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Brilliant clear from Austin O’Connor & Colorado Blue sees Ireland move up to 8th place

The Irish Eventing team have risen five places to eighth overall following the Cross Country phase of the Olympic Eventing competition at Sea Forest Island in Tokyo.

Sam Watson and Tullabeg Flamenco

Carlow’s Sam Watson and Tullabeg Flamenco (ISH) were pathfinders for the Irish in the Cross Country. A fast round saw them pick up just two time penalties. Unfortunately, they also picked up 11 penalties when a slight rub broke a frangible pin at fence 14C. That put Watson on a total score 47.3 after Dressage and Cross Country and they now lie in 31st place individually.

Austin O’Connor & Colorado Blue go clear

Cork native Austin O’Connor and Colorado Blue were second to go for the Sally Corscadden managed Irish team. They produced a stunning round to jump clear inside the time to stay on their Dressage score of 38.0.

O’Connor and Colorado Blue’s  brilliant round, one of just six clears inside the time, saw him shoot up the leaderboard and having been in 49th place after Dressage, they are now in 20th position.

“I am delighted with my horse’s performance, the horse was great,” admitted a delighted Austin O’Connor.

“He seems to have recovered really well. He is a class horse. We will all enjoy the next phase now. We will get the horse recovered and myself recovered and hopefully come out and finish on a good note.”

Sarah Ennis & Horseware Woodcourt Garrison

The last member of the Irish trio to take on the Cross Country course was Meath’s Sarah Ennis with Horseware Woodcourt Garrison (ISH). They picked up 20 penalties for a refusal at fence 16C and 17.6 time penalties for a total score after Dressage and Cross Country of 75.70 in 39th position.

That leaves Ireland on a team total of 161.0 heading into the final Show Jumping phase.

Britain remain in the gold medal position in the team competition after they added no penalties to their Dressage score of 78.30.  Australia are in silver with France currently in bronze.

Irish Sport Horse Ballaghmore Class leads

Britain’s Oliver Townend and The Irish Sport Horse Ballaghmor Class (ISH) are in the gold medal position on the individual standings with a score of 23.6.

The Olympic Eventing team and individual medals will be decided following the final Show Jumping phase which takes place on Bank Holiday Monday.

Golf and gymnastics news from Team Ireland

Rory McIlroy missed out on an Olympic medal in Tokyo today.

It was a tense and thrilling final day in the Men’s Individual Stroke Play at Kasumigaseki Country Club today, the County Down golfer finished in a tie for 4th after a thrilling seven-way playoff for the bronze medal.

Having carded a final round 67, 4-under par, McIlroy joined the 7-way playoff for bronze. Open champion Collin Morikawa (USA), CT Pan (Chinese Taipei), Mito Pereira (Chile), Sebastián Munoz (Columbia), Paul Casey (GB) and Hideki Matsuyama (Japan) all finished on 15-under par with McIlroy.

McIlroy made a 10-foot putt on the first play-off hole to progress while Matsuyama and Casey bowed out. On the next, all 5 remaining players made par. Morikawa and CT Pan birdied the third play-off hole to knock McIlroy, Pereira and Munoz out.

McIlroy determined to make Paris Olympics

Despite his disappointment at not winning a medal, McIlroy said of his first Olympic experience:

“It makes me even more determined going to Paris and trying to pick one up. It’s disappointing going away without any hardware. I’ve been saying all day I’ve never tried so hard in my life to finish third!

“It’s been a great experience. Today was a great day to be up there in contention for a medal. Certainly it had a different feeling to it than I expected but as I said, I’m already looking forward to 3 years’ time and hopefully go at least one better, if not three better.”

Offaly’s Shane Lowry had to settle for a tie for 22nd as his final day saw him stall, shooting a level par 71. A bogey on the par 3 4th hole, followed by a double-bogey on the 8th put an end to his medal chances. Lowry birdied 3 of his final 4 holes to secure the top 25 spot.

Xander Schauffele held his overnight lead to secure the Gold Medal for USA, while Rory Sabbatini (Slovakia) fired a superb final round 61 to take Silver.

Gymnastics history maker Rhys McClenaghan

Rhys McClenaghan became the first Irish gymnast to reach an Olympic final. McClenaghan finished in 7th place in the Men’s Pommel Horse final with a score of 13.100.

