Irelands most likely Olympic 2012 Medals

Dodge

have to run now, but we're in 3rd place in the race for London now!

Netherlands are almost home & hosed. Sweden are in 2nd

then its very, very tight for the last spot

Ireland - 30.12
Switerland – 31.66
Spain – 33.53
Portugal – 36.21

Italy eliminated

Dodge

Team Rankings after today

1 Netherlands 7.42
2 Germany 10.41
3 France 15.95
4 Britain 17.46
5 Belgium 17.78
6 Sweden 18.74
7 Ireland 30.12
8 Switzerland 31.66
9 Spain 33.53
10 Portugal 36.21 (only 3 riders)

The Irish individual rankings are (total 66)
2 Twomey 0.95
29 Sweetnam 11.46
39 Lynch 17.71
56 Fitzgibbon 30.74

finbarrk

Tidy enough. Dennis was unlucky. Still wide open tomorrow.

Dan man

This is going right down to the wire. We need a good round by Denis and Lantinus tomorrow. My god it's tight for that last place. Netherlands and Sweden have a good deal of breathing space.

Dan man

It's looking very bleak for our team's Olympic hopes now. Shane Sweetnam failing to improve on his two fences down from the yeasterday and Nicola Fitzgibbon with a very disappointing round of 20. Looks like it will only be 2 individual showjumpers going forward to London next year.

Dan man

It's got away from them now, the Irish need practically a miracle to make it now. Disappointing to say the least.

Dan man

Ireland finish 9th and have thus failed to qualify a team for the London Olympics next year. Questions will be asked I feel as this was a very poor performance by the team on the back of last year's disaster at the Worlds and the failure to qualify for back to back Olympic Games. It's a sad day for Irish showjumping I'm sorry to say.

finbarrk

Very dissapointing today.

Dan man

Irish triathlete Aileen Morrison has continued to excite by placing a magnificent 4th in the latest leg of the I.T.U. World Championships Series in Yokohama, Japan. The competitiion was fierce with top-class opposition and Aileen was right up there with the best, and even placed ahead of established names such as Lisa Norden, Helen Jenkins and Emma Jackson to name but a few. This is the first leg of the 2012 World Championships Series as the race was cancelled earlier in the season due to the aftermath of the earthquake and radiation fears. It's hard to speak highly enough of Aileen, she deserves this as it is clear to anyone who follows her progress that there is nobody who works harder than her and she is a match for the very best in the world these days.

airscotty

Yep excellent performance - a write on here http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/triathlon/14977178.stm and on the TI website here

Dodge

Draw for boxing world champs has been made. First Irish in action tomorrow. I've sketched out the path for each fighter to London below. Qualifiers are last 8, and whoever the gold medallist beats in the last 16.

49kg – Paddy Barnes – seeded 8
Last 32 - October 3 - Barnes v Albania/Philippines
Last 16 - October 4 - Barnes v China/Dominica/Hungary/Thailand

He’ll likely face Zou Shiming (China in last 16). Tough ask but if he loses he’d be hoping Zou would go on to win gold


52kg – Michael Conlon – unseeded
Last 64 - September 27 – Conlon v Moldova
Last 32 - October 2 – Conlon v Kazakhstan/Morocco
Last 16 – October 4 – Conlon v Korea/Turkmenistan/France (2)

Again, tough route. If he loses to 2nd seeded Oubaali in last 16, Oubaali could win gold

56kg – John Joe Nevin – Seeded 4th
Last 32 – October 3 – Nevin v Slovakia/India
Last 16 – October 4 – Nevin v Mongolia/Armenia/Korea/Denmark

I’d be disappointed if he doesn’t make it

60kg – David Joyce – Seeded 7th
Last 64 – October 1 – Joyce v Iran
Last 32 – October 3 – Joyce v Afghanistan/Qatar
Last 16 – October 4 – Joyce v Czech/Sri lanka/Lithuania/India

Every chance

64kg – Ray Moylette – Seeded 4th
Last 64 – September 30 – Moylette v Latvia
Last 32 – October 2 – Bahamas/India
Last 16 – October 4 – Moylette v China/USA/France/Saudi Arabia

That last 16 draw is tough. While not the powers they were you can’t discount any US boxer (or China for that matter)

