Irish in action at the Olympics on Tuesday
From 9am: Jake Passmore – Diving, 3m springboard preliminary round. Finished 21st, missed out on qualification for semi-final.
From 9am: Daniel Coyle and Shane Sweetnam – Showjumping, individual final. Both outside the medals – Coyle retired after picking up 16 faults, Sweetnam finished with 12 faults.
9.05am: Sophie O’Sullivan – Athletics, women’s 1,500m. Finished seventh in heat one, goes in to Wednesday’s repechage.
9.17am: Sarah Healy – Athletics, women’s 1,500m. Finished seventh in heat two, goes in to Wednesday’s repechage.
10.20am: Sharlene Mawdsley – Athletics, women’s 400m repechage. Finished third in heat one, missed out on semi-final qualification.
10.44am: Sophie Becker – Athletics, women’s 400m repechage. Finished second in heat four, missed out on semi-final qualification.
2.40pm: Finn Lynch – Sailing, men’s dinghy medal race. Race postponed to Wednesday.
4.30pm: Lara Gillespie, Mia Griffin, Kelly Murphy and Alice Sharpe – Cycling track, team pursuit qualifying. Finished eighth, missed out on qualification for round one.
10.06pm: Kellie Harrington v Wenlu Yang (China) – Boxing, 60kg final. GOLD FOR HARRINGTON!
And with that, I will say goodnight. What a note to finish on for the day.
Seven Olympic medals for Ireland – four gold, three bronze. Twelfth in the overall medal table.
Olé, Olé, Olé
The noise of the Irish contingent at Roland Garros was akin to a home crowd, and the support didn’t go unnoticed by Harrington.
“It was amazing. The crowd lifted me, they genuinely lifted me,” she told RTÉ after picking up her latest Olympic gold.
“But looking out into the crowd and spotting my family there, they’re the ones who know everything, so looking out and having them there to experience me doing what I do and reaping the rewards, I don’t just reap them, they reap them too because they help me get to here.”
Expanding on her earlier comments that this is her last competition, she added: “It’s the last I think, I think, I’m like 98 per cent sure it’s the last one. Imagine retiring double-Olympic champion. There’s not many people who know when to stop and I think I want to be finished and I want to go out and be happy with it and be remembered for the last win that I had, the Olympics, double-Olympic champion.
“I’ve nothing left to prove, I’ve done it all. This one was for myself because I’ve had to dig deep, since Tokyo I’ve had to dig deep. When you climb a mountain, find a bigger mountain, this was the bigger mountain, the biggest. It’s hard to win an Olympics, then to come back and retain the title, that’s extra hard.”
“The steeply banked stands may have been named after four famous French tennis players, les Quatre Mousquetaires-Brugnon, Borotra, Cochet, and Lacoste, but lightweight Olympic champion Kellie Harrington turned the French tennis cathedral at Roland Garros into a boxing house of joy,” Johnny Waterson writes from Paris.
“In doing so Harrington made history by becoming the only Irish boxer ever to contest back-to-back Olympic finals in boxing, and the first Irish woman to win medals at two Olympic Games.”
[ Kellie Harrington becomes double Olympic champion with display of pure goldOpens in new window ]
There’ll be Irish celebrations in Paris tonight, but they probably won’t rival the celebrations in Dublin 1.
Large crowds gathered at Diamond Park to cheer on Kellie Harrington.
Another Irish athlete reduced to tears as Amhrán na bhFiann plays out at Roland Garros.
Kellie Harrington is beaming as she waits to step up on to the top of the podium to accept her gold medal.
She joins Mona McSharry, Daniel Wiffen, Daire Lynch, Philip Doyle, Paul O’Donovan, Fintan McCarthy and Rhys McClenaghan in claiming a medal for Team Ireland in Paris.
What an amazing few days for Irish sport.
“It’s the last hurrah. I’m done, I’ve always said I want to retire a champion, that’s it,” Kellie Harrington beamed after winning gold in the women’s 60kg final.
