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Olympic Golf: Team Ireland Star Maguire Happy With R2 Performance

Team Ireland golfer Leona Maguire has said that she is happy with her performance in round two of the Women’s Olympic golf tournament at the Kasumigaseki Country Club.

Maguire shot four-under-par to improve her overall total to that amount and get within five strokes of a medal.

Her Team Ireland teammate Stephanie Meadow is also on four-under and is tied with Maguire for 11th.

Maguire’s hole one bogey was soothed by four quick-fire birdies on the front nine to shoot the Cavan golfer up the leaderboard.

Her front nine of 33 was matched by a back nine of 34 that included two additional birdies and a bogey.

She credited her opportunity creation for her score, something she struggled with on day one.

“I played a lot better today and gave myself a lot more chances,” said Maguire. “I didn’t get off to the best of starts but I chipped in on 4 and I kind of feel like that turned the day for me.

“I then went on and had 3 birdies in a row on 6, 7 and 8 which was nice. It felt like I played quite solid today.

“There were a few putts that, had they gone in, it would have completely changed the day, but it was nice to finish with a birdie on 18 to head into tomorrow.”

Upon finishing her round, Maguire was also delighted to hear of boxer Kellie Harrington securing her place in the gold medal fight to take place this coming Sunday.

“What Kellie is doing is incredible,” Maguire said. “She was one of the first people I met when I got into the village last week.

“I’d love to see her win a gold medal, she really deserves it. It’s great to see the community and people at home rallying around her. I’m fortunate where I’m from it’s the same as well.

“If we can finish off this week on a high note and she can go win a gold medal on Sunday, that would be great.”

Team Ireland Track Cycling React To Disappointing First Day

Team Ireland track cyclist Mark Downey made his Olympic debut in Tokyo this afternoon in the Men’s Omnium.

He followed in the footsteps of his father Seamus who competed at the 1984 LA Games.

The gruelling four-event Omnium was the first event on Downey’s race schedule at the Games, as he also teams up with Felix English on Saturday for their preferred event, the Madison, which is raced over 50-kilometers or 200-laps.

After four rounds – the Scratch Race, Tempo Race, Elimination Race and Points Race – Downey finished in 17th position with a haul of 18 points.

Downey started with a 16th place finish in the Scratch race, which is a classic first-across-the-line race over 15km for men. Five riders gained a lap on the field, while Downey sprinted with a large bunch all fighting for places.

There was disappointment for Downey in the Tempo race though, as he was pipped for a point mid-way through the race.

The all-out effort saw him drop the wheel and lose a lap along with Andreas Mueller of Austria and David Maree of South Africa.

That resulted in a 20-point deduction which put Downey in 19th place. The Elimination race followed, which sees the last rider to cross the line at each intermediate sprint eliminated.

Selections are made every two laps, and with speeds averaging 55kph, Downey suffered an early elimination finishing 19th.

With Downey out of contention going into the Points Race it was a case of keeping out of trouble and keeping the legs fresh for Team Ireland’s target event on Saturday, and he climbed the overall rankings to finish 17th overall.

Speaking after the race Downey said: “Yeah, I didn’t really know what to expect… I’m an athlete, I like to compete, but look it’s my first Omnium at this level. I threw the kitchen sink at it. It’s not a banging result, it is what it is.”

“We got this race off the back of the Madison, so I’m looking forward to going again with Felix. He’s super motivated back in the hotel so I’m not too disappointed with the result. The level we know is really, really high here so I can’t be too disappointed, and we’ll move forward again.”

Team Ireland track cycling head coach and 2012 Olympian Martyn Irvine added: “Not the race we wanted but it shows we haven’t focused on it in preparation and training. Given the year that’s in it, we were just happy to get a start on the race. It has set us up to build from here, the level has raised, it’s amazing to see what people have actually done through Covid.”

“We have shifted our focus to the main event of this week for us, the last two years we have focused on the Men’s Madison and that’s the main goal on our side.”

Team Ireland Athlete Coscoran Runs Well But Fails To Advance

Team Ireland athlete Andrew Coscoran put in another composed performance in the Men’s 1500m but it was not enough to qualify for the finals.

The Team Ireland member ran close to his personal best, coming across the line with a time of 3:35.84 in 10th, just outside his best time of 3:35.66.