69kg – Roy Sheahan – Unseeded
Last 64 – September 29 – Sheahan v Bahamas
Last 32 – October 2 – Sheahan v Croatia/Chiese Tapei
Last 16 – October 4 – Sheahan v China (5)/Lithuania/Slovakia/Czech

Scheduled to meet 5th seed in last 16. Could sneak it though

75kg – Darren O’Neill – Seeded 8th
Last 64 – October 1 – O’Neill v Norway
Last 32 – October 3 – O’Neill v Estonia/Egypt
Last 16 - October 4 – O’Neill v Kyrgzstan/Malaysia/St Vincents/Bulgaria

I’d be confident he can make it

81kg – Joe Ward – Seeded 2nd
Last 32 – October 2 – Ward v Bulgaria/Tajikstan
Last 16 – October 4 – Ward v Dominica/Poland/Armenia/Iran

He should medal, never mind qualify for London. Only a home town decision in last 8 will stop him

91kg – Ken Egan – Seeded 6th
Last 32 – October 3 – Egan v Cuba/Czech
Last 16 – October 4 – Egan v Croatia/Bosnia/Egypt

Cuban is world youth champ. Beat him and he should make it. Tough draw for a seed though

91kg – Con Sheehan – unseeded
Last 32 – October 2 – Sheehan v Tajikistan
Last 16 – October 4 – Sheehan v Italy (1)/Venezual/Tonga

Sheehan should find world number 1 Cammerella in Last 16. He'll need to beat him

Cosmo Kramer

Am I right in thinking that the person who loses in the last 16 to the beaten finalist also qualifies for London, as well the person who loses at that stage to the gold medalist - as there are 10 qualification spots in each category other than heavyweight and super heavyweight (where there are only six spots available)?

Dodge

Yeah, thats spot on. Missed that.

We should also hope that as any non Europeans qualify, as there are quotas for each continent.

Dan man

John Joe Nevin has a tough enough draw, any Mongolian boxer is usually extremely fierce, same goes for the Armenians.
All in all, the draw is reasonable for our boxers, a few toughies in early rounds but you'd expect nothing less in the world championships. Really interesting to see how Kenny Egan will perform, difficult opener against the young Cuban though. Hopefully some of the lads will outline their credentials ahead of London. Paddy Barnes has a very tough draw but if he is to put his name down as a gold medal favourite for the Olympics then he has to be able to deal with it. This championships are availiable to watch live via youtube link on the A.I.B.A. website. We need some medals here after a barren year in other Olympic sports.

Dan man

Flyweight Michael Conlon has eased into the last 32 at the World Championships in Baku, beating his Moldovan opponent Alexandr Riscan by a comfortable scoreline of 25-12. Conlon led 9-4 after the first round and extended his lead out to 17-8 at the end of the second round. Conlon landed a further 8 points on his eastern European opponent in the last to book his place in the next round.
He will meet Kazakh boxer Sattibayev in the next round.

swim2

Banks changes tactics pre-London 2012

Peter Banks, Irish swimming's high performance director, has decided to send 14 of his London Team 2012 squad to two long course (50 metre) meets in December.
Banks has made this decision in an effort to get some of Ireland's elite swimmers under the Olympic-qualifying standard before Christmas.


At this stage, only Dubliner Barry Murphy has dipped under the A standard consideration time for London.
Murphy achieved that time earlier this year, when winning the gold medal in the 100m breaststroke final at the Indianapolis Grand Prix in March. Murphy's time was 1:00.77.

The time is within the qualification period and will go forward for ratification to the Irish Olympic Council.

Banks had hoped that others such as Grainne Murphy, Melanie Nocher and Andrew Bree would have also made the A standard by this stage.
But a poor showing at the recent World Swimming Championships in Shanghai - in which no Irish swimmer raced under any qualification times - has forced a rethink on his behalf.

As a result, instead of concentrating on the upcoming short course (25 metres) season, Banks will instead send a ten-strong squad to the Dutch Open in Eindhoven from 2-4 December.
The squad which will include European 1500 metres silver medallist Grainne Murphy, together with Nuala Murphy, Shani Stallard, Sycerika McMahon, Niamh O'Sullivan, Beth Carson, Karl Burdis, Claire Dawson, plus Beijing Olympians Melanie Nocher and Ashling Cooney.

