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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.

Olympic Golf: Final Round Preview & Tee Times

The Tokyo 2020 Men’s Olympic golf tournament begins its final round late on Saturday night and continues into Sunday morning.

Team Ireland golfers Rory McIlroy and Shane Lowry are in the mix for medals heading into round four of the tournament.

McIlroy is tied-fifth on 11-under-par and is three off tournament leader Xander Schauffele and one shot off the bronze medal position.

Lowry is one shot behind his Team Ireland teammate on 10-under and the pair will be hoping to continue the climb they started in round two with a medal or two for Team Ireland within reach.

There were birdies aplenty for the two golfers but also several bogeys to keep them outside of the top three after three rounds.

McIlroy managed six birdies with a very impressive score of 33 on the front nine but the Northern Irish golfer had problems on the final few holes once again.

Lowry looked to be on a clear path to the top of the leaderboard after eight holes but his momentum was stopped by on the ninth hole.

His form waned on the back nine with a bogey on the par-5 hole 14 that summed up a frustrating end to what could have been a very strong day.

Nevertheless, the pair are still in contention for Olympic medals as they prepare for the final round and they will be confident in their abilities after producing some impressive golf in the last two rounds.

Rory McIlroy will tee-off for the final time at Kasumigaseki Country Club at approximately 2:58 am alongside two other podium challengers, Mexico’s Carlos Ortiz and Colombia’s Sebastian Munoz.

Shane Lowry will begin his final round just over twenty minutes earlier than his Team Ireland counterpart.

The Offaly golfer will tee-off at 2:36 am with Mexico’s Abraham Ancer and New Zealand’s Cameron Smith in his group.

McIlroy is currently 10/1 to go all the way in the tournament with Shane Lowry eighth-favourite at 28/1.

Olympic Athletics: Ireland’s mixed relay get 8th in historic race

Ireland’s 4x400m mixed relay team of Sophie Becker, Phil Healy, Cillin Greene and Christopher O’Donnell, finished eight in first ever Olympic final

This Irish team had first qualified automatically in second place in their semifinal yesterday after USA and Dominican Republic were disqualified. After a referral both, teams were reinstated as both faults were down to errors by officials.

Ireland still qualified as the national record breaking time was still fast enough.

The team came out all smiles from inside the stadium to take their position in lane one. The favourites for this race were the USA and Poland.

Greene was up first for Ireland and got off to a decent start, finishing the first lap in sixth place ahead of Team GB.

He handed over well to Collins who held onto the position until the lanes merged, she was in seventh at the handover.

At the baton change, Jamaica and Germany tangled, leaving the Germans on the ground, dropping their baton. They continued to finish the race well behind the rest but it ultimately did not count.

Becker fought with Jamaica for the seventh place spot and that continued into the last 400m with O’Donnell.

Ireland finished the race in a time of 3:15.04, narrowly in eight, two seconds off their record time.

Poland would take gold with an Olympic record time of 3:09.87. Dominican Republic got silver while the USA were resigned to bronze.

This young Irish relay team, although disappointed not to improve on their best time should be very happy with their performance at the inaugural mixed relay event.

This will conitinue to be a team to look out for in the future world championships and for Paris in 2023.

Olympic Sailing: 49ers bow out on a high

Ireland’ two last sailors, Sean Waddilove and Robert Dickson, competed in this morning’s 49er Men’s Race 10, 11 and 12 in Fujisawa

The Irish pair came in this morning needing a miracle to progress to the medal race. After having two of their races disqualified for using a harness that was 90g too heavy, they had an overall ranking of 14th.

In 27 degree heat, 71 percent humidity and nine knots of wind, they needed to climb four more places in the rankings.

Although the odds were against them, Dickson and Waddilive were prepare to show the Olympics their true class.

After a delayed start, the Irish men went out and finished third in race 10, only beaten by the Croatian and German pairs.

They were not so lucky in the second race of the day as many of the underperforming countries brought back their form. In race 11, Dickson and Waddilove completed the circuit in 17th.

Going into the final race of their Olympics, they knew that the medal race was out of their grasp. This did not disparage the team as they pulled out their ‘A’ game.

They dominated the entire race and cross the finish line in first. This gave them an overall finishing rank of 13th.

Sadly, if they were not disqualified from race from good finishes in race six and seven, then they would have qualified for the final medal race.

