Aileen Morrisson, London2012 Olympic Triathlon thread

shotgunmcos

I thought since we have a fair tri related interest on boards these days, we could have a thread to keep a watch on Aileen's form heading to London?

Maybe some predictions?

She is comfortably ranked at the moment. Gavin Noble is ranked 41 on the QF spots and a few good early season results will see him at London too

Some feeds
http://www.triathlon.org/athletes/profile/aileen_morrison/
http://blog.aileenmorrison.com/#home
http://www.triathlon.org/results/rankings/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aileen_Morrison
http://www.irishtriathlon.com/index.php/2011/03/aileen-morrison-gets-olympic-solidarity-award/
http://www.london2012.com/triathlon
http://www.triathlon.org/files/events/rankings/rankings-olympic-women-2012.pdf
http://www.triathlon.org/files/events/rankings/olympic-simulation-men-2012.pdf

MrCreosote

Not sure what events she has planned for early this season. But there were some very encouraging results at the end of last year.

I'd say if she stays injury free- no probs qualifying, maybe top 20 in the first 2 WCS races of the year.

As for London- who knows, but a top 10 would be a great result.

catweazle

Her swimming seemed to have much improved towards the end of the summer, she was coming out in the top 5 in the two races I saw her in. Yokohama had a good field with uber swimmer Lucy Hall winning the swim with Jenkins close behind and then Morrison

Outside of the boxers I would guess she might be Irelands best hope of a medal

Daz1214

her form towards the end of 2011 was much much improved so hopefully she keeps up the progress and i reckon she'll go well

airscotty

There off on a high altitude training camp to spain on the 16th ... See news story here http://www.sportsnewsireland.com/athletics_irish/73717-2/

Pisco Sour

catweazle wrote: »

Outside of the boxers I would guess she might be Irelands best hope of a medal

Surely Rob Heffernan is a better shot at a medal. And maybe even Derval, who is ranked higher in her event than Aileen is (had she not got injured she would have cruised into the final in Daegu and finished around 5th).

catweazle

04072511 wrote: »

Surely Rob Heffernan is a better shot at a medal. And maybe even Derval, who is ranked higher in her event than Aileen is (had she not got injured she would have cruised into the final in Daegu and finished around 5th).

Perhaps you are right but when Aileen gets it right she is capable of getting a podium (as is Derval who is consistency personified when it comes to the big races). I an not a fan of racewalking so I dont really know what Robs chances are like.

Dan man

She isn't our best chance outside the boxers for a medal, but she is capable of making the podium if she has the perfect race. Should be a top 10 finisher at the Games with a bit of luck.

griffin100

Outside of the boxers I don't think we have any good medal hopes but here's hoping the track guys and Aileen can surprise us - assuming Aileen qualifies for London which I dont think she has yet (?).

Anyone know if Bryan Keane is likely to get to London?

Pisco Sour

Rob Heffernan is a serious shot at a medal in the 50k. He was 4th in his first championship race at the distance in Barcelona (only 3 days after coming 4th in the 20k) , in 3:45, and his first 25k was very conservative and he finished like an express train. 3:41 would probably be needed for a medal in London, which with more 50k focus over the last 2 years in training, and more experience in racing 50k, he is very capable of. Rob Heffernan is easily our best medal shot outside of the boxers.

He intends to do both events in London but this time there is an 8 day break between the 20k and 50k. His best shot is the 50k.

Dan man

griffin100 wrote: »

Outside of the boxers I don't think we have any good medal hopes but here's hoping the track guys and Aileen can surprise us - assuming Aileen qualifies for London which I dont think she has yet (?).

Anyone know if Bryan Keane is likely to get to London?

Bryan Keane was blighted by injury in 2011 so his chances of making London are bleak. However, he is a great athlete and should be in the mix come 2016 in Rio.
As for other medal prospects outside boxing, we have two great chances in sailing. Annalise Murphy finished 6th at the worlds, and was lying in bronze medal position with 5 mins to go in her final race. Given the fact she is young and improving all the time she is definitely one to watch out for in London. Also, she won bronze at the extremely competitive regatta at Weymouth this year (the location for the Olympic sailing), a warm up for the Olympics. At the Worlds she won more races than any other competitor and once she gets her consistency right, she could be the stand-out performer.
Peter O'Leary and David Burrows could sneak a medal and they are very strong performers at Weymouth.
Robert Heffernan is in medal territory in the 50km walk and we have an outside chance in the individual showjumping, but wouldn't bank on it as it is a very unpredictable sport.
Aileen is certainly among our medal hopes and should do very well. If she has a decent swim and is up there after the first transition then all is possible.