Speaking to RTÉ, she said her plan for the fight was “just to be happy, to smile, to be happy, enjoy it”.
Asked what the win means, she gestured to the crowds: “It just gives hope. See all these young kids, all these teenagers, it give hope to them, it gives hope to the people of Ireland, that’s what it means. But this one was for me,” she added.
And her final words before going to collect her second Olympic gold medal: “Let me just say it once again: Bob’s you’re uncle, Fanny’s your aunt, good night Irene!”
Another gold medal on its way back to Portland Row. Harrington wins on a split decision. She’s back-to-back Olympic champion.
Boxing: GOLD FOR KELLIE HARRINGTON!!!
Boxing: It’s all over! It looks beyond dispute for Kellie Harrington.
Boxing: Kellie Harrington lands a blow to the side of Yang’s head. The crowd are chanting the Dubliner’s name.
We’re 20 seconds from the final bell.
Boxing: Final round is under way. Yang needs to round of her life to turn this around.
Boxing: Kellie smiled her way through the semi-final, and now she’s back smiling in the final.
Three judges have her 20-18 up going into the last round.
Boxing: Kellie looks in control. She’s keeping a wide berth, dodging a barrage of attempts from Yang.
Harrington lands a beautiful left hand. She’s in control.
Boxing: Good shot from Harrington to finish. The Dubliner is 4-1 after the first round.
Boxing: Cautious start from both boxers, getting the measure of each other.
Olés ring out around the venue, Irish fans clearly travelled in numbers.
Boxing: The bell goes, we’re under way.
Boxing: At last, we’re good to go. Wenlu Yang enters Roland Garros, but there’s a wall of sound to welcome reigning champ Kellie Harrington.
Harrington will box in blue.
Boxing: In the earlier fights of the evening, China’s Wu Yu beat Kazakhstan’s Nazym Kyzaibay in the women’s 50kg semi-final and will be joined in the gold-medal fight by Turkey’s Buse Naz Cakiroglu, who beat Aira Willegas of the Philippines.
In the women’s 66kg semi-finals, Algeria’s Imane Khelif beat Thailand’s Janjaem Suwannapheng. The second semi-final between Nien Chin Chen (Taiwan) and Liu Tang (China) is ongoing.
It’s looking like things are running a bit behind schedule at Roland Garros, so let’s take a look at Harrington’s route to the final.
The Dubliner was third seed in the women’s 60kg, getting her campaign under way on July 29th against Italy’s Alessia Mesiano, securing a 5-0 victory.
Awaiting Harrington in the quarter-final was Colombian Angie Valdes, and it was another comprehensive win for the reigning Olympic champion, ending 4-1.
Speaking of Tokyo, the semi-final bout reunited Harrington with her final opponent from the last Games, Brazil’s Beatriz Ferreira.
Harrington defeated Ferreira on a split decision to take the title in Tokyo, and recreated the result on Saturday to best her once again, this time earning the silver medal for her efforts.
A win tonight would see Kellie, who’s the first Irish women to win medals at successive Olympic Games, upgrade that silver to gold.
Standing in her way is China’s Wenlu Yang. The 33-year-old was the top seed and came to Paris as the 60kg titleholder from last year’s Asian Games.
Harrington has previously said there are no easy fights at the Olympics, and tonight looks set to prove her right.
There’s sure to be a strong Irish showing at Roland Garros for Kellie Harrington’s fight, and among them will be former Dublin footballers Kevin McManamon and Michael Darragh MacAuley.
Speaking to RTÉ's Jacqui Hurley outside the arena, McManamon said: “We’re all looking forward to it. Hopefully she gets the job done, she’s done so well so far, so it’s all good.”
Meanwhile, MacAuley defended his decision to wear a “dodgy beret” (his words not mine) earlier in his trip to Paris. No comment on tonight’s dodgy bandana though.
The countdown is on...
Athletics: The small island of Saint Lucia in the Caribbean had no Olympic medals prior to these Games. Now, thanks to Julien Alfred, they have two.
