 2016. A 9th place finish in last year's World Championships shows how talented this guy is, best of luck to him for the future.

Dan man · 04-05-2012 10:04pm

The first day of the men's Laser World Sailing Championships in Boltenhagen has ended and after the completion of the first two races, Ireland's James Espey is in a very strong position in terms of the hunt for Olympic qualification. Espey posted solid 7th and 29th place finishes in his fleet to end the day in 38th place overall. However, more crucially he is 3rd best nation of those not yet qualified for London 2012 and with a quota of 12 Olympic qualifying places available at these championships, James has got off to a cracking start. If he keeps this consistency going then he will have no problem in attaining his goal of achieving an Olympic berth. Here is a table which outlines the nations that James is in competition with in terms of battling it out for Olympic qualification:
Notes:
The top 12 nations in this list at the end of competition will have earned an Olympic quota place for their country.
Sailors are ranked such that the lower the score, the better the result. For example, if a sailor finishes first in a race, then they add just 1 point to their total. If they place 50th then they add a whopping 50 points to their tally, thus damaging their potential of a good overall result.
Each sailor can discard one result after the first 10 races after which the field will be split into gold and silver fleets.
A black flag (disqualification) will result in a 58 point penalty.

Position|Country|Race 1|Race 2|Total|
1|Portugal|14|7|21
2|Thailand|9|14|23
3|IRELAND (James Espey)|7|29|36
4|Lithuania|23|14|37
5|El Salvador|6|32|38
6|Peru|27|11|38
7|Czech Republic|27|20|47
8|Venezuela|9|39|48
9|Japan|28|21|49
10|South Africa|27|23|50
11|Ukraine|48|3|51
12|Puerto Rico|44|9|53
13|Colombia|20|35|55
14|Tunisia|24|33|57
15|Malaysia|15|45|60
16|Seychelles|35|26|61
17|Serbia|49|15|64
18|Dominican Republic|36|29|65
19|Moldova|35|42|77
20|Montenegro|52|27|79
21|Mexico|44|37|81
22|Monaco|39|46|85
23|Trinidad & Tobago|31|58|89
24|Cook Islands|41|51|92
25|Egypt|53|48|101
26|Bulgaria|49|54|103
27|Kyrgysztan|55|50|105
28|Iran|53|54|107

Dan man · 05-05-2012 4:13pm

More very good news from the opening Rowing World Cup of 2012 in Belgrade today, Ireland's single sculler Sanita Puspure has finished 3rd in her semi-final and with it has secured a place in tomorrow's A final. This is tremendous news ahead of the Olympic qualifying regatta.
In the non-Olympic category of lightweight single sculls, Ireland's Claire Lambe finished 5th in the A-final, a result that must be commended.

Dan man · 05-05-2012 4:18pm

At the Star World Sailing Championships, Irish duo Peter O'Leary and David Burrows underlined their credentials by finishing 3rd in the opening race. Much more racing to come but very encouraging start.

Dan man · 05-05-2012 4:26pm

At the Men's Laser World Sailing Championships in Boltenhagen, James Espey has put in a terrific performance in race 3 to finish 3rd in his race and move up to 18th place in the overall leaderboard on 39 points. Even more encouraging is the fact that he is 2nd best nation of those not yet qualified for the London Olympics and with the top 12 non-qualified nations claiming Olympic quota spots at this event it looks as though James is forging his way towards London 2012.

Irelands most likely Olympic 2012 Medals

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