Daz1214

Bryan Keane is out of loop after deciding to focus on recovery for the bad knee injury he suffered...he raced a couple of times towards the end of last year but was suffering muscle imbalance in his knees...Aileen has already qualified for London. She is ranked 11th and the top 55 ranked triathletes qualify for the games...Gavin Noble is currently 41st so a couple of decent results early this year should see him there as well

shotgunmcos

I agree on the sailors and Rob heffernan. In fact I really hope he gets a medal. I struggle to see, outside Derval, where a medal will come from on the track and Field side.

My dark horses are Grainne Murphy making the final of the 800 free and Ailleen Morrisson being top 10 half way through the run on the Tri. Who knows how those scenarios might play out

macinalli

Heard a piece about Kieran Behan on the radio this morning - he qualified for the Olympic gymnastics yesterday. His story is pretty incredible - wheelchair bound at 10 when an operation to remove a tumour went wrong, minor brain damage at 12 from a fall at training. I know nothing about gymnastics so don't know how well he'll do, but it's bloody impressive what he's overcome! More details here.

thirtyfoot

No mention of Mad Len with his roofless house. He is such a crazy f¥cker he could have the balls to do it. When your training setup makes shoes especially for you, you are in a serious setup. 10th in a champs last year, training with the bronze medalist and Mo Farah and others. He could do anything in London. If he did medal it would be the greatest medal achievement since Delaney. A 1500 medal in London, I'd call my next born Len (or Lena) if that came to pass.

KentuckyPete

thirtyfoot wrote: »

No mention of Mad Len with his roofless house. He is such a crazy f¥cker he could have the balls to do it. When your training setup makes shoes especially for you, you are in a serious setup. 10th in a champs last year, training with the bronze medalist and Mo Farah and others. He could do anything in London. If he did medal it would be the greatest medal achievement since Delaney. A 1500 medal in London, I'd call my next born Len (or Lena) if that came to pass.

Top post thirtyfoot.

Len is surely in the shakeup if he can continue his moves toward consistent performance - for me his consistency was the big thing in the Worlds - three world-class races in a week added to his 3:34 earlier in the summer. Then the move to the Salazar outfit to bring him on further.

Morrison is a class act - another athlete who is improving consistently. An outside shot for a medal but top 10 would be one hell of an achievement. Be interesting to see her spring / early summer strategy now that the London spot is definitely secured. Go Aileen.

Thanks to dickhead motorist of the century in Cork's own Little Island Brian Keane is out for London. His improvement curve was such (7th in the World Sprint Champs was it?) that he could have been a contendor too. Desperately bad luck.

Pisco Sour

thirtyfoot wrote: »

No mention of Mad Len with his roofless house. He is such a crazy f¥cker he could have the balls to do it. When your training setup makes shoes especially for you, you are in a serious setup. 10th in a champs last year, training with the bronze medalist and Mo Farah and others. He could do anything in London. If he did medal it would be the greatest medal achievement since Delaney. A 1500 medal in London, I'd call my next born Len (or Lena) if that came to pass.

I will be naming my first born after the next Irish medallist in athletics. If Derval pulls off a medal and my first born is a boy then tough sh1t!

MrCreosote

Did anyone get tickets for the grandstand for the Olympic tris? I put in for them- failed to get them needless to say (along with the opening ceremony and 100m final!).

Pity really- I've a feeling the women's tri could be very good racing. I thought the women's WCS was far more exciting last year than the men's. It's hard to pick out a shoe-in for the olympic podium in the women's race like the Brownlees.

Bambaata

No tickets for it but I shall be somewhere on the course. Went over last summer to see the dress rehearsal.

thirstywork2

Best medal prospect outside Boxing would be robert heffernan.

Dan man

thirstywork2 wrote: »

Best medal prospect outside Boxing would be robert heffernan.

Yes, agree with this, along with Annalise Murphy in the sailing.

shotgunmcos

2nd today at the Portugal European Cup race. Ran herself through the field. Promising start... http://www.triathlonireland.com/index.php?id=107&nid=691

Bambaata

I have some doubts on how well "2nd" was for her today. Yes its a decent result but she was top ranked (seeing as she wore bib 1 and i believe this is based off ranking) going into it so on that anything below 1st was a step back. She already has her Olys spot but yes while her run was good both the swim and bike must have been below target seeing as it wasn't a top class field and she didn't make 1st pack!

