London beckons
A round-up of todays other stories in brief
Focus sport: modern pentathlon
Sometimes know as Mission: Impossible, this is in fact one of the original, and purposely designed, Olympic events. It’s arguably the toughest too, given it’s actually a combination of five events – fencing, swimming, horse riding, running and shooting – all completed in one day, and intended to simulate the demands of a 19th-century cavalry soldier behind enemy lines (without the killing part).
Baron de Coubertin, the founder of the modern games, helped dream up the event himself, believing it encapsulated the true Olympic spirit: the fencing is first up, then comes the 200m swim, which is purely time based; next is the horse riding; and finally the shooting and the running, which have been combined since Beijing in 2008. Competitors must stop intermittently to shoot at the fixed target, 10m away. “The secret is to hold your breath as you fire,” says Irish qualifier Natalya Coyle.
LONDON’S A-TWITTER
Scott Evans @Scott_Evans1
Well now its OFFICIAL.. I have qualified for #London2012 :-) delighted to be part of the Irish squad!!
Telegraph Olympics @Telegraph2012
Olympic beer to cost £7.23 a pint
Olive Loughnane @OliveLoughnane
Just had a woman try to accelerate past me to get to supermarket q before me. In fairness I dont think she knew what she was dealing with!
Usain Bolt @usainbolt
Ppl..Coach Mills is the greatest coach in the world...Thanks for all the supports fans and always believing.. To the world me say
Gavin Noble @gavontwitt
Dont tell any1 but @a press conference today with @tri_ireland I got emotional when talking about the olympics! Almost embarrassed..almost
Annalise Murphy @Annalise_Murphy
On the @aircoach on my way to dub airport! See you Weymouth in 4hrs. Cant wait for Sail4Gold to start on Monday!
Telegraph Olympics @Telegraph2012
London 2012 Olympics: Charles van Commenee categorically denies labelling Jessica Ennis fat
London Spectator: Tennis at Wimbledon
Competition dates: Saturday, July 28th – Sunday, August 5th.
If any of London’s sporting venues seem ready-made for the Olympics then it’s Wimbledon – and it staged the tennis competitions when London hosted the Olympics in 1908, with Great Britain winning all six gold medals.
Officially known as the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club, Wimbledon has been hosting tennis tournaments since 1877. So, just three weeks after staging the Grand Slam tournament, the best tennis players in the world will be back seeking Olympic glory.
All the tennis qualifiers will be confirmed on July 9th – but there won’t be any Irish qualifiers. Pity, because the first men’s Olympic tennis champion, in 1896, was Dublin-born John Boland. He was actually just visiting a friend in Athens, who entered him in the singles competition. He also added the doubles title, playing with Germany’s Fritz Traun – and insisted the Tricolour be run up the pole in that medal ceremony Tennis was pulled as an Olympic sport after 1924, in Paris – and remained so until 1988, in Seoul, when the professional players were allowed entry.. Spain’s Rafael Nadal will be favourite to defend his men’s singles, while sisters Venus and Serena Williams triumphed in the women’s doubles in 2008.