The Balbriggan athlete posted the second-fastest time of his career, and with just the top 5 advancing to the final (plus two time-qualifiers), his Olympic Games finishes with a 20th place ranking overall.

A quick opening lap set the tone of the race, with the Irishman needing to have his wits about him from the gun to stay in contention.

Coscoran stayed connected to the race throughout, sitting at the back of the main pack and hoping to produce a fast final 100m like in his heat, but ultimately those ahead of him held on.

Noting the fast early pace and his plan for the race, Coscoran said: “A 56-second flat first lap will take the steam out of you fairly quickly…The plan was to stay connected to the pack. No matter where the pack was…in the heats, I let a little bit of a gap open so the plan was to not let that happen.”

Proud of his two races in his Olympic Games debut he added; “It was a good race, it was good for me. The heats was probably the best race of my life, and then that was the best race of my life…I think I did better than what I was expected to do and I think that’s because of all the race experience I’ve had in the entire season”.

The second semi-final was won in an Olympic record by Abel Kipsang of Kenya, and a time qualifier position would have required an Irish record or three-second PB from the Irishman.

Irish Rowing Championships 2021 – High-Performance Athletes Confirmed

The 2021 Irish Rowing Championships will take place at The National Rowing Centre during the weekend of the 20th-22nd of August, with a host of Ireland’s Olympians set to feature.

There are 55 categories on show at the Championships with 503 crews entered for the weekend across all of them.

Our High-Performance athletes will be representing their clubs across several categories with senior and under 23 high-performance athletes competing throughout the weekend.

Fresh off their incredibly impressive gold medal victory in the Lightweight Men’s Double Sculls, both Fintan McCarthy (Skibbereen Rowing Club) and Paul O’Donovan (UCC Rowing Club) will compete in multiple senior events as they look to add to an outstanding 2021.

Rio 2016 silver medalist Gary O’Donovan (Skibbereen Rowing Club) will also compete with Daire Lynch (Clonmel Rowing Club) and Ronan Byrne (UCC Rowing Club), of the Men’s Double Sculls crew from Tokyo, rounding out the men’s high-performance athletes currently confirmed for the Championships.

On the women’s high-performance front, two of Ireland’s bronze medal-winning Women’s Four crew have been announced, with Emily Hegarty (UCC Rowing Club) and Aifric Keogh (UCC Rowing Club) set to compete.

Aoife Casey (UCC Rowing Club) and Margaret Cremen (UCC Rowing Club), who raced together in the Lightweight Women’s Double Sculls in Tokyo, will both feature in a number of senior events, with Monika Dukarska (Killorglin Rowing Club) of the Women’s Pair Olympic crew also set to set to race at the NRC.

Tara Hanlon (UCC Rowing Club) and Lydia Heaphy (UCC Rowing Club) round out a stacked line-up of high-performance athletes set to compete in Cork.

Some of our other High-Performance athletes will also be representing their clubs at the Irish Rowing Championships: Claire Feerick (Neptune Rowing Club), Jake McCarthy (Skibbereen Rowing Club), Cliodhna Nolan (NUIG), Alex Byrne (UCC RC), John Kearney (UCC RC), Ross Corrigan (QUBBC), Jack Dorney (Shandon), Hugh Moore (QUBBC), Finn O’Reilly (Skibbereen RC), and Leah O’Regan (Shandon).

Rowing Ireland’s Chief Executive Officer, Michelle Carpenter said, “After such remarkable Olympics games from our team, I am delighted to see so many set to compete amongst a very impressive line-up at the Irish Rowing Championships 2021.

“Our high-performance athletes have shown that they are some of the best in the world and it will be wonderful to see so many showcases their talents once again at the Kinetica National Rowing Centre. In addition, we have crews from our clubs and grassroots around the country coming to our home of Irish rowing.