Although they did not qualify for the final, both young sailors are under the age of 25 and will have bright futures ahead of themselves in sailing.

With a little more experience and training, these two will be a big prospect for the Paris Olympics in three years time.

Olympic Athletics: English and Lavin frustrated

Team Ireland had two more athletes competing in early morning athletics events while they waited for the 400m mixed relay final

Men’s 800m Round 1 – Heat 5 – Mark English

English, starting in Lane 3, had high hopes going into this event. Going by personal bests before the race, he was consider the fourth fastest racer and was well capable of a time under 1 minute 45 seconds.

The major favourites in this race would have been Mexico’s JT Lopez and Poland’s Patryk Dobek.

As the gun started the event, English took up his usual place of just behind the head runners to conserve his energy. After 100m the race became physical, the Irishman began a shoulder tussle with France’s Benjamin Robert.

The pushing calmed as the race continued. Next around the 300m, Dominica athlete Dennick Luke tripped and fell, essentially dooming his race.

The race continued without the athlete but English found himself in a bad position, stuck in the inside lane. In the back of the home straight, he waited for a gap to appear so he sprint forward.

Unfortunately English left it too late and did not have enough time to overtake Poland’s runner. His time of 1:46.75 was also too slow to qualify and his Olympics came to a premature end.

The 28-year-old from Letterkenny will be disappointed with that performance, but an Olympic journey caps off a good season for him.

Women’s 100m hurdles Round 1 – Heat 2 – Sarah Lavin

Lavin started this event in Lane 7, according to season bests she sat as the seventh fastest runner in the heat but only by milliseconds.

This race would go by in the blink of an eye with world record holder Kendra Harrison starting in Lane 5. Her record stands at 12.20 seconds, three quarters of a second faster than Lavin’s recent best.

The French runner was eager to begin, receiving a yellow card for causing a false start.

After lining up again, the race properly began. Lavin started well but her opponents started to pull away as she seemed tense.

USA’s Harrison dominated the race from the start, comfortably making it home first. Lavin finished in seventh in a time of 13.16.

Sadly her personal best, if she had ran it again, then it would have been good enough to qualify for the semi-finals.

This is now also the end of Lavin’s Olympic story but she has made the people of her hometown Limerick proud in Tokyo

Upcoming events

4 x 400m Mixed Relay – 13:35 – Sophie Becker, Cillin Greene, Phil Healy, Christopher O’Donnell

Hurling – Dublin v Cork – Starting News, Live Scores, Betting; TV Coverage

All-Ireland Hurling Championship quarter-final – Dublin v Cork – 7:00 pm – Sky Sports

Dublin will face-off against Munster rivals Cork in Thurles at Semple Stadium on Saturday, July 31st at 7:00 pm in the second All-Ireland Hurling Championship quarter-final live on Sky Sports.

This tie is another mouthwatering game after an already entertaining hurling championship season which has seen numerous shocks so far.

Both Dublin and Cork supporters will be allowed to watch the game live, with 4,400 fans set to be in attendance at Semple Stadium in Thurles.

Now, Dublin v Cork will be the second Hurling quarter-final of the 2021 season.

The two sides met in last year’s All-Ireland Qualifiers Round 1, which saw Cork come out on top with a 1-25 (28) to 0-22 (22) victory in Tipperary.

In Leinster, Dublin have been much improved compared to the last few seasons, beating Antrim comprehensively by 18 points in the quarter-finals.

They went on to defeat Galway in a shock upset by 4 points at Croke Park.

Facing Kilkenny in the Leinster final, putting up a resilient performance but faded in the end, losing by 9 points.

Cork on the other hand has had a mixed campaign as of yet. Facing All-Ireland champions Limerick in the Munster semi-final losing 2-22 (28) to 1-17 (20).

Their last game was against Clare in Round 2 of the All-Ireland Qualifiers, winning in a close game by 2 points with the scoreline 3-19 (28) to 1-23 (26).

The winner of this game will meet the all-conquering and reigning All-Ireland champions Limerick in the semi-final.

Conclusion

During this stage of the championship, anyone can beat anyone, especially in hurling.

The Rebels have beaten the Dubs the last three times they have faced off in the championship.

Starting off in 2013 in the All-Ireland semi-final, winning 1-19 (22) to 1-24 (27).

