DAY 15 MAY well be remembered as one of agonising near misses from an Irish fans’ perspective.
John Joe Nevin disappointingly missed out on a gold medal, while Robert Heffernan came very close to securing bronze with a fourth place finish earlier.
However, many positives can surely be taken from today too, with the likes of Heffernan, Brendan Boyce, Laura Reynolds, Olive Loughnane and Andrzeg Jezierski all exceeding expectations with their performances.
And while London 2012 may well be remembered as the Games in which Michael Phelps became the most decorated Olympian ever, with his performances over the past few days, Usain Bolt has ensured he will also be recognised as far more than just an afterthought.
Headline of the day
Jamaica’s Golden generation
For such a small country, Jamaica have performed remarkably well in athletics on a consistent basis in recent years. And their exceptional performance at London 2012 was consolidated this evening, as they took gold in the men’s 4x100m in emphatic fashion.
What we learned today
Mo Farah is one of the greatest distance runners of all time
Having already won in the 10,000m, the British athlete delivered another consummate display to triumph in the men’s 5000m today. And the manner in which he won the race illustrated his class, as he demonstrated his trademark kick from 600 metres to write his name into the history books once more.
John Joe Nevin is not a failure
Despite producing a below-par performance this evening, the boxer should be more than proud of his achievement. He went further than any other Irish male boxer at the Olympics, emulating legends such as Sonia O’Sullivan and Kenny Egan by attaining a silver medal in the process.
Brazil’s reputation for flopping under pressure won’t be going away anytime soon
In recent years, Brazil have increasingly began to seem like the equivalent of New Zealand in rugby (before the All Blacks finally won the Rugby World Cup last year, at least). Despite having an array of talented footballers at their disposal, they seem to panic when things don’t go their way, and so it proved again today as they were beaten 2-1 by Mexico.
Highlights from Team Ireland
- Rob Heffernan finished fourth in the 50km walk in a new Irish record time of 3:37:54. In the same race, Brendan Boyce claimed a new PB to earn 29th place, while Colin Griffin was disqualified.
- Olive Loughnane finished 13th, and Laura Reynolds came 20th in women’s 20km walk.
- Arthur Lanigan O’Keeffe ended up 25th in the men’s modern pentathlon.
- Andrzej Jezierski won his C1 B final in the canoe sprint to finish ninth overall.
- Boxer Darren O’Neill will lead Team Ireland in tomorrow night’s Olympic closing ceremony.
- John Joe Nevin had to settle for silver, after being beaten by Luke Campbell of Team GB in the men’s bantamweight division gold medal bout.
Tweet of the day
Best thing we’ve read today
Coming with the impressive title, ‘How a Guy With a Wooden Leg Won 6 Olympic Medals,’ the Atlantic’s piece makes for fascinating reading.
A new friend we made today
Mexican footballer Oribe Peralta, who outshone the likes of Hulk and Neymar in the Gold Medal match this afternoon, scoring twice as Mexico upset Brazil 2-1.
You said what?
“I have my fingers crossed that we see a return of the “Mobot” tonight but I would bet against it.” Our own Ailís McSweeney paid tribute to the British athlete ahead of his race this evening.
“If anyone’s looking for a PE teacher or a Geography teacher, I’m available.” Ireland’s Laura Reynolds needs something else to occupy her time now that the Olympics is over.
“Both AIBA and the IOC investigated the claim and could find no evidence to support it. The BBC re-broadcast the allegation last night (in a website report), on the eve of the semi-finals, having been told it is untrue.” The International Boxing Association announces plans to sue to the broadcaster over repeated allegations of ‘cash for medals’.
Video of the day: The Team GB women’s football team lip sync S Club 7.
YouTube credit: UK3Lion007
Medal table
(Medal table as of 22.34 on Saturday, 11 August)