“I am looking forward to what’s set to be a really exciting event”

Senior High-Performance Athletes Competing

  • Fintan McCarthy (Skibbereen Rowing Club)
  • Paul O’Donovan (UCC Rowing Club)
  • Emily Hegarty (UCC Rowing Club)
  • Aifric Keogh (UCC Rowing Club)
  • Gary O’Donovan (Skibbereen Rowing Club)
  • Jake McCarthy (Skibbereen Rowing Club)
  • Monika Dukarska (Killorglin Rowing Club)
  • Ronan Byrne (UCC Rowing Club)
  • Tara Hanlon (UCC Rowing Club)
  • Daire Lynch (Clonmel Rowing Club)
  • Gary O’Donovan (Skibbereen Rowing Club)
  • Jake McCarthy (Skibbereen Rowing Club)

Team Ireland Diver Tanya Watson ‘Should Be Very Proud’

Team Ireland diver Tanya Watson closed out the Tokyo 2020 aquatic schedule on Thursday morning with 15th place overall in the 10m Platform, having made the semi-final on her Olympic debut.

Watson was Team Ireland’s first female diver to represent the Olympic Team at the Games.

The 19-year-old, with roots in Derry, posted the second-highest score of her senior career on Wednesday to get through to the next round and showed the same professionalism and composure in a challenging semi-final.

Against 17 of the world’s best, Watson stepped up to improve her scores on her first two dives and did not lose focus after missing the third dive, producing solid efforts on her final two dives to finish with a total tally of 278.15 points.

She adds this performance to her fifth-place finish in the 10m Platform final at the Youth Olympic Games in Buenos Aires in 2018 when she was aged only 16.

Damian Ball, National Head Coach for Diving, added: “Today was another solid performance from Tanya, and overall this has been an amazing debut Olympics for her.

“There was some world-class diving in the pool today and for Tanya to make the final today would have required an international PB score.

“Just as we saw at the World Cup, she was not a million miles away from reaching the all-important finals. She should be very proud of everything she’s achieved this year.”

Watson was the last Irish aquatic athlete to compete for Ireland at Tokyo 2020, signing off a successful campaign for Team Ireland’s largest ever aquatic team for an Olympic Games.

The Team Ireland aquatic team did not come away from Tokyo with a medal but broke national records and improved upon personal bests during their time in Tokyo

Aquatic attentions now look ahead to the Paralympic Games, which begin on August 24 and will feature five Irish swimmers: Ellen Keane, Nicole Turner, Patrick Flanagan, Barry McClements and Róisín Ní Ríain.

Rugby League World Cup Postponed Until 2022

The Rugby League World Cup (RLWC) has been postponed until 2022 after New Zealand and Australia withdrew from the competition.

The men’s tournament was scheduled to go ahead alongside the women’s tournament and the wheelchair tournament this Autumn in England.

Ireland had qualified for the men’s tournament and was drawn into Group C with New Zealand, as well as Lebanon and Jamaica.

Australia and New Zealand had said that it is “simply too unsafe” to travel and have further cited player welfare and safety concerns as reasons for their withdrawal.

The RLWC issued a statement on Thursday morning which read: “Rugby League World Cup 2021 (RLWC2021) and the UK Government have today announced their intention to stage the flagship event in the international Rugby League calendar in 2022.

“The extremely difficult decision was taken by the RLWC2021 Board, which includes representation from the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, and the International Rugby League (IRL) Board.

“This follows extensive and urgent consultation conducted by RLWC2021 Chief Executive Officer Jon Dutton and his team, which engaged players, competing nations, the Rugby League Players Association (Australia), UK Government, hosts, commercial and broadcast partners.

“Tournament organisers faced several unique and complex challenges with the most significant being the non-release of up to 400 players, match officials and staff members from the NRL competition in Australia. This is despite all requests from international rugby league federations having been met which included the rigorous health measures that have been keeping thousands of elite athletes from around the world safe whilst competing in major sporting events across the UK over the last year.

“Ultimately this decision has been detrimental to the plans and ambitions of many of the competing nations and potential replacement teams. A key factor was ensuring that fans of Rugby League are able to enjoy the best possible tournament, which was not possible under these circumstances.”

Jon Dutton, RLWC2021 Chief Executive Officer, said: “Today is a challenging moment for everyone involved in Rugby League, but most importantly the players and fans of the competing nations.

“Ultimately, time and competing priorities from others forced us to make the most difficult decision in our six-year history. However, we and the sport of Rugby League are resilient, and next year we will deliver our vision of the biggest and best Rugby League World Cup ever.

“We have always prioritised player voice and player choice. We have established a player working group, met with senior players and in the last few days commissioned a player survey to domestic players in Australia and New Zealand that showed more than 85% wanted to compete at RLWC2021 this year.