They faced off again in the 2016 All-Ireland Qualifiers Round 1, with Cork getting over the line with a 3-point victory. They faced off in last year’s All-Ireland Qualifiers Round 1, which saw Cork come out on top again.

Based on the recent history between the two teams and how hot and cold Dublin are when it comes to the big games, a Cork win is more likely.

Prediction: Cork by 11 points

Starting Teams – To Be Confirmed

Dublin

Image

 

Cork

 

Betting

Dublin: 4/1

Cork: 1/4

Draw: 11/1

To stay up to date with all things Hurling, make sure to read new breaking news stories as they happen right here.

Hurling – Tipperary v Waterford – Starting News, Live Scores, Betting; TV Coverage

All-Ireland Hurling Championship quarter-final – Tipperary v Waterford – 1:30 pm – RTÉ

CLICK HERE FOR LIVE SCORES ON TIPPERARY V WATERFORD

Tipperary will face-off against Munster rivals Waterford in Cork at Pairc Uí Chaoimh on Saturday, July 31st at 1:30 pm in the first All-Ireland Hurling Championship quarter-final live on RTÉ.

This tie is set to be an exciting bout between two of hurlings most iconic counties.

Now, Tipperary v Waterford will be the first Hurling quarter-final of the 2021 season.

The two sides have a combined total of 30 senior All-Irelands between them, Tipperary (28) to Waterford’s (2).

Waterford has not won the Liam McCarthy cup since 1959, which saw them defeat Kilkenny in a replay with a scoreline of 3-12 (21) to 1-10 (13).

Comparing that to Tipperary, whose last All-Ireland triumph was in 2019, also against Kilkenny with the scoreline 0-20 (20) to 3-25 (34).

Both sides had a mixed campaign in the Munster championship, with Waterford being eliminated in the quarter-final to Clare in June.

Clare went onto face Tipperary in the semi-finals, losing by four points in an all-time classic with a scoreline of 3-23 (32) to 2-22 (28).

In the Munster final, All-Ireland favourites Limerick overcame Cork by 5-points in yet another classic.

In July, both sides qualified for the All-Ireland quarter-finals after making it through the Qualifiers.

Galway was shockingly thrown out of the championship by Waterford in Thurles.

While Cork beat Clare by 2-points in a back and forth game.

The winner of this game will meet the most successful team in hurling history, 36-time All-Ireland champions Kilkenny in the semi-final.

Conclusion

It is a very difficult game to call for many fans and pundits, but given how much better Tipperary are in almost every position.

A better bench to call upon, more experience in the crunch games of the championship season and a higher expectancy.

Tipp should come out with the spoils.

Prediction: Tipperary by 7 points

Waterford (All-Ireland SHC v Tipperary): Shaun O’Brien; Ian Kenny, Conor Prunty, Shane McNulty; Calum Lyons, Shane Bennett, Kieran Bennett; Jamie Barron, Peter Hogan; Jack Fagan, Jack Prendergast, Stephen Bennett; Dessie Hutchinson, Austin Gleeson, Patrick Curran.

Subs: Billy Nolan, Kevin Moran, Darragh Lyons, Billy Power, Shane Fives, Michael Kiely, Neil Montgomery, Jake Dillon, Colin Dunford, Ciaran Kirwan, Mikey Kearney.

Betting

Tipperary: 8/15

Waterford: 15/8

Draw: 10/1

To stay up to date with all things Hurling, make sure to read new breaking news stories as they happen right here.

Connacht Rugby signs Prop Sam Illo

After losing a few older players in recent weeks Connacht Rugby is looking to rebuild. They have announced the signing of Irish U20 international prop Sam Illo

Illo represented Old Wesley RFC and has played at underage level at Leinster Rugby, before going on to feature at tighthead in all five of Ireland’s U20 Six Nations games this summer.

The 20-year-old has signed a two-year deal and will link up with the Connacht squad next week as they continue their pre-season preparations.

Speaking on his newest signing, Head Coach Andy Friend says:

“Sam’s arrival to Connacht is another boost for us ahead of the new season. He was one of Ireland’s standout performers in the U20 Six Nations and has a very bright future ahead of him.

I’m confident that at Connacht he will be able to take his game to the next level and give us further options in the front row.”