MrCreosote

Swim needs a bit of work by the looks of it. Not sure how much importance you can put on the early season races when she's already qualified- I'm sure the aim will all be for a London peak.

Miss the first cycle pack in August and it's game over though!

smcgui

Aileen got a bit beat up during the swim hence her poor swim time and then missed the pack on the bike. Read her race report here: http://blog.aileenmorrison.com/#home

Amz

Heard her interview on BBC radio NI, was surprised at how much getting a few smacks to the face affected her.

Would have thought it was a common occurrence to get bashed around a bit in the swim?

Scared me a bit actually.

Bambaata

Amz wrote: »

Heard her interview on BBC radio NI, was surprised at how much getting a few smacks to the face affected her.

Would have thought it was a common occurrence to get bashed around a bit in the swim?

Scared me a bit actually.

It explains it a bit now alright why she wasnt in the main group. Id never imagine you'd get used to that kind of madness. When on the edge effort wise every breath must be vital so to get tossed around and dunked wouldnt be a nice thing!

Fazz

She put up a blog post that TI linked also.

Apparently cruising near the front of swim, then some girl came and swam over her, grabbed her head and dunked her!
So she got her back
B1tches :eek:

I heard a rumour it was Harry Wiltshire's girlfriend... :pac:

Anyone???

I'll get my coat...

eoglyn

Fazz wrote: »

She put up a blog post that TI linked also.

Apparently cruising near the front of swim, then some girl came and swam over her, grabbed her head and dunked her!
So she got her back
B1tches :eek:

I heard a rumour it was Harry Wiltshire's girlfriend... :pac:

Anyone???

I'll get my coat...

I, in my ignorance had to google 'Harry Wiltshire' and found this video on the sun website

http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/sport/other_sports/triathlon/3714099/British-triathlete-Harry-Wiltshire-has-been-banned-for-six-months-for-blocking-world-champion-Javier-Gomez.html

Fuppin hell, how did he not think he would get caught?

peter kern

Bambaata wrote: »

I have some doubts on how well "2nd" was for her today. Yes its a decent result but she was top ranked (seeing as she wore bib 1 and i believe this is based off ranking) going into it so on that anything below 1st was a step back. She already has her Olys spot but yes while her run was good both the swim and bike must have been below target seeing as it wasn't a top class field and she didn't make 1st pack!

http://www.triathlon.org/files/events/rankings/rankings-itu-points-women.pdf

this Itu list to determine race number

and the maybe more telling ranking for oly quali and over pretty much 2 years
http://www.triathlon.org/files/events/rankings/rankings-olympic-women-2012.pdf

3rd place finisher is a 2 times silver medal winner at euro champs (inc athlone). Winner always a close competitor of aileen.

PWEI

eoglyn wrote: »

I, in my ignorance had to google 'Harry Wiltshire' and found this video on the sun website

http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/sport/other_sports/triathlon/3714099/British-triathlete-Harry-Wiltshire-has-been-banned-for-six-months-for-blocking-world-champion-Javier-Gomez.html

Fuppin hell, how did he not think he would get caught?

Because it happens all the time. They made an example of him because he did it to Gomez & it was well known that GBTri gave him the orders to do it.
Here's a clip of it;

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p1wnu0xzvjo

couerdelion

PWEI wrote: »

it was well known that GBTri gave him the orders to do it.

Really? My understanding was that there was no evidence against the British team and that the sanctions imposed by the ITU were aimed squarely at Wiltshire and not at the British team.

Bambaata

Good tweet by Alistair Brownlee today:

@Harrywiltshire heard this was you? http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/rowing/17645929#TWEET122870 #wrongplacewrongtime haha

I dont think the British Tri guys had any part in that. Wiltshire knows he's not good enough to compete with them so he was trying to show how he could be of use, albeit by being completely reckless.

PWEI

couerdelion wrote: »

Really? My understanding was that there was no evidence against the British team and that the sanctions imposed by the ITU were aimed squarely at Wiltshire and not at the British team.

Yea there was no evidence to prove that Wiltshire was instructed by GBTri to target Gomez in the swim. But in the same race Team GB worked as a team to get Alistair Brownlee back to the front after a puncture. Wiltshire even abandoned his race after the cycling stage so he was clearly following team instructions. No evidence to prove it but a lot of people think he was following instructions. Here's a poll on the subject from triathlete.com. 65% of people who voted thought team tactics took it too far.

http://triathlon.competitor.com/2011/06/features/triathlete-com-poll-did-team-tactics-go-too-far_32769

EC1000

Aileen 2nd in japan world cup. Some big names missing. Still, a world podium is great.