McClenaghan was second last to take to the pommel following a host of other impressive performances across the board. An unfortunate error early on though, saw him catch his finger under the handle of the pommel which resulted in a fall from the horse.

He regained his composure quickly though and completed his routine in magnificent style, with a clean dismount, but knew that it was not enough for a podium finish. His final score of 13.100 was a combination of a 6.400 difficulty score and an execution score of 6.700.

“I was disappointed with my performance today,” he commented. “It could have gone a lot better of course, just that one finger got caught under the handle. That one finger got caught, and that’s the finest of margins in gymnastics, where that one finger placement wrong can throw you off course. It’s the beauty of the sport as well the fact that it makes it so exciting. I’m excited to get back out there and just be better than ever.”

Irish team boxing and athletics news from Tokyo

It was another action-packed morning for Team Ireland in a sweltering Tokyo today.

There was disappointment for boxer, Kurt Walker, who lost out in his quarter-final bout with USA’s Duke Ragan by the finest of margins, a 3-2 split decision after a pulsating contest.

Regan took the better of the opening round, dictating the pace throughout, but Walker regrouped well in the break and came back strong in the second to level proceedings going into the final round. An extremely closely-contested final round saw the two boxers evenly matched throughout, but Regan just pipped it in the end on a 3-2 split decision.

Bronze medal for Walsh

Walker’s boxing team mate Aidan Walsh withdrew from his semi-final of the Men’s Welterweight competition due to ankle injury sustained during his quarter-final bout.

He will still take home his bronze medal which he won in the quarter-final bout, becoming the sixteenth boxer to bring home a medal from the Olympic Games. The tally of Olympic boxing medals now stands at 17, more than 50% of the overall medals won by Team Ireland at Olympic Games.

Athletics

In athletics, there were fantastic performances from Eilish Flanagan and Michelle Finn in the Women’s 3000m Steeplechase heats, with Flanagan producing the run of a lifetime to shave an incredible six seconds off her Personal Best time, while Finn produced her fastest time at a major championships.

Flanagan produced the performance of a lifetime to run 9.34.86 to finish 12th in her heat.

Speaking after her new lifetime best, Flanagan said:

“It really excites me for that to be my first performance on the world stage. It makes me believe a bit more that I belong there, so I’m looking forward to the next opportunity on a stage like that.”

Finn, going in the fastest of the heats, had to deal with a strung-out field, but put in an impressive last 800m to record her fastest time at a major championships – 9:36.

Thomas Barr ran the second fastest time of his career in the Semi-Finals of the Men’s 400m Hurdle, but failed to qualify for the final.

Paul Broadhurst wins Staysure PGA Seniors Championship

Paul Broadhurst added his name to a long list of winners by securing victory in the Staysure PGA Seniors Championship at Formby Golf Club in Liverpool today.

The Englishman posted a closing three under par round of 69 to reach seven under par. He finished one stroke clear of Frenchman Thomas Levet and England’s John Bickerton, who shared second place on six under par.

First win in nearly 3 years

Sunday’s win ends a spell of almost three years without a victory for the double Senior Major Champion.

“It feels pretty special to win a tournament of this stature on a links course,” he said. “I enjoyed playing the golf course. I remember some of the holes from ’85 in the British Amateur when I played here last, my son played here a few years ago in the English Amateur and he said ‘it’s a tough track, Dad, you’ve got hit it straight’ but I drove it well all week really. I didn’t hit many poor drives and I got it done in the end.

Australian David McKenzie shared fourth place with 1999 Open Champion Paul Lawrie on five under par,. Overnight co-leaders Markus Brier and Peter Wilson shared sixth on three under.

Scotland’s Andrew Oldcorn finishing eighth on two under par. Argentina’s Mauricio Molina and Irishman Brendan McGovern completed the top ten, sharing ninth on one under.

The next stop on the Legends Tour International Schedule is the Irish Legends presented by The McGinley Foundation, which takes place at Rosapenna Hotel and Golf Resort from August 20-22

Thomas Barr runs second fastest time of his career in Tokyo

Thomas Barr ran the second fastest time of his career when finishing 4th in his semi-final of the Men’s 400m Hurdles in Tokyo on Sunday.  

His time of 48.26 seconds placed the Waterford athlete in 9th place overall. Unfortunately, he failed to qualify for the final at this his second Olympic Games.