While the likes of Grainne Murphy and Nocher will be in the Netherlands, Banks will also send four of his American-based swimmers in Barry Murphy, Andrew Bree, Fiona Doyle and Ryan Harrison to the US Winter Nationals at the Georgia Tech Aquatic Centre in Atlanta. The Winter Nationals take place over the weekend of 1-3 December.
Banks also indicated that those who are interested will then head to the European Short Course Championships at Szcezecin, Poland (8-11 December), and Irish SC Nationals, which will take place in Lisburn (16-18 December).

Those who haven't made Olympic qualification will have three further meets in which to make the required times: the Irish Olympic trials at the NAC in Dublin, which starts on 29 February next year and which backs onto British trials a week later, before the final qualifier, the European Long Course at Antwerp in Belgium at the end of May 2012.

Ireland's other Team 2012 swimmer is open water swimmer Chris Bryan.
Bryan finished a creditable ninth at the recent 10km marathon test event, which was held at the London Olympic open water venue.

swim2

USA Swimming announced today that Gráinne Murphy has been selected to represent Europe in the 2011 ‘Mutual of Omaha’ sponsored Duel in the Pool competition (Europe vs. USA) which takes place in Atlanta, Georgia from 16th – 17th December.
Murphy will form part of the 22—member women’s team from Europe and this is a huge honour for the Ballinaboola, Wexford teenager.
This is the first time Ireland has ever had a swimmer as part of the European Duel in the Pool team. To date, there are athletes from 14 countries within Europe taking part in this competition
A decision as to which events she will compete in will be taken at a later date.
The European All-Star team will be comprised of up to 22 men and 22 women,and in addition to Grainne Murphy, will include World Championship swimmers from Great Britain, the Netherlands, Poland, Belarus, Denmark, Austria and Lithuania.
“Mutual of Omaha is proud to bring the world’s best swimmers together in a head-to-head competition as Team USA takes on the European All-Stars,” said Mutual of Omaha Senior Vice President John Hildenbiddle. “With its thrilling competition and great coverage on NBC TV, the Mutual of Omaha Duel in the Pool builds excitement and enthusiasm for swimming leading up to the 2012 Olympic Games.”

Dan man

Interesting news there in swimming, let's hope it pays off and our athletes can get the best possible preparation for the Olympics. Grainne will hopefully push on this year and put herself in a position where she can go into the Olympics with a chance of putting herself in contention for final places and maybe even better.

Dan man

Irish welterweight Roy Sheehan has made it through to the last 32 at the World Boxing Championships in Baku after defeating his Bahamian opponent Carl Hield 15-10 this afternoon. Sheehan found himself trailing 4-3 after the first stanza but produced a great second round to push out to an 11-8 lead. Sheehan closed out the contest winning the final round 4-2 to book a showdown against Croatia's Borna Katalinic on Sunday. Sheehan is now just two wins away from qualifying for next summer's Olympic Games.

Dan man

It's been a while since I updated on how our badminton players are performing in their quest for Olympic qualification:

Men's Singles: (38 players qualify)
Scott Evans: World Ranking 51
Olympic Qualifying Ranking 29
*Scott has slipped back a bit in the rankings but he is still comfortably inside those quota places. Looking like we will be seeing him compete in London.

Women's Singles: (38 players qualify)
Chloe Magee: World Ranking 48
Olympic Qualifying Ranking 26
*Chloe has been very consistent this season and is well on her way to securing her ticket for next summer's Olympic Games.

Men's Doubles: (16 pairs qualify)
Sam Magee/Tony Stephenson: World Ranking 55
Olympic Qualifying Ranking 26
* Sam and Tony have dropped down the ranking table and will need a very positive few months if they are to sneak into the top 16. Unlikely to qualify but have developed a good partnership.

Mixed Doubles: (16 pairs qualify)
Sam Magee/Chloe Magee : World Ranking 37
Olympic Qualifying Ranking 20
* The Magee siblings are currently outside the qualification spots but are putting up an immense battle and are improving all of the time. They look to be in with a decent shout of sneaking into the top 16 by May 2012 but they will need to get some positive results to push them up the rankings that little bit further. What a story this would be for a brother-sister duo from the small town of Raphoe, Co.Donegal to be representing their country, side-by-side on the biggest of all sporting stages. Looking forward to see how they get on over the coming months.

