# Our first medal.



## Ash 22 (19 Aug 2008)

Great to see Paddy Barnes win his match, so we have at least a bronze and hopefully more.


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## Lauren (19 Aug 2008)

Thats brilliant news! Fair play to him!

Irish competitors in every other event appear to be 'tired'!


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## Ash 22 (19 Aug 2008)

Felt sorry for the other boxer Joyce last week picking up those penalties.


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## z106 (19 Aug 2008)

Is it just me or do many other people really give a monkeys as to how Ireland get on in teh olympics ?
On a personal level i couldn't care less.

Attepting to contend the medals in events such as the discus, javelin and what ever you'rr having yourself just doesn't for a second come near to stirring up any emotions in me.

Now if they were contending for a track event that might be different.

Like - even the boxing ? Has anyone even heard of these guys before?

I do enjoy sport - the olympics is filled with rubbish  'sports' though.


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## joeysully (19 Aug 2008)

he is from Northern Ireland


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## bullbars (19 Aug 2008)

qwertyuiop said:


> I do enjoy sport - the olympics is filled with rubbish 'sports' though.


 
Please enlighten us as to what sports you would not deem, as you so eloquently put it, "rubbish"

Making statements like this I assume you know what it is like to have to train 7 days a week with nothing else on your mind and making difficult sacrifices to achieve total fitness & discipline.


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## Ash 22 (19 Aug 2008)

I never heard of this guy before as Im not a boxing follower but still enjoy watching it. I certainly enjoyed watching this fight and delighted to see him do our country proud and hopefully he'll  get gold. Yes the amount of training that these sportspeople put in  is amazing and they deserve every award they get.


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## Welfarite (19 Aug 2008)

bullbars said:


> Please enlighten us as to what sports you would not deem, as you so eloquently put it, "rubbish"


 
a few mentioned here, maybe?


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## Ash 22 (19 Aug 2008)

Another boxing medal for us- Kenny Egan.


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## DavyJones (19 Aug 2008)

joeysully said:


> he is from Northern Ireland




Irish people live there too.


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## FredBloggs (19 Aug 2008)

qwertyuiop said:


> Is it just me or do many other people really give a monkeys as to how Ireland get on in teh olympics ?
> On a personal level i couldn't care less.
> 
> Attepting to contend the medals in events such as the discus, javelin and what ever you'rr having yourself just doesn't for a second come near to stirring up any emotions in me.
> ...


 
I probably don't feel quite as strongly as you do Qwerty but I agree with your sentiments.   I would be pleased for the boxers that they won medals today but I wouldn't be jumping over the moon.  Like you it would be a different story if it was a track event.

One thing I've noticed is that every Olympics the BBC concentrates on an event I've barely heard of as they have someone in contention for a medal.  Full coverage , buildup, interviews, the lot.  Then the following Olympics when they don't have someone in that event it hardly gets a mention.  I can understand why they do this but it underlines your point - one nation could be basking in glory at winning gold in the knitting while hanggliding competition but the rest of the world doesn't care.


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## gebbel (19 Aug 2008)

joeysully said:


> he is from Northern Ireland



So would you prefer if he had declared for the British?


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## Ash 22 (19 Aug 2008)

> one nation could be basking in glory at winning gold in the knitting while hanggliding competition but the rest of the world doesn't care.


 
I'd be interested in taking up that - where do I start!


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## ClubMan (19 Aug 2008)

gebbel said:


> So would you prefer if he had declared for the British?


You mean _United Kingdomish_?


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## ClubMan (19 Aug 2008)

Ash 22 said:


> I'd be interested in taking up that - where do I start!


[broken link removed]?

[broken link removed]


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## Ash 22 (19 Aug 2008)

Thanks ClubMan thats very good. You just made my day!


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## LDFerguson (19 Aug 2008)

ClubMan said:


> [broken link removed]?
> 
> [broken link removed]


 
How dare you print a photo of my Mammy without consent?  So her first attempt at a DIY soccer set for young Liam wasn't entirely successful but she was doing her best.


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## Ash 22 (19 Aug 2008)

I'd say thats a Dublin flag she's knitting --for next year!


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## Graham_07 (19 Aug 2008)

Here's ClubMan's final heat.


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## Ash 22 (20 Aug 2008)

Another great day for our boxers with Sutherland winning.  I was listening to the radio yesterday evening and seemingly when Barnes started out boxing he was beaten in his first 15 fights. It shows what persevierence can do.


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## csirl (20 Aug 2008)

3 medals.

I believe the unofficial target in the sporting community was that 3 medals in at least 2 sports would make this an extremely successful games for the Irish team.


Looks like we have a great shot in tomorrows showjumping final, so could end up exceeding the target.


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## Teabag (20 Aug 2008)

http://www.100thofasecond.com/

Interesting one.


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## csirl (20 Aug 2008)

> http://www.100thofasecond.com/
> 
> Interesting one.


 
To play devils advocate here - none of underwater photos conclusively show Cavic actually touching the wall. They show him about to touch the wall and having his hands closer to the wall than Phelps at that time, but never actually touching the wall. Cavic also appears to be at full stretch at this time, whereas Phelps isnt. Is it possible that Cavic reached too early and didnt quite reach the wall?