After picking up gold in the women’s 100m on Saturday, Alfred has just earned silver in this evening’s 200m final.
Team USA’s Gabrielle Thomas was the comfortable winner, clocking 21.83, and her team-mate Brittany Brown claimed the bronze.
Again, Alfred trains with Rhasidat Adeleke in Texas, but it may be a bit of a stretch to try stake any kind of claim on this medal...although we might as well try.
Athletics: There was a dramatic finish in the women’s 3,000m steeplechase final as Bahrain’s Yavi Winfred snatch the lead in the home straight to deny Peruth Chemutai.
The Ugandan led the final lap and looked set to hold the lead to the finish after skilfully negotiating the water, but after the final hurdle Winfred launched her final push, taking the win by just 0.58.
Kenya’ Faith Cherotich was third over the line to take bronze.
We’re now less than two hours out from Kellie Harrington’s lightweight final – I’m choosing to live in hope that the fight won’t be too delayed – and Malachy Clerkin’s at Roland Garros Stadium soaking up the atmosphere.
“So this is how the other half live,” Clerkin writes from the venue.
“The boxing has moved from a down-at-the-heel industrial estate in northern Paris to the leafy surrounds of Rolland Garros in Auteuil. Yes, the tennis joint. It is, as you’d expect, an entirely delightful place to pass an evening.
“The place is filling up here. There’s a huge Algerian contingent onsite, here to support their fighter Imane Khelif in her semi-final.
“Kellie Harrington’s Olympic final takes place just after 10 o’clock Irish time. Hopefully, her nerves are doing better than mine.”
Athletics: Cole Hocker (USA) has won gold in the men’s 1500m final.
GB’s Josh Kerr took silver and Hocker’s USA team-mate Yared Nuguse was third.
One of the favourites, Norway’s Jakob Ingebrigsten seemingly fudged his strategy, going out strong but ultimately was pipped in the closing straight to finish fourth.
Hocker’s 3:27.65 is a new Olympic record, besting the previous record held by Ingebrigsten.
Athletics: It’s a busy evening at the Stade de France.
The final line up in the men’s 400m has been decided, with Grenada’s Kirani James topping the timesheet with a season best of 43.78.
Muzala Samukonga (Zambia) was second-fastest, ahead of Quincy Hall (USA), Matthew Hudson-Smith, Michael Norman (USA), Christopher Bailey (USA), Jereem Richards (Trinidad and Tobago) and Samuel Ogazi (Nigeria).
In the women’s 400m hurdles semi-finals, world record-holder Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone of Team USA eased into Thursday’s final. Her time of 52.13 in the second semi-final was fastest of the eight qualifiers.
A slightly strained run from Jamaica’s Rushell Clayton was still enough to see her go fastest in the first semi-final, while Femke Bol of the Netherlands looked like she was holding back despite being first over the line in the third semi-final, clocking 52.57.
Looking ahead to tomorrow, we’ll be heading back to the greens as Leona Maguire and Stephanie Meadow get started in the women’s individual stroke play.
Meadow is scheduled to tee off at 9am alongside France’s Perrine Delacour and Belgium’s Manon de Roey, while Maguire’s opening round will get under way at 12.17pm with GB’s Georgia Hall and South Africa’s Ashleigh Buhai.
The Irish pair headed to Le Golf National today to check out the course ahead of the next four days of competition.
If you’re feeling anxious ahead of tonight’s big fight, perhaps you could follow the approach of the US women’s gymnastics team by engaging the services of an emotional support animal.
The five-woman squad, which includes Simone Biles and won gold in the team event, welcomed a four-legged member to their ranks over the past year – a four-year-old golden retriever named Beacon.
He’s tasked with keeping the gymnasts’ serotonin and stress levels in check. Photographic evidence suggests he is indeed a very good boy.
I wonder if Team USA will do the right thing and get Beacon his own gold medal in recognition of his contribution? Fair is fair.
And with that, there’s just one Irish athlete left to compete on Tuesday.