Despite a strong run from Barr, it was always set to be a huge challenge in a high calibre semi-final. The race included the world record holder (Karsten Warholm), the third-fastest man in history (Rai Benjamin), and the man who beat him to bronze in Rio (Yasmani Copello).

With just two automatic places available, Warholm and Benjamin were always favoured, being the only sub-47 second men in the field, proving their class from gun to tape.

Barr started much more aggressively than in his heat, aware of the challengers in the lanes either side of him and tried hard to hang on to those fast starters. He was very well positioned at the halfway mark, which was encouraging for the notoriously fast finisher, but hitting hurdle seven stripped the Irish hurdler of his momentum.

A courageous fight back over the final 120m saw him post a time only bettered by his fourth-place performance in Rio, and he finished 9th overall in these Games –  just one spot away from a second consecutive final.

Barr disappointed despite fast time

A disappointed Barr spoke of the effect that the clipped hurdle had on his race, stating:

“I was coming over the hurdle smooth, much faster than I usually do over hurdle seven, but I didn’t bring my trail leg through as quickly as I’m used to, and I just clipped it. It was an inch, and yeah, it completely knocked my momentum. I didn’t feel lactic in my legs, so I was able to recover, but it probably did cost me a place in the final.

“I went into that in PB [Personal Best] shape,” he added. “It’s such a shame, because that’s the second fastest time I’ve ever run, and it’d probably have been a 47-something.”

Gold Medal for Eve McMahon at Laser Radial Youth World Championships in Italy

Howth’s Eve McMahon won Gold at the ILCA 6 (formerly Laser Radial) Youth World Championships in Arco on Lake Garda on Saturday.

Seventeen-year-old McMahon was consistent from the early stages of the week’s racing in Italy and won three out of the five qualifying races.

A disqualification in the first race of the final series moved her back a few points, but her lead was too great and she beat Anja Von Allmen of Switzerland and Sara Savelli of Italy to take Gold.

The ILCA 6 Youth World Championships are open to sailors who were 18 or younger on the registration day, July 23, but at least 15. The Girl’s Fleet saw 109 athletes compete.

A former Irish Sailing Youth Sailor of the Year in both 2020 and 2019, today’s medal marks a three-in-a-row run for McMahon.

This summer she has taken silver in the U19 category of the EURILCA (European region of International Laser Class Association) U21 European Championships in Montenegro, and silver in the EURILCA Laser Radial Youth Championships in Croatia.

Irish Sailing coach Vasilij Zbogar said:

“It was a tough day with tough conditions. The wind went from 10 knots to 0 at some points, so it was really hard to manage. Eve did an amazing job because it was really unpredictable. She kept herself calm and didn’t panic even in a stressful situation”.

Irish Eventing team 13th after Dressage

The Irish Eventing team lies in 13th place overall following the conclusion of the opening Dressage phase of the Eventing competition at the Olympic Games.

With just over 30 penalties separating the top 13 teams, the competition is still wide open heading into the Cross Country.

The Irish trio of Sam Watson (Tullabeg Flamenco (ISH), Austin O’Connor (Colorado Blue) and Sarah Ennis (Horseware Woodcourt Garrison (ISH), are on a combined score of 110.4.

The medal positions are currently occupied by Britain (78.3), Germany (80.4) and New Zealand (86.4).

Carlow’s Sam Watson and Tullabeg Flamenco (ISH) are best of the Irish individually and are in 38th place on 34.30.

The Cross Country phase of the Olympic Eventing competition starts at 11.45pm tonight Irish time and is live on RTÉ TV.

Sam Watson and Tullabeg Flamenco start at 12.18am. Austin O’Connor and Colorado Blue are off at 1.30am. Sarah Ennis and Horseware Woodcourt Garrison will be the last Irish team member to go at 2.39am.

The Olympic Eventing team and individual medals will be decided following the final Show Jumping phase which takes place on Bank Holiday Monday.

Jordan Smith leads ISPS HANDA World Invitational in Antrim

Jordan Smith carded a five under third round 65 to earn a one-stroke advantage over David Horsey heading into the final day of the ISPS HANDA World Invitational presented by Modest! Golf Management.

The English duo will battle it out in the final group on Sunday, both hoping to bridge sizeable gaps since their last respective European Tour victories.

