Katie Taylor celebrates after beating Natasha Jonas
Conor Bates
Sports Editor
With only a week left in the Games of the 30th Olympiad, we have already enjoyed a plethora of fine moments of sporting achievement. These Olympics, which had been criticised in the build-up by many commentators, has gone rather smoothly, in many regards. The majority of reports coming back from London are positive, as the courtesy and welcomes of the host city have been gratefully received by travelling support. It would appear that the motto, ‘Inspire a Generation’, has not fallen on deaf ears.
The latest instalment of the pinnacle of purist sporting achievement has also gathered a degree of controversy, as most major international tournaments usually do. In relation to the fans, for a start, there has been on a number of occasions, a visible lack of supporters in the galleries of less popular sports. This was seen most strikingly at events such a badminton and some gymnastics contests. Considering the lottery system and the difficulty with getting tickets, seeing empty seats within arenas is a disaster for the organising bodies. However, they were quick to point out that the majority of vacant seats was probably due to underuse by corporate bodies who purchased in bulk. Perhaps, perhaps not.
Doping has been called into question a number of times as well. Albanian weightlifter Hysen Pulaku tested positive for anabolic steroids, Uzbekistani gymnast Luiza Galiulina was ejected for using banned diuretics and Tameka Williams, of St. Kitt’s and Nevis, was banned for injecting performance enhancing drugs. These incidents, among others, were all recorded in the run-up to the games. These Olympics have also seen the presence of British sprinter Dwain Chambers, British cyclist David Millar, and USA runners LaShawn Merritt and Justin Gatlin, who are all former noted drug cheats. In the cases of Chambers and Millar, the athletes had lifetime bans overturned so that they could compete.
The most serious accusation of doping was made against Chinese swimmer Ye Shiwen. The accusation is, as of yet, unproven. The questions arose after the sixteen year-old won the Women’s 400m Individual Medley in 4:28.43, knocking just over one second off Australian Stephanie Rice’s record of 4 years previous. Not since the Caster Semenya accusations of 2008 has there been such a fierce reaction to potential cheating in an Olympic sport. After a few days of significant media pressure and vocal outburst, the world calmed down, and thus far there is genuinely nothing to suggest that Ye did in fact dope. On a related side-note, fifteen year-old American Katie Ledecky reduced her time in the 800m freestyle by over 5 seconds since her last competitive race, which was only a month before the Olympics, and no critics reacted to this in the same manner.
In the midst of all the drama, there is still the beauty and purism of the Olympics. London has put on an excellent show to this point, with everything from the opening ceremony to the current day running without much structural hindrance. (Apart from the North Korea/South Korea flag debacle!) And of course, London’s offering has presented us with some wonderfully memorable moments for the annals of the Olympiad. From the stars of the tennis world battling it out at Wimbledon in a de facto “fifth grand slam” to Michael Phelps taking his 22nd medal in his Olympic career; and all time record for any Olympic athlete in any discipline. The drama and intrigue has been amazing throughout; watching Usain Bolt silence his critics and hold off young starlet Yohan Blake to win the 100m sprint was an incredible sight. Not to mention the new Olympic record of 9.63 seconds which he set. In the badminton, Lin Dan became the first man to retain the singles title in history, which complemented to his completion of the “Super Grand Slam” (the winning of all nine major badminton titles at some point during a career) earlier in the year. In the final, Dan edged a win against his main rival, Lee Chong Wei of Malaysia, and cemented his place as the greatest badminton player of all time.
The host nation Great Britain has had a stellar Olympics to this point. Sitting in third place on the medals table at the time of publication, the British hold 40 medals, 18 of them gold, and sit only behind the China and the USA, respectively. Britain has made its most remarkable inroads in cycling, setting five world records in men’s and women’s team sprint and pursuit events. They have also seen home favourites Jessica Ennis and Mo Farah take home gold in their respective fields. One of the more curious moments was the sight of equestrian athlete Zara Phillips being presented a silver medal in the women’s team eventing competition by her own mother, Princess Anne. And let us not forget the British football team, who were eliminated from the competition by South Korea, in a way that only a majority English panel could be; on penalties.
In the background however, what have Irish athletes been getting up to? After a controversial late re-entry to the Irish squad, Cian O’Connor came up short in the showjumping events, while Ireland’s top prospect in the swimming, Grainne Murphy, had to remove herself from competition due to an affliction with glandular fever. In reality, our situation has become the same as Ireland’s activity in many other sporting endeavours; well intentioned, reasonably founded, but on the big stage, ultimately fruitless. This does not convey a lack of effort, belief and heart however, as Annalise Murphy came up dramatically short with a fourth place finish in sailing. Martyn Irvine put on a decent showing in the omnium, while Catriona Jennings fought through a foot injury to complete the marathon in a flood of tears. Despite carrying the injury for the majority of the race, Jennings was the final finisher of the race, and she emotionally dedicated her hard graft to her fans.
Once again, Irish eyes turn to their supporters. The fandom on show from all Irish spectators at the Games has been, as always, spectacular. It is noticeable in events where we have shown some promise, for example Derval O’Rourke currently finds herself in the women’s 100m hurdles semi-final stage, amidst great travelling support. In particular, though, Irish fans show their proudest affection for our boxers. Without fail, we have always looked to boxing to be the place where our medal tally will come from. This year is no different, and to date, John Joe Nevin and Katie Taylor have guaranteed themselves at least a bronze to bring home. Paddy Barnes is expected to join them in the boxing fray, and we in Trinity can also hold out hope for our own star Natalya Coyle, in the modern pentathlon.
In truth, Ireland at the Olympics has always been a mediocre story punctuated with moments of sheer bliss. It was tactfully pointed out during the week that for his entire career Michael Phelps had won more medals than the entire nation of Ireland in the Olympics. But as we look at these Olympics, look at what we have almost achieved on many occasions, we can see the development for the future. When you look at what we have definitively achieved, we can see so much more. It is tangible in the form of two medals to date, the value of which is yet undecided, and the much more intangible inspiration that our athletes give to us. London 2012 has challenged competitors to “Inspire a Generation”. In the centre of the glorious moments of unadulterated sporting brilliance, Katie Taylor brought women’s boxing to the fore, and it has been one of the most exciting events. As always, our fans have been great, and as the final days of these Olympics draw upon us, and the last events come to their conclusion, we can be very proud of our passion.