Playing in four of the five u20 Six Nations matches this year, he starred scoring one try. He is a physical player standing at 6’1” and weighing 118kg, he will be a big presence in Connacht next year.

Sam Illo has shown his excitement for joining the team, he said:
“I’m over the moon to be joining Connacht Rugby and I’d like to thank Andy and all the coaches for giving me this opportunity.

I’m especially looking forward to linking up with Colm Tucker after working closely with him while with the Ireland U20s. To sign my first pro contract is a dream come true and I can’t wait to get started with the rest of the squad.”

To read more about Connacht rugby news during this summer and their Heineken Cup draw, click here.

Team Ireland Swim Team Has Most Successful Olympics Since 1996

The Team Ireland swim team completed their most successful Olympic Games in 25 years on Friday with one final and five Irish senior records.

They signed off from Tokyo 2020 in style as Team Ireland athlete Daniel Wiffen smashed the Irish Senior Record in the 1500m Freestyle with a time of 15:07.69, his second such Record of the Games.

The 20-year-old from Magheralin had set a new Irish Senior Record of 15:16.90 at the Irish National Team Trials in April, days after qualifying for the Olympic Games in 800m Freestyle with another new Irish Senior Record of 7:52.68.

Wiffen again set two new records at the Games in these events, taking the 800m down to 7:51.65 and impressively wiping nearly 10 seconds off the 1500m mark.

Based at Loughborough University, Wiffen also won his heat in both events and moved up six places in the rankings in the 1500m to finish 20th overall.

He said: “I loved it! It was a fun race, I enjoyed it, taking it all in and got a nine-second personal best time as well!

“My target was to go and PB and try and get closer to the 15-minute barrier. I’m obviously closer now, seven seconds off. The tactic was just to get in, if there’s a racer, race with them. If not, I had to assess it during the race and pick it up if I wasn’t going fast enough.”

He added: “It’s been great! I’ve been having so much fun here, I’m so happy to be here. Next, I’m definitely going to have a long break, maybe go on holiday!”

Fellow Olympic debutant and Team Ireland swimmer Danielle Hill also finished her Tokyo 2020 campaign on Friday in the 50m Freestyle where she posted 25.70 to be sixth in her heat and 33rd overall.

Hill said: “Although I may be the fastest woman in Ireland, it’s a very different field out here – it was nice to gain that experience.

“As I said before I went in, you sit in the house and you watch the Olympics and this is the event that you want to do. It’s the one you want to be successful in.

“I’m not quite there yet, but I can walk away with a few things to improve and definitely looking forward to next year.”

The 21-year-old from Larne now looks ahead to making her International Swimming League debut with multiple World and Olympic Champions Katinka Hosszu’s Team Iron.

She said: “I just took a chance and entered myself into the draft. I was so lucky to have two teams looking for me. I decided to go with Team Iron because of the atmosphere that they create and the guys that I will be training with as well – it’s going to be phenomenal.”

Speaking about her first Olympic Games, she added: “I still don’t think it’s sunk in that I qualified six weeks ago. It’s been a whirlwind experience, right from the Trials in April through the Europeans and second Trials and now here. I don’t think I’ve had a chance at any point to breathe and take a step back.

“For anyone who knows the journey I have been on in the past two weeks just to get here and be standing is something that I can be proud of. It’s been a great experience, and I can’t wait for many more.”

National Performance Director Jon Rudd gave his thoughts on Team Ireland’s swimming team’s performance at the Games.

“This is our best Olympic swimming result for a long time and I am extremely proud of these nine athletes and all that they have achieved,” he said.

“The staff here have been amazing in preparing them across the course of three weeks and we also have to thank and congratulate the coaches in the home programmes that got them here and helped us en route.

“An Olympic Final plus the equivalent of two semi-finals (Top-16 finishes) is outstanding for us, as is achieving five Irish Senior Records across seven days of racing.

“We had 15 swims in total and in 13 of them, we rose through the rankings or held our pre-meet position. It’s all fantastic work from and within this team – and we are excited at what this team can achieve in three years time when Paris comes calling”.

Team Ireland now turns its aquatic attention to diving, which begins on Monday when Rio 2016 Olympian Oliver Dingley competes in the preliminary round of 3m Springboard.

On Wednesday, Tanya Watson becomes Ireland’s first-ever female diver to compete at the Olympic Games when she steps up for the preliminary round of the 10m Platform.

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