“However, following the disappointing decision of the ARLC and NZRL to withdraw, and the subsequent impact on player availability for other competing nations, it is apparent that delivering the tournament this year would not be feasible.

“The wellbeing of all those involved in the tournament, particularly players and team officials, has been our priority. I would like to thank the RLWC2021 Board and my team for the relentless hard work and extraordinary measures that had been undertaken to create a safe and secure environment in line with other major sports events that have been successfully hosted in the UK this year.

“I would also like to thank all our committed partners as well as the Rugby League community at large who have been so supportive of our trailblazing event. We appreciate the continued and unequivocal support of the UK Government, as well as the understanding of our competing nations.”

Team Ireland Race Walker David Kenny Achieves Top-30 Finish

Team Ireland racewalker David Kenny has finished 29th in the Men’s 20km Walk event at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games on Thursday morning.

Kenny crossed the line in a time of 1:26.54 to seal an impressive Olympic debut in the Japanese capital city.

The racewalker finished one second ahead of his closest opponent, Jose Oswaldo Calel of Guatemala, and was under six minutes behind the winner, Italian Massimo Stano.

The 22-year-old’s result comes less than a month after he picked up silver at the European U-23 Championships.

Kenny finished that race with a time of 1:25.50 to earn the silver medal in Tallinn at the beginning of July.

The Kerryman is also a two-time national champion in the sport, following in the footsteps of his coach, world champion and Team Ireland Olympic bronze medalist Rob Heffernan.

The Olympians have put similar times at the same age and the five-time Olympian also earned a late-twenties finish in his first Olympic Games in Sydney.

Heffernan has gone on record to say that the rising star in race walking is “better than [he] was at that age.”

The Farranfore-Maine Valley athlete has added to an already fantastic season and is expected to move up the world rankings, where he currently resides in 92nd.

To add to his silver medal in Tallinn and the impressive Olympic debut, Kenny has achieved his personal best in the 20km race walk this year.

A strong performance in Dudince, Slovakia in the middle of March saw David Kenny clock a time of 1:23.06.

His selection for the Olympics complimented the achievements he has managed in his career so far and the performance only does so further.

The man who got him into racewalking, Michael O’Connor, was impressed with his performance and gave his thoughts to Radio Kerry.

“Given the conditions, he put up a mighty performance altogether,” O’Connor exclaimed. “A British fella there, Tom Bosworth, he’d be the white hope really of the British – he was 25th, David was 29th – and he was really expected to do pretty well.

“And I think that puts it into context for a young fella. There was seven of them around 22 years of age…it was a mighty performance altogether.”

Olympic Cycling: Downey lands 17th place in punishing Omnium

Team Ireland had one major competitor, Mark Downey,  in the Izu Velodrome this morning for the men’s Omnium races

The Down native was taking part in one of the most gruelling, unforgiving cycling competitions at the Olympics this morning, the Omnium.

The event consists of four 10km/40 lap races in the spaces of a few hours. These races are the scratch race, the tempo race, the elimination race and the points race. For anyone a little confused, they will be explained as they come up for Downey.

This was the 25-year-olds first appearance at an Olympic Games but he had shown his quality in recent years to give him a chance of finishing in the top half of competitors.

Cycling Track – Men’s Omnium

Scratch Race

First up for Downey was the Scratch race which is straightforward, first across the finishing line gets the most points.

The Irishman started well jostling inside the main pack of riders. This worked well to conserve his energy until the last lap where he got stuck behind competitors, unable to manoeuvre for a sprint.

He finished this race in 16th, recieving 10 points. In first place was Great Britain’s Matthew Walls who got 40 points.

Tempo Race

Next up was the tempo race which is all about sprinting. Cyclists will get a point if they are the first person to cross the line after every lap, they will also get 20 points for lapping the field. Those that are lapped will be deducted 20 points.

This was not a good race for Downey, he could not find more energy, just 30 minutes after the Scratch. He failed to win any sprint and was lapped once.

He ended the round in 19th with -20 points, Dutchman JW van Schip finished highest with 30 points.

 

Elimination Race

The third race was the elimination race which is basically a last man standing, every two laps, last place is forced to drop out of the race.

After a slight delay due to a small bike on coach collision on the track, the race got under way.