For anyone who needs reminding, Kellie Harrington will fight for gold tonight in the women’s 60kg final which is scheduled for 10.06pm. Bear in mind that timekeeping has not been a stand-out skill on display at the boxing venues, so no complaining if it ends up being slightly later.
Cycling: The women’s team pursuit qualifier at the National Velodrome has finished, with Ireland missing out on qualification for tomorrow’s round one.
Despite setting a new Irish record, their time of 4:12.447 was only enough to best Japan, leaving them ninth, with a top-eight finish needed to progress.
It ended: 1st – New Zealand, 2nd – USA, 3rd – GB, 4th – Italy, 5th – Germany, 6th – Australia, 7th – France, 8th – Canada, 9th – Ireland and 10th – Japan.
To reiterate, Ireland currently doesn’t even have a velodrome, and it’s the first time an Irish women’s team have competed in this event at the Olympics. History-makers.
Cycling: Ok, back to the bikes.
We’re now half way through the 10-team field. Australia have gone fastest with a time of 4:08.612, followed by France, and Canada.
Ireland are now fourth, ahead of just Japan.
Italy, New Zealand, USA, GB and Germany left to go.
While we’re waiting for the last results of the women’s team pursuit (just GB and Germany left to go now), here’s a funny one for you – the combined age of the three medal winners in the women’s skateboarding park final is just 45.
Gold-medal winner Arisa Trew from Australia is just 14 years old. The silver went to Japan’s Cocona Hiraki (15) and Great Britain’s Sky Brown (16) secured bronze.
Just a note on the sailing. After the men’s dinghy medal race was postponed until tomorrow, 2016 Olympic silver medallist Annalise Murphy put it bluntly on RTÉ, Marseille may be great for a holiday but it’s “notorious for not having very much wind at this time of year”.
Cycling: Ireland go ahead of Japan! And a new Irish record in the bag – 4:12.447.
Gillespie, Sharpe, Griffin and Murphy started strong with a speedy first lap, beating Japan’s split, but fell back from there.
By the 2,750m mark they were on pace with the previous Irish record and by 3,750m they had pulled back on par with Japan.
Crossing the line, they were 1.371 ahead of the Japanese team, reducing the Irish record by 2.3 seconds.
Ten teams are taking part in qualifying, with the eight fastest moving on to the next round.
All Team Ireland can do now is wait to see how the remaining eight teams fare.
Cycling: Japan post a time of 4:13.818. A solid time.
Ireland up now.
Cycling: The women’s team pursuit has got under way now, with Japan first up. Ireland’s Lara Gillespie, Alice Sharpe, Mia Griffin and Kelly Murphy are up second.
Now for something completely different... Many have marvelled over how La Défense Arena, home of rugby club Racing 92, was changed into a pool for the aquatic events, but here’s a peak at how the gymnastics set-up at the Bercy Arena was dismantled following the conclusion of Monday’s finals, all in time to host the men’s basketball quarter-finals today.
Sailing: Confirmation that the men’s dinghy medal race has been postponed to tomorrow.
The winds in Marseille are too light for racing. Where’s Njord when you need him?
The men’s dinghy medal race is now expected to start just shy of 5pm.
Elsewhere, China’s Quan Hongchan has won gold in the women’s 10m platform final. It’s China’s fifth gold in the diving events at these Games, made even more impressive by the fact Hongchan’s team-mate took the silver.
For anyone who struggles to conceptualise just how high the 10m platform is, Team GB’s Tom Daley (who won silver in the men’s synchronized 10m platform final last week) once helpfully explained it as “two double-decker buses and half a car piled on top of each other”. Yikes.
Let’s do a quick recap of the results from the Irish athletes who competed earlier today.
There was a busy morning at the Stade de France for the athletics. Sophie Becker and Charlene Mawdsley were back for the repechage round of the women’s 400m having failed to gain automatic qualification alongside Rashida Adeleke from Monday’s heats.
Mawdsley was first up in heat one, finishing third in 51.18, while Becker posted a 51.28 to take 2nd in heat four.