It is almost four years to the day since Smith claimed his maiden title at the Porsche European Open. Horsey’s fourth and most recent win came at the 2015 Made in Denmark.

Galgorm has certainly been a happy hunting ground for Smith, who opened his week with an eight under 62 at the 2020 Dubai Duty Free Irish Open host venue. His bogey-free 65 on day three means he is 13 under par across his two rounds at Galgorm, with his 15 under total moving him one clear at the top.

Horsey has improved his score day-by-day, starting the week with a 67 at Galgorm, following that up with a 65 at Massereene Golf Club before a six under 64 on day three at Galgorm – which included his first bogey of the week at the sixth – moved him to outright second place on 14 under par.

The pair will face off in the final round of the men’s event at Galgorm alongside their playing partner, second round leader Daniel Hillier, who is the closest challenger on 11 under par. Japan’s Masahiro Kawamura and Darius Van Driel of the Netherlands are a shot further back on 10 under.

The women’s event is also set for a thrilling finale as three players share the lead heading into the final round at Galgorm. Pajaree Annanarukarn of Thailand was joined on 13 under by American duo Jennifer Kupcho and Emma Talley and they will tee it up together in the final group, all chasing their maiden LPGA Tour victories.

Day Three Scores

195 J SMITH (ENG) 62 68 65,
196 D HORSEY (ENG) 67 65 64,
199 D HILLIER (NZL) 67 62 70,
200 M KAWAMURA (JPN) 65 69 66, D VAN DRIEL (NED) 70 65 65,
201 V NORRMAN (SWE) 69 65 67, J HARDING (RSA) 70 64 67,
202 O FARR (WAL) 67 68 67, J CATLIN (USA) 69 66 67, A CA?IZARES (ESP) 66 68 68, D GAVINS (ENG) 71 65 66,
203 M SCHMITT (GER) 66 73 64, G PORTEOUS (ENG) 68 64 71, N ELVIRA (ESP) 66 67 70, B WINDRED (AUS) 69 70 64, D LAW (SCO) 67 69 67,
204 A LEVY (FRA) 69 69 66, R MCEVOY (ENG) 68 69 67, J KRUYSWIJK (RSA) 67 69 68, D WHITNELL (ENG) 67 69 68, P PETERSON (USA) 69 69 66,
205 M SCHMID (GER) 64 69 72, H LEON (CHI) 67 73 65, S TARRIO (ESP) 70 67 68, T MCKIBBIN 67 69 69, L BJERREGAARD (DEN) 69 68 68,
206 A CHESTERS (ENG) 68 70 68, R SCIOT-SIEGRIST (FRA) 69 70 67, D DRYSDALE (SCO) 64 70 72, D MCELROY 72 66 68, M ANTCLIFF (AUS) 68 70 68, F LAPORTA (ITA) 69 69 68, G BHULLAR (IND) 72 67 67, M ARMITAGE (ENG) 71 67 68, J WRISDALE (ENG) 69 67 70, C SYME (SCO) 72 66 68, E PEPPERELL (ENG) 66 67 73, J SENIOR (ENG) 68 66 72, A SADDIER (FRA) 69 66 71, B EVANS (ENG) 70 66 70, S SHARMA (IND) 70 69 67,
207 T MURRAY (ENG) 70 68 69, E DE LA RIVA (ESP) 67 72 68, S KIM (USA) 68 72 67, J SURI (USA) 73 67 67, B EASTON (RSA) 70 70 67,
208 M WARREN (SCO) 69 68 71, D COUPLAND (ENG) 71 69 68, G FDEZ-CASTA?O (ESP) 69 71 68, A SULLIVAN (ENG) 67 71 70, C PIGEM (ESP) 70 63 75, C HILL (SCO) 66 72 70,
209 N KEARNEY 69 71 69, D PAPADATOS (AUS) 69 68 72, P ANGLES (ESP) 71 67 71, R LUMSDEN (SCO) 69 70 70, W BESSELING (NED) 69 67 73,
210 J GONNET (FRA) 71 68 71, S THORNTON 70 68 72, T JAIDEE (THA) 67 70 73, A SANDHU (IND) 68 70 72, C SORDET (FRA) 73 67 70, B RITTHAMMER (GER) 71 69 70, B DREDGE (WAL) 68 71 71, J MORRISON (ENG) 67 67 76,
211 N H?JGAARD (DEN) 72 68 71,
212 B POKE (DEN) 68 72 72,
214 B HENSON (USA) 70 68 76

Olympic Sailing: Dickson & Waddilove Reflect On Olympic Experience

Team Ireland sailors Robert Dickson and Sean Waddilove ended their Olympic journey on Saturday following their final three races.