Downey managed well to avoid last place for the first four laps but could not make a push on in the outside lane to sit in the middle of the pack. He was the second rider eliminated after he was caught off guard by a quick double overtake.

Italy’s Elia Viviani was the last man standing in this event and the points pushed him into sixth place overall.

 

Points Race

Last up is the points race which is the most complicated. Every 10 laps there is a sprint worth five, three, two and one points mid-race with these totals being doubled in the final lap.

Like the tempo race, 20 points are awarded if a rider laps the field and 20 deducted for the rider lapped.
Although Downey did not manage to gain any more points, he was not lapped and jumped into 17th place overall.
The event was officially won by Team GB’s Matthew Walls in the final few laps with 153 points.

Olympic Golf: Meadow Reacts To Improved 2nd Round

Team Ireland golf star Stephanie Meadow was the first of the Irish golfers to hit the course this morning, beginning her round on one-over-par after an opening 72 yesterday.

Meadow was two-under for her last three holes on Wednesday and reached the back nine today on two-under-par for her round and 1-under total.

A bogey on the par-three 10th was followed by birdies on the 14th, 15th, 16th and 18th holes to secure an impressive second-round score of 66 and leave her tied for 11th at the end of the round.

The much-improved five-under performance sees the two-time Olympian join the chasing pack, with the Northern Irish golfer and her Team Ireland teammate Leona Maguire sitting five strokes off second place and a medal.

“I just kind of managed it a bit better today I think,” said Meadow afterwards. “I still didn’t have my best stuff but I gave myself a little bit more room on left pins and didn’t short side myself so that was really the key and is always part of shooting under par.

Meadow started off the second round on a better note than she did the first, posting two birdies on the front nine to set the tone.

Her strong finish only backed up the impressive start and puts the golfer in a good position for the next round.

“I guess I hope I can start like that tomorrow. There’s a lot of wedges on the last few, they’re easy-ish holes and they moved the tee on 18 up today so all of those things contribute but I finally got comfortable, hit good shots and started to see it a bit better.”

The heat is still a factor, with tournament organisers implementing additional heat mitigation measures including provision of umbrellas on the first tee and roving carts providing ice and cooling towels to players, caddies and officials.

Meadow and Maguire will be in the same group for round three of the Olympic golf tournament and will tee-off at 0:18 am.

Sky Sports announce Bundesliga rights for Ireland in four-season deal

Sky Sports have bought the rights to become the new home of the Bundesliga in the UK and Ireland until 2025

Sky Sports has today announced that it has bought the exclusive rights to show the Bundesliga in the UK and Ireland for the next four seasons.

German top-flight football fans in the UK and Ireland, will be able to watch superstars Erling Haaland and Robert Lewandowski. Bundesliga champions Bayern München, Dortmund and newcomers RB Leipzig will challenge for domestic glory from the 2021/22 to 2024/25 season.

Sky Sports’ coverage of the league will begin at 7.30pm on Friday 13th August with champions FC Bayern München travelling to Borussia Mönchengladbach.

Then, the 2012 league winners Borussia Dortmund take on Eintracht Frankfurt on the Saturday, kick off at 5.30pm.

In addition to the Bundesliga, Sky will also broadcast the German Supercup live. This will have an early “Klassiker” match-up, with Dortmund and Bayern going head-to-head on 17th August.

The premium fixture of each weekend will be shown live every Saturday at 5.30pm.  Further matches will be broadcast on Sky Sports linear or digital channels including Sky Sports YouTube.

Sky Sports Managing Director Jonathan Licht said:

“We’re delighted to have acquired the rights to the Bundesliga. Sky Sports customers will have the opportunity to watch some of the best players in the world as well as some of the leading teams in Europe.

What else will be on offer as well?

The Bundesliga joins an already busy roster of football rights in Sky’s portfolio including the Premier League, EFL, Scottish Premiership.

Bundesliga International CEO Robert Klein added:

“This is a partnership that will deliver the best of the Bundesliga week-in, week-out, through world class production and multi-platform coverage. With Sky as our partner, Bundesliga fans will benefit from a first-class football viewing experience.

“This, paired with the Bundesliga’s trademark attacking style of football, means that fans can expect an action-packed season, featuring some of the world’s best players and the most exciting up-and-coming talent.”

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