Unfortunately, with only the first-place finisher from each of the four repechage runs qualifying, in addition to the two fastest finishers from the rest of the field, both Mawdsley and Becker missed out on spots in Wednesday’s semi-finals.
In the women’s 1500m, Sarah Healy and Sophie O’Sullivan each missed out on automatic qualification for the semi-finals and will now run in tomorrow’s repechage round.
Healy, running in heat one, ran a personal best (4:00.23) to cross the line in seventh, while O’Sullivan’s 4:02.91 in heat two also saw her home in seventh.
At Chateau Versailles, there was no medal joy for Shane Sweetnam or Daniel Coyle after their impeccable showing in Monday’s qualifying round.
In today’s final, Sweetnam picked up 12 faults to put him out of medal contention, while Coyle opted to retire from his round.
And finally, in the diving pool, Jake Passmore scored 360.90 in the men’s 3m springboard event, to place 21st, leaving him outside the qualification for the semi-final.
On mention of the men’s dinghy medal race, it was delayed. Death, taxes and disruption to the sailing events as they (probably) say.
It’s now due to get under way shortly, with Finn Lynch in action.
Afternoon everyone! After enjoying Mary’s company for the morning, you’re stuck with me for the remainder of the day.
We’re in for another late one, but hopefully it will be worth it. Kellie Harrington is back in the ring shortly after 10pm, fighting for gold against China’s Wenlu Yang.
There’s also Irish involvement this afternoon in the men’s dinghy medal race, and there’s an Irish outfit in the women’s team pursuit event.
Athletics: It’s doubtful many people sat at home watching Keely Hodgkinson win gold in the 800m and thought “Pfft, I could do that”, but just in case you did...
Athletics: There’s a big, big, BIG night ahead in track and field, with five gold medals up for grabs.
From 6.57pm: Women’s hammer throw final. This had looked like being a tussle for gold between Canada’s Carmyn Rogers and the United States’ DeAnna Price, but Finland’s Krista Tervo had the longest throw in qualifying, so it could be a three-way contest yet.
From 7.15pm: Men’s long jump final. If Miltiadis Tentoglou of Greece, the reigning European, World and Olympic Champion, doesn’t win gold, it will be a major shock. Put it this way, he has only failed to win a major international long jump competition once since 2021.
7.50pm: Men’s 1,500m final. It’s being billed as a straight battle between reigning Olympic champion Jakob Ingebrigtsen and the man who beat him in last year’s World Championships, Britain’s Josh Kerr. Whether the rest of the field can have a say, we’ll see. Should be a zinger.
8.14pm: Women’s 3,000m steeplechase final. Reigning world champion Winfred Yavi of Bahrain looks like being the woman to beat, but there’s no shortage of quality in this field, not least in the shape of Uganda’s Peruth Chemutai who won the event in Tokyo. Kenya’s Beatrice Chepkoech and Faith Cherotich are contenders, while the home crowd will be rooting for their own Alice Finot.
8.40pm: Women’s 200m final. The United States’ Gabrielle Thomas, bronze medallist in Tokyo, is the favourite for this one, although after winning St Lucia’s first ever Olympic medal, gold in the 100m, Julien Alfred will be floating on air - which should help her efforts to become a double sprint champion.
Showjumping: “Not to be for the Irish showjumpers in Versailles. Despite having put in stellar clear rounds in qualifying, Daniel Coyle and Shane Sweetnam weren’t able to put in repeat performances to get into a medal jump-off and rounded off a disappointing Olympics with grimaces rather than smiles.” Malachy Clerkin reports from Versailles.
[ Showjumpers Daniel Coyle and Shane Sweetnam miss out on medals in ParisOpens in new window ]
Worms: We don’t want to put you off your lunch, or anything, but ........ The Guardian is quoting British swimmer Adam Peaty complaining about the food in the athletes’ Olympic village.