All in all, the Irish badminton players are continuing to impress and are fighting all the way to secure those Olympic berths. Scott and Chloe look very likely to repeat their feat of qualifying for the Olympics and should do us proud should they get there.

Dan man

Irish judoka Lisa Kearney had her best result of 2011 this weekend at the Judo World Cup in Kazakhstan. Kearney won bronze at the event but more importantly has earned valuable Olympic qualification points. She is looking good for a spot at next year's London Olympics but will need to be consistent at the remaining qualifying events. Well done to her.

Dan man

European light-welterweight champion Raymond Moylette is through to the last 32 at the World Boxing Championships in Baku after defeating Latvia's Arturs Ahmetovs 16-11 this afternoon. Moylette will meet Manoj Kumar of India in the next round. Kumar is the current Commonwealth Games gold medallist so he will be stiff opposition.

Dodge

All Irish boxers are now through to the last 32

Darren O'Neill and David Oliver Joyce with comfortable wins

5 box tomorrow, 5 on Monday
http://88.85.4.2/results-daily.fwx?id_compet=79&day=&cat=&nat=IRL&decision=&session=&name=&lang=

Dodge

Moylette lost 19-7. That's a blow

Conlon won 18-7 and is one win away from the Olympics. Fights the number 2 seed from France though

Dodge

3 qualifiers for the Olympics from the boxing

52kg Michael Conlon
56kg John Joe Nevin
69kg Darren O'Neill

3 others lost in the last 16 (Ward, Barnes and Joyce). They'll qualify for Olympics if their conquerers reach the final

Dan man

Good news to report from the Tour of Beijing as Nicholas Roche wins stage 3 and with it he bags 6 vital ranking points for Ireland. Even better is the fact that fellow Irishman Philip Deignan finished second and adds a further 4 points to Ireland's world tour ranking points. These points are vital as they will ultimately decide how many cyclists we qualify for the London Olympics. Good placings in this tour as well as from Dan Martin in the Tour of Lombardy would keep Ireland inside the all important top 15 cut-off point in the ranking table. The big points are gained by finishing in the top 3 or 5 on the general classification of these tours but stage placings in the Tour of Beijing also have points up for grabs, so good stuff from the Irish so far. Roche is currently lying in 11th place, 48 secs off the lead. Although Ireland may finish in the top 15, which secures a quota of 4 riders for the Olympics, Ireland will only be able to avail of 3 of this quota of 4 riders according to the criteria set out by the UCI. Nevertheless, this would be a good achievement.

Dodge

Its 6 world ranking points for a win, and 4 for 2nd. So Ireland earned 10 total. Slovakia got 4 today as Sagan was 2nd

Dan man

Dodge wrote: »

Its 6 world ranking points for a win, and 4 for 2nd. So Ireland earned 10 total. Slovakia got 4 today as Sagan was 2nd

Sorry, I meant Ireland bagged 10 points. Good day yesterday for our lads. We will hopefully hold on ahead of Slovakia, or maybe even surpass Kazakhstan in the table. If we do this then we will have 3 in the road race next year.

Dan man

Here is an update on which Irish athletes have qualified so far for next summer's Olympics:

ATHLETICS:

1. Paul Hession (200m)
2. Ciaran O'Lionaird (1,500m)
3. Alistair Cragg (5,000m)
4. Robert Heffernan (20km Walk/50km Walk)
5. Brendan Boyce (50km Walk)
6. Derval O'Rourke (100m Hurdles)
7. Fionnuala Britton (3,000m Steeplechase)
8. Stephanie Reilly (3,000m Steeplechase)
9. Deirdre Ryan (High Jump)
10. Olive Loughnane (20km Walk)

BOXING:

1. Michael Conlon (Flyweight)
2. John Joe Nevin (Bantamweight)
3. Darren O'Neill (Middleweight)

SWIMMING:

1. Barry Murphy (100m Breastroke)

So far, 14 of our athletes have secured their spots at the Olympic Games with many more well on their way to closing in on their berths. The following are those athletes who have not yet qualified but stand a very good chance of making the team:

ATHLETICS:

• Jason Smyth (100m) - he currently has the B-standard with 10.22secs and the A-standard of 10.18secs is well within his reach.
• Steven Colvert (200m) - this upcoming talent has a best of 20.76 secs so the A-standard of 20.60secs could be achieved next year with further progress.
• David Gillick (400m) - a huge talent, but the double European indoor champion will have to bounce back from the disappointment of 2011. The A-Standard is tough in this event, but if Gillick returns to form then he will be there.
• Thomas Chamney (800m) - injury-hit 2011 and will need to be at his peak just to make the A-standard.
• Mark English (800m) - this hugely talented youngster could well feature in London next year as he could make a big leap due to his tender age. Big talent for the future!!
• Mark Christie (5,000m) - A standard is 13:20mins and his best from 2011 is 13:28mins. A good winter may propel him to the qualifying mark next season.
• Martin Fagan (Marathon) - made the Beijing squad but injury has blighted his career. Runs tomorrow in Chicago where he is looking for sub 2:15hrs for A-standard and sub 2:14hrs for a new P.B.
• Mark Kenneally (Marathon) - runs in Rotterdam in a fortnight and has a chance to reduce his P.B. of 2:17:22hrs and should be close to the A-standard.
• Sean Connolly (Marathon) - ran 2:17:23hrs in his debut marathon last year so has the potential to make the A-standard.
• Thomas Barr (400m Hurdles) - talented youngster who is beginning to make a mark on the international stage. Reduced his P.B. significantly to 50.06secs this season so he could sneak into team, but might be a year too soon. A-standard is 49.20secs.
• Colin Griffin (50km Walk) - should be a definite qualifier bar injury as he has smashed the A-standard many times before. But 2011 was not a good year as he was DQ'd in his 2 starts (he was well inside the standard when DQ'd after 48km).
• Ailish McSweeneny (100m) - has never run the A-standard but has the potential if she has a good year.
• Joanne Cuddihy (400m) - very confident barring injury that Joanne will make the Olympics as she is coming back to her best form. Has the B-standard and was unlucky in the World Champs to be DQ'd when she would without doubt have got the standard.
• Ciara Mageean (1,500m) - extremely talented, huge prospect for the future and already has the b-standard. She will likely hit the qualifying time next year and much more! (IMHO)
• Roisin McGettigan (3,000m Steeplechase) - finalist in the last Olympics but missed this season as she is on maternity leave. If she gets somewhere near her best then she will qualify comfortably.
• Mary Cullen (5,000m) - another to be blighted by injury but has the talent to make the standard if she gets an injury-free season.
• Laura Reynolds (20km Walk) - A-standard is 2:33:30hrs so if this young lady can knock 2 minutes off her best next season then she is there. Every chance of doing it.
• Kelly Proper (Long Jump) - she will have to make a big improvement to make the team but she is a possibility all the same.
• Tori Pena (Pole Vault) - has the B-standard and must improve another 6cm next year to upgrade to the A-standard. Good chance of seeing her in London.
• Jessie Barr (400m Hurdles) - made a huge improvement last year which has seen the youngster go close to the B-standard. It is a possibility she could further progress but 2016 might be a better bet. Although she may make the relay team.
• Women's 4x400m relay - the Irish squad hugely impressed at the Worlds, setting a new Irish record and are currently looking very good to make the top 16 teams which is the qualifying cut-off.
• There are of course other athletes whom I did not mention who could put in a good performance and qualify such as in women's marathon and others.

BOXING:

• The world championships have shown that we have the potential to qualify boxers in the majority of the 10 weight classes. 3 already qualified, Katie Taylor fingers crossed will make it 4 and you would hope at least 3 other male fighters, namely Paddy Barnes, Joe Ward, etc. can add to these numbers.

BADMINTON:

• Scott Evans (Men's Singles) - comfortably inside the qualifying spots at the moment. Should make his second Olympics.
• Chloe Magee (Women's Singles) - same goes for Chloe, well inside the qualification slots and will make her second Games.
• Sam Magee (Mixed Doubles) - sibling Magees could make the Olympics in the mixed pairs. Need a really good few months however as they lie just outside the quota places currently, but are improving all the time.

CANOEING:

• It will be touch and go but we may have a men's K-1 slalom boat qualified for next year, perhaps Eoin Rheinisch, but with only one more opportunity and with only 2 slots available it will be difficult. However, the best international crews are already qualified so it won't be beyond the Irish to take one of the 2 slots availiable. More difficult to see the women qualify a spot but not impossible.
• In the flatwater sprint events, our hopeful Barry Watkins had a really bad year by his standards and it will be hard to see him qualify now to be honest.