After a delayed start to their day’s racing at Enoshima Island in Tokyo, the Irish sailing duo, Robert Dickson and Sean Waddilove got the final day of their 49er fleet races underway.

Going into this afternoon’s sailing, the pair sat in 14th position, and needed conditions and results to go their way in order to finish in the top 10 and advance to the medal race.

Their disqualification two days ago dropped them from seventh to 13th and they had been playing catch-up since.

A strong opening Race 10 for the team, saw them finish in third place putting them right in the mix.

A tougher Race 11 followed though, and they finished out the race in 17th place.

A fantastic final Race 12 saw them take the win that perfectly bookended their Tokyo journey with a win at the start and a win at the end.

However, it wasn’t enough to see them through to the medal race, as they bowed out of the competition in 13th place overall, just three spots outside of qualifying.

Speaking afterwards, Dickson said: “I’m pretty proud of the way we sailed, it’s really good to finish on a high with the last race, and pretty amazing that we got two race wins.  We’ve learned a lot from these games and we’re going to bring that forward to [Paris] 2024.”

Waddilove added: “Overall, it was a very positive experience and we’ve learnt plenty from this Olympic experience that we can bring forward.”

“My biggest takeaway from this week is that we were very much capable of competing against these guys that have done multiple Olympics and have medals and medals under their belts and there’s no reason why we can’t get to 2024 and be medal contenders.”

Olympic Golf: McIlroy & Lowry Ready For Final Day

The third round of the Men’s Individual Stroke Play was played on Saturday morning, with Team Ireland’s Rory McIlroy and Shane Lowry continuing their run of good form to keep in contention at Kasumigaseki Country Club in Tokyo.

With a round of 68 for Lowry, he moves to 10-under and into a tie for 9th while McIlroy sits 1 shot further ahead on 11-under after a round of 67.

Playing alongside each other, the pair both started the day on 7-under par and McIlroy admits it was a great way to stay relaxed.

“I was sort of trying to keep pace with him on the front 9, he got off to a great start,” explained McIlroy.

“Then it sort of felt like he was trying to keep pace with me on the back, he got unlucky on 14 with the ball getting stuck up the tree. It was really good to play with him, we fed off each other, we kept it really relaxed out there like it’s been all week.

“It would have been great to get to play with one another again tomorrow but it looks like we’re probably going to be a group apart, but it was good fun and I think it was good for both of us to keep us relaxed.”

Despite playing as individuals and not necessarily as a team, both players were keen to support one another and cheer each other on.

Lowry noted that although they are playing against each other, he wants to see two Irish flags on the first page of the leaderboard.

McIlroy sits just three shots off the lead which is held by Xander Schauffele of the United States on 14-under par – his plan for tomorrow’s final round is simple.

“Give it my all. It’s the last opportunity to do this for another three years – usually, it’s four – so it’s just to go out there and give it my all. Leave it all out there and hopefully, it’s enough.”

 Lowry too, although slightly further back, is just three shots short of a bronze medal place and feels he has even better golf in him still.

Lowry has made 15 birdies across the first three rounds of the Olympic tournament and limited the number of bogeys to five.

The Offaly golfer does not feel like he’s playing at his best but added that he senses that that he can get a low score tomorrow.

“I know I shot a good score yesterday but I feel like I have a low score in me out there and wouldn’t it be a great day for it to happen tomorrow?,” the Irishman said.

“I’m looking forward to it, I hope I can play my best golf tomorrow. If I do, I do, and if I don’t then I don’t – but one thing’s for certain I’m going to give it my best shot.”

Lowry held a significant 25ft putt on the 18th green to save par, in his mind, it could be an important one come tomorrow afternoon.

“I was very happy with that putt on the last, I feel like that was huge for me, it would have made my evening a little more disappointing than it is if I had missed. Three-under is not the greatest score out there, but it’s still decent and I’ve got a chance to do something very special tomorrow and I’m excited about it.”

To see the two golfers’ tee times for the final round, click here.

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