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Rio 2016 Olympics Megathread

El Chapo

Kicks off on Friday with the opening ceremony. Boxer, Paddy Barnes will carry the Irish flag.

London 2012 was our most successful Olympics with 6 medals (1 gold, 1 silver, 4 bronze). Can we improve?

Again, we'll probably be looking to our boxers for most of our medals. Paddy Barnes, Michael Conlon and Katie Taylor will be there or thereabouts, although Katie did have a few hiccups trying to qualify.

It's a pretty poor track team this year with the exception of Thomas Barr and Ciara Mageen. Both are fine runners but it's hard to see them getting a medal.

We also have a men's hockey team, two badmintoners, a few horsey people, a woman sailor person, swimmers and of course the golfers.

Tune into RTÉ for Jerry Kiernan if nothing else, he's very entertaining and hugely knowledgeable.

C'mon Ireland!

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Smondie

They are setting up a pretend embassy and sending a garda over, for any citizens travelling

metaoblivia

PowerToWait wrote: »

That's basically it. They targeted cycling and rowing. And specific events within those.

They also got very proactive in talent scouting with programmes like 'tall and talented' where they advertised widely for that body type.

Worked well for them.

They've made significant advances in gymnastics too. 16 years ago, they'd be lucky to qualify a team to the Olympics. Now both of their men's and women's teams are expecting to medal in the team competition this year (as they both did at last year's world championships) and they have medal contenders on several events.

The upshoot is that Ireland is benefiting from this. Both Rio Irish gymnasts - Kieran Behan and Ellis O'Reilly - were trained in the British system. Gymnastics Ireland has also implemented a new training/scouting system similar to the British system and brings over British coaches to help train their young gymnasts. Ireland's most promising young gymnast, Rhys McClenaghan, travels to Britain frequently to train with their national team. He just won Ireland's first European championship medal a few months ago. He's too young for Rio, but will probably be in Tokyo four years from now barring injury. And if he keeps up his pace, he'll have a real shot at a medal.

Check out his pommel horse routine - the kid is only 16 years old: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LS7tLlkJH8o

rainbow kirby

Will be watching as much as possible! Went to a few events in London 4 years ago. Hubby is off to Rio for the second week and has tickets for athletics.

Athletics, swimming, cycling, triathlon and gymnastics are my usual choices but will end up watching pretty much anything.

PowerToWait

mansize wrote: »

Cycling- it's like they honed in on an unpopular Olympic sport with a shed load of medals!

That's basically it. They targeted cycling and rowing. And specific events within those.

They also got very proactive in talent scouting with programmes like 'tall and talented' where they advertised widely for that body type.

Worked well for them.

Mint Sauce

Blair Scrawny Hawk wrote: »

Just tuned in the 6 BBC Olympic channels on my freesat box. Can't wait and won't miss a thing now.

Sure its not just a generic FTA Box, switched on mine last night to be greeted by 15 red button channels. Currently watching a very dull Sweden v S Africa women in an near empty stadium.

velo.2010

I was wondering about the lack of interest towards the games. Time difference, maybe, but Sydney and Beijing had a greater time difference yet there was still a buzz leading into those games form what I remember.

I think its a growing trend of apathy towards big marquee events. Kids are not as interested in sitting down at a particular time to watch a race for 10 seconds when they can catch up on any programme they want at any time. There is too much distraction elsewhere for the Olympics to hold folks attention for long enough to care.

We got lucky with the proximity of the London games and it rubbed off on us. We won't have that again. I can't see the current Olympic model lasting more than 2 or 3 more games. Events will eventually be split around various cities over the course of a summer.

Who knows? Maybe Dublin will get to host some part of the Olympics in future!

mansize

DEFTLEFTHAND wrote: »

4 tainted medals though.

I just looked up the British Olympic team from 1996 and my god did they have a brutal year. They only won 15 medals in total with just the one gold. I'd say that disgraceful showing spurred them on to create the programmes which have yielded them such phenomenal success at recent games.

Cycling- it's like they honed in on an unpopular Olympic sport with a shed load of medals!

ytpe2r5bxkn0c1

Just tuned in the 6 BBC Olympic channels on my freesat box. Can't wait and won't miss a thing now.

VinLieger

price690 wrote: »

Annalise Murphy in the sailing has a great shot aswell

razorblunt wrote: »

I've read that Murphy the sailor has a decent chance of a medal but I refuse to get my hopes up to only see the boat done for a failed drug test 48 hours after winning!

She has a shot but its gonna be nowhere near like the early runaway success she had 4 years ago. This year the field is a lot stronger and shes a heavy weather sailor and Rio has notoriously light winds which are really not her ideal conditions. Hoping she does well but its gonna be tougher than London.

DEFTLEFTHAND

mansize wrote: »

Surely Atlanta was officially our most successful? We even finished ahead of GB in the medals table!!!

4 tainted medals though.

I just looked up the British Olympic team from 1996 and my god did they have a brutal year. They only won 15 medals in total with just the one gold. I'd say that disgraceful showing spurred them on to create the programmes which have yielded them such phenomenal success at recent games.

valoren

The highlights for me at each Olympics.

The road cycling time trial and the team pursuit, Sprints on the track.
The medley relays in Swimming.
The 4 * 100m relay, the 400m and 800m finals in Athletics.
The marathon.

padd b1975

mansize wrote: »

Surely Atlanta was officially our most successful? We even finished ahead of GB in the medals table!!!