The second photo on the website with the circles doesnt show anything due to the angle it is taken at. Phelps could well be touching the wall at that point - but lower in the water than Cavic - thus further away from the black line at top of pool - check out the perspective on the photo. This is one of those classic photos in sport which when looked at from another angle tell a very different story.

Finally, I'm sure that the timers work on pressure exerted on them. They would need a certain threshold of pressure to record a time - to account for the fact that water in a pool moves lapping up against them. Its possible that Cavic did touch first, but the pressure he put on the timers wasnt sufficient to activate them. I would guess that somewhere in the small print in swimming rules is something to the effect that a certain level of pressure must be exerted to have a time recorded. 

I'm not a fan of Phelps and the whoopla surrounding him and I agree with the posters who say 4 swimming = 1 track & field and butterfly is no different to having e.g. 100m with flapping arms. But just putting some views out that certain camera shots can sometimes lie.


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## Teabag (20 Aug 2008)

Conspiracy solved..

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tQM_QLw9cxA


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## MandaC (20 Aug 2008)

I think its a great achievement that Kenny Egan won a medal.  I see the dedication that the trainers in Neilstown boxing club put into the younger kids there, and as most weekends you see the trainers and the kids out around Clondalkin doing their training jogs (in all weathers) The kids love it and a medal for the Club will give them all a boost!


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## DrMoriarty (21 Aug 2008)

Teabag said:


> Conspiracy solved..
> 
> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tQM_QLw9cxA


 
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AhjwnsVUeto&NR=1

Just wait 'til the guy tests positive for fish oil.


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## Graham_07 (21 Aug 2008)

DrMoriarty said:


> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AhjwnsVUeto&NR=1
> 
> Just wait 'til the guy tests positive for fish oil.


 

Crikey, with the amount of Omega 3 I put away in a day I should have given that a shot !


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## MrMan (21 Aug 2008)

> I'm not a fan of Phelps and the whoopla surrounding him and I agree with the posters who say 4 swimming = 1 track & field and butterfly is no different to having e.g. 100m with flapping arms. But just putting some views out that certain camera shots can sometimes lie.



I'm not an ardent fan of track and field or swimming but this constant belittling of the swimming results makes no sense. To say that the butterfly is akin to running whilst flapping your arms is so wide of the mark, has anyone who says this actually tried to swim a length of a pool doing the butterfly? Its a skill and a difficult one at that.


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## Ash 22 (21 Aug 2008)

Our showjumper Denis Lynch is out of todays final. Seemingly 4 horses have tested positive for use of a banned drug. Seemingly this drug can be used as either a pain relief or for something very opposite, it is put on the horses hoof and has the effect of making the hoof sore so as when he touches a jump it causes pain and this makes the horse tuck his leg up more going over the jump.
 If used for the wrong reason, very sad and foolish. I presume we'll hear a lot more as the day goes on. He was one of the favoutites to take a medal.


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## FredBloggs (21 Aug 2008)

wonder if anyone heard the interview with Alastair Cragg on Drivetime sport? He was really really bitter about not having qualified for the fianl and said he'd blown it. He said he hadn't moved to the front when he ought to. He seemed really down at not making the final.

I was puzzled at this as I knew he had made the final as one of the fastest loosers. I later found out he'd done the interview after his race but before the second (slower) semi. No one expected he'd go through as a fastest looser. but he has.

I wonder if given this unexpected chance he can bring us home a medal?

I'd love to hear an interview with him after he'd found out he'd qualified!


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## redstar (21 Aug 2008)

I think we should not send an equestrian team to the Olympics again until they sort out the mess that appears to exist here regarding doping horses. 

Two Olympics in a row, and Irish Showjumping is again disgraced.


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## Ash 22 (21 Aug 2008)

It is a shame. It seems the story now is that it was an ingredient in a medication that was used on the horse's back for soreness or something. It could stay in the system for ages it seems. That being the case I feel really sorry for Denis Lynch. Saying that whoevers to blame for using this should have been well aware of what they were using especially knowing this horse would be competing in the olympics.
Just wondering why Jessica Kuerten did'nt compete this time, this guy went instead of her I think.


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## Sunny (21 Aug 2008)

Ash 22 said:


> It is a shame. It seems the story now is that it was an ingredient in a medication that was used on the horse's back for soreness or something. It could stay in the system for ages it seems. That being the case I feel really sorry for Denis Lynch. Saying that whoevers to blame for using this should have been well aware of what they were using especially knowing this horse would be competing in the olympics.
> Just wondering why Jessica Kuerten did'nt compete this time, this guy went instead of her I think.


 
The fact remains that it is a banned substance. Ignorance is no defence. Like you say I can't understand how the rider and support staff allowed this to happen. Was it the same item for the four teams? All very strange.


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## csirl (21 Aug 2008)

They are saying that it is only a cream used for saddle soreness.

Now, where did we here this excuse before?....................was it the Tour de France the year they did all the drug busts?


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## Ash 22 (21 Aug 2008)

Sunny said:


> Was it the same item for the four teams? All very strange.


 
Same thing for them all.


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