CYCLING:

• Ireland look set to send a squad of 3 riders for the road race, most likely Nicholas Roche, Dan Martin and either Philip Deignan or Matt Brammeier.
• Martyn Irvine (Omnium) - doing well on the track in this multi-disciplined event which is new to the Olympics. A repeat of last year's form should get him to London.

EQUESTRIAN:

• Will likely have 2 individual showjumpers (no more, no less). Likely to be 2 of Billy Twomey, Dermott Lennon, Denis Lynch, Shane Breen, Cian O'Connor. Team did not qualify for the Olympics.
• Should have 4-5 team members in the eventing.
• One of either Judy Reynolds or Anna Merveldt will likely take part in the individual dressage.

JUDO:

• Lisa Kearney (-48kg) - it is looking likely that Lisa will qualify for the Olympics via one of the qualification routes. So far she's within the top 14 in the rankings which take the straight-forward route to qualifying. If she falls out of the top 14 then she will still surely quailify via the continental rankings list.

MODERN PENTATHLON:

• The young Natalya Coyle looks fully set to make it to the London Olympics after a very consistent year on the circuit in 2011. A repeat next year and qualification will be secured. She is one for the future.

SWIMMING:

• Grainne Murphy (400m Free/400m I.M/ 800m Free) - she will qualify next year and could do well beyond this. Hugely talented youngster.
• Sycerika McMahon (100m Breastroke/200m I.M./200m Free) - brilliant talent and she could make her first Olympics at a very young age. I would count on seeing her in London.
• Melanie Nocher (200m Free) - could very well make her second Games as either individual or part of the realy squad.
• Women's 4x200m Free - missed out on qualification at the Worlds but looking good to secure one of the remaining 4 spots.
• Ryan Harrison (200m Free/400m Free) - U.S. based swimmer and has the potential to meet the qualification standards.
• Other swimmers such as Karl Burdis, Andrew Bree, Aisling Cooney, Clare Dawson could sneak a place on the team.
• Chris Bryan (10km Open Water) - hugely talented but has a big test to qualify as he missed out at the Worlds. But if he makes it he will be one to watch I.M.O.

TRIATHLON:

• Aileen Morrison will definitely qualify once the process completes. She is ranked in the top 18 in the world consistently and has made it on to the podium at major events. Big talent.
• Gavin Noble also currently occupies a qualification slot and just needs to close it out in 2012. He is never to far off the top 20 and has the potential to mix it with the best on his day.

SHOOTING:

• Derek Burnett is running out of time to secure his quota in the Men's Trap, I think he only has 2 opportunities left and both are extremely difficult to win through in. However, Derek has shown in the past with global medals that he can do it and he is a veteran of 3 Olympic Games so don't write him off.

ROWING:

• Judging on our performance at the Worlds it doesn't look likely that we will have any representation at the London Olympics which would be a huge disappointment. Best chances are the Women's Lightweight Double and Women's Pairs.

SAILING:

• Peter O'Leary and David Burrows (Star Class) - looking really good to qualify judging on their form which would suggest they are going to be in podium territory come the Olympics.
• Annalise Murphy (Laser Radial Class) - amazing talent and should definitely make it. She could definitely win a medal for Ireland at the Olympics next year.
• Matt McGovern and Ryan Seaton (49er Class) - have a good chance of making the Olympics judging on their form this year.

HOCKEY
We could qualify a team, best chance probably the men. Will be really tough though. There is one final Olympic qualifying tournament for those nations who have not yet qualified. 18 countries in each the men's and the women's will be split into 3 groups of 6 teams, at different venues. Only the winner of each group/tournament will qualify for the Olympics. As the draw has not yet been made, it is unknown yet which countries the Irish teams will meet or in which country they will be playing in.

dannyboy13

JohnnyBananas wrote: »

Hi All,

What are peoples opinions on where Ireland is most likely to win a medal at the 2012 Olympics? My first thoughts would be boxing. I am also aware of an Irish female swimmer and a rowing team. Does anyone have an inkling for any other event?

All opinions would be greatly appreciated. Thanks In Advance for all responses.

I would be really glad to see any medals!