“The catering isn’t good enough for the level the athletes are expected to perform. There wasn’t enough protein options... the narrative of sustainability has just been pushed on the athletes,” he said. “I want meat, I need meat to perform and that’s what I eat at home, so why should I change?
“I like my fish and people are finding worms in the fish. It’s just not good enough.”
Oh Lord.
Athletics: Rhasidat Adeleke will go in the first of the three 400m semi-finals tomorrow night, her chief rivals likely to be the Netherland’s Lieke Klaver and Bahrain’s Salwa Eid Naser. World number one Marileidy Paulino goes in the second semi-final.
Cycling: Lara Gillespie, Mia Griffin, Kelly Murphy and Alice Sharpe will make history today when they become the first Irish women’s squad to compete in the team pursuit event at the Olympics Games. Erin Creighton is a reserve for the team.
Considering Ireland doesn’t (yet) have a velodrome, unlike all nine of their rivals in Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines today, that’s some feat.
A top eight finish is required in this qualifying round to advance to round one, the Irish ranked nine out of the 10 nations - only Japan are below them. The action starts at 4.30pm.
Sailing: Finn Lynch had to cope with a bundle of mixed emotions on Monday. He was thrilled to have reached today’s medal race, finishing 10th in the qualifying series, but frustrated by the cancellation of the last two races, due to light winds, which robbed him of the chance of climbing up the rankings.
That means that the best the 28-year-old from Carlow can do is finish eighth overall. “A medal is off the table,” he told RTÉ. “I’m sailing for pride, I just want to put in a good performance, to give the people who supported me something to celebrate.”
Lynch placed 32nd overall in the 2016 Games in Rio, but missed out on qualification for Tokyo 2020. The medal race is due to take place at 2.40pm today (live on RTE2), but it will depend on the wind conditions - if it’s flat calm again in Marseilles, it could be postponed until Wednesday .... or even Thursday. At this rate, Lynch mightn’t see Carlow until October.
Showjumping: Christian Kukuk took gold in the individual final’s jump-off with another clear round. That completed a clean sweep for Germany in all individual equestrian events, as well as the team dressage. Switzerland’s Steve Guerdat took silver and it was bronze for Maikel van der Vleuten of the Netherlands.
Athletics: Ian O’Riordan has a notion that a world record may be needed to take Olympic gold in the 1,500m final tonight, the 12-man race likely to boil down to a shoot-out between Norway’s Jakob Ingebrigtsen and Britain’s Josh Kerr. Kerr is forecasting that it will be “one of the most vicious and hardest 1,500m that people have seen in a very long time... I’m ready to go after it. I think we all are.”
[ World record may be needed to take Olympic gold in ‘most vicious’ 1,500m raceOpens in new window ]
Pole vault: “The original Olympic motto of Citius, Altius, Fortius was first adopted in the main at the 1924 Olympics in Paris, and in the century since few athletes have perfected the higher part better than Mondo Duplantis.
Duplantis came to Paris looking to once again raise the bar to unprecedented heights in the Olympic pole vault, and the 24-year-old Swedish superstar did exactly that – eclipsing his own world record with a sensational third and last attempt clearance of 6.25 metres.”
Ian O’Riordan reflects on yet another other-worldly display by Duplantis.
Boxing: “To Harrington it all seems like white noise coming at her. The moment is all that matters. That has been pounded into her, an Olympic champion’s life as a string of mundane – “lonely” – tasks in the Olympic Village that she hopes will help her achieve something beautiful and life-changing.” Johnny Watterson looks ahead to Kellie Harrington’s big - and hopefully golden - night.
[ Kellie Harrington focusing on the moment, and letting history take care of itselfOpens in new window ]
Athletics: “Despite two brave efforts of utmost conviction, both Sophie O’Sullivan and Sarah Healy just missed out on automatic qualification from the heats of the women’s 1,500 metres inside the Stade de France on Tuesday morning.” Ian O’Riordan reports from Paris.