*Raises morning snifter of Jameson to toast Michelle*

padd b1975

Junkyard Tom wrote: »

A load of eejits running around the place and jumping over things.

It's the Olympic motto-faster,higher,stronger.

Having said that, it can be difficult to attribute even one of those to a lot of events.

mansize

Surely Atlanta was officially our most successful? We even finished ahead of GB in the medals table!!!

gandalf

Olympics meh....

Badly Drunk Boy

El Chapo wrote: »

London 2012 was our most successful Olympics with 6 medals (1 gold, 1 silver, 4 bronze). Can we improve?

For the number of medals won, it was. 6 medals from 66 participants, 41st on the medals table. At the 1932 Los Angeles Olympics, we got 2 golds from 8 participants, and 16th on the medals table.

I know it's a different set-up now, with more countries around to take part, but 25% is a great return.

Did you know that Ireland didn't take part in the 1936 Berlin Olympics out of protest? Nothing to do with the Nazis or anything (they were grand), just a bit of lingering messiness from independence, and Northern Ireland joining the British Athletic Federation, instead of staying with the all-Ireland organisation that already existed.

razorblunt

I've read that Murphy the sailor has a decent chance of a medal but I refuse to get my hopes up to only see the boat done for a failed drug test 48 hours after winning!

My favourite event is the high dive, sitting there with a takeaway and full fat coke scoffing at the (minor) splashback from a lad who turned himself inside out and tied his shoes on the way down.

PowerToWait

El Chapo wrote: »

Kicks off on Friday with the opening ceremony. Boxer, Paddy Barnes will carry the Irish flag., two badmintoners, a few horsey people, a woman sailor person, swimmers and of course the golfers.

C'mon Ireland!

No mention of our incredible rowers. We have 5 in 2 boats including 2 brothers and a 39 year old mother of 3.

Rowing is also one of our decent medal chances. Give them a cheer.

Savage Tyrant

I love the boxing and the 100m and 200m... Those are the ones I'm really interested in.

I also enjoy watching the women's Beach Volleyball..... The men's beach volleyball though, not so much.

price690

El Chapo wrote: »

Kicks off on Friday with the opening ceremony. Boxer, Paddy Barnes will carry the Irish flag.

London 2012 was our most successful Olympics with 6 medals (1 gold, 1 silver, 4 bronze). Can we improve?

Again, we'll probably be looking to our boxers for most of our medals. Paddy Barnes, Michael Conlon and Katie Taylor will be there or thereabouts, although Katie did have a few hiccups trying to qualify.

It's a pretty poor track team this year with the exception of Thomas Barr and Ciara Mageen. Both are fine runners but it's hard to see them getting a medal.

We also have a men's hockey team, two badmintoners, a few horsey people, a woman sailor person, swimmers and of course the golfers.

Tune into RTÉ for Jerry Kiernan if nothing else, he's very entertaining and hugely knowledgeable.

C'mon Ireland!

Katie Taylor, Michael Conlan, Paddy Barnes, Joe Ward and Michael O'Reilly are genuine gold medal hopes in the boxing. Thats a really fantastic thing to be able to say.

I think all 5 will medal, have a feeling Joe Ward will finally pip the Cuban at the 3rd time of asking.

Conlan will be a marked man, but he has a great shot, Paddy Barnes has more experience than anyone.

Its hugely exciting for any boxing fan, the talent we have is unbelievable.

Annalise Murphy in the sailing has a great shot aswell

BoJack Horseman

Had almost forgotten there was an olympics until we seen the olympic village looking like downtown Aleppo.

London was pretty good, but could not give a f*ck about it this time.
And the first week is always a killer.

Endless swimming and hyper-medal inflation.
F*ck Michael Phelps and his 16 gold medals for doing the one thing over & over again with minor technical differences.

mansize

Pherekydes wrote: »

First missed test was the testers' fault. And she passed a test the following day.

24 hours counts for a lot in Drug testing

mansize

Pherekydes wrote: »

First missed test was the testers' fault. And she passed a test the following day.

I a point of law... Her phone was on silent, family issues... It's like those lawyers you can get for drink driving convictions- wasn't in Irish - struck out!

mansize

Pherekydes wrote: »

First missed test was the testers' fault. And she passed a test the following day.

She didn't appeal the miss until she missed two more.. Strange that.

Pherekydes

mansize wrote: »

And athletes from other nations who escape bans on "appeals"

Appeal missing the first test, after she missed the third...

First missed test was the testers' fault. And she passed a test the following day.

mansize

And athletes from other nations who escape bans on "appeals"

Appeal missing the first test, after she missed the third...

And so many asthmatics..

Gatling

Will anyone be cheering the first all refugee Olympic team .

Wont be tuning in to watch after the whole failed dealing with the State sponsored doing issues

Pherekydes

Junkyard Tom wrote: »

A load of eejits running around the place and jumping over things.

Ah, come on! They're only horses.

Stheno

LordSutch wrote: »

Will Bolt be able to pull off the double again?

100m and 200m.

I reckon so.

The Olympic village apparently is in bits, and the main slip the sailing boats launch off collapsed today lol

LordSutch

Will Bolt be able to pull off the double again?

100m and 200m.