[ Sophie O’Sullivan and Sarah Healy unlucky to miss out on qualification in 1,500mOpens in new window ]
Diving: Jake Passmore won’t progress to the semi-finals of the 3m springboard after finishing 21st out of the 25 competitors - the 19-year-old needed a top 18 placing to advance.
Athletics: Like Sharlene Mawdsley, Sophie Becker misses out on a place in the 400m semi-finals after finishing a fine second in her repechage, her time of 51:28 not enough to take one of the two fastest losers’ slots. Both runners will be back in the women’s 4x400m relays on Friday.
Athletics: No joy for Sharlene Mawdsley in her 400m repechage, finishing third in a time of 51.18. Sophie Becker is up next in her heat. It’s live on the RTE News channel.
Showjumping: Germany’s Christian Kukuk, Maikel van der Vleuten of the Netherlands and Switzerland’s Steve Guerdat are through to a jump-off for gold. Well for some.
From Malachy Clerkin in Versailles: No medal at the showjumping. Daniel Coyle was going well until he hit four in a row coming down to the final part of the course and retired. Shane Sweetnam picked up 12 faults and made no impression on the medal race either.
Showjumping: It’s not to be, there’ll be no showjumping medals for Ireland at these Games. Twelve faults for Shane Sweetnam and James Kann Cruz.
Showjumping: Drat - Daniel Coyle and Legacy retired after picking up 16 faults, so there’ll be no medal for them. Can Shane Sweetnam and James Kann Cruz make it through to the jump-off for gold? They’re up next.
Showjumping: Here come Daniel Coyle and Legacy. A clear round and they’re through to the jump-off.
Showjumping: Oooh, Martin Fuch’s horse clipped the last fence to miss out on a clear round. So, still just three so far - remember, all those with a clear round go in to a jump-off.
Showjumping: We have a third clear round, from Switzerland’s Steve Guerdat. We’re heading for a jump-off.... hopefully with Irish involvement.
Showjumping: There are just six riders to come in the individual final - and there are still just two clear rounds, from Germany’s Christian Kukuk and Maikel van der Vleuten of the Netherlands. So, it’s nearly Daniel Coyle and Legacy time. Shane Sweetnam and James Kann Cruz will be up right after Coyle, with France’s Julien Epaillard, on Dubai Du Cedre, the last man out. As Malachy Clerkin put it: squeaky-hoof time. It’s live on RTE2.
From a melting Malachy Clerkin: “Getting towards squeaky-hoof time in Versailles. After 20 riders have completed the course, we still have only those two clear rounds for Germany and the Netherlands. Shane Sweetnam and Daniel Coyle will be the 28th and 29th riders to go - should happen in the next 15 minutes or so.”
Athletics: Sarah Healy and Sophie O’Sullivan will be back in action tomorrow morning in the 1,500m repechage after both finished seventh in their heats this morning. Healy fell over the line as she tried to hold on to sixth in her heat, but was pipped by Maia Ramsden - the New Zealander’s time was 4:02.83, Healy’s 4:02.91. Excruciating.
A message from Malachy Clerkin, our man at the showjumping: “Greetings from Versailles, which is baking under a merciless sun this morning. The showjumping final is underway and the course is proving difficult so far. Two clear rounds among the first 10 riders, Germany’s Christian Kukuk and Maikel van der Vleuten of the Netherlands. Ireland’s Daniel Coyle and Shane Sweetnam will be the third-last and second-last of the 30 riders to go, shortly after 10am Irish time.”
Athletics: From 10.20am, Sharlene Mawdsley and Sophie Becker will attempt to qualify for the 400m semi-finals via the repechage. The first in each of the four races will go through, with the next two fastest qualifiers joining them. Mawdsley runs in the first heat, Becker in the fourth.
Athletics: Pure agony, Sarah Healy was caught right on the line in her 1,500m heat by New Zealand’s Maia Ramsden when it looked like she’d take sixth place and go through to the semi-finals. She finished in a time of 4:02:91. So, like Sophie O’Sullivan, Healy must go down the repechage route tomorrow if she is to make those semi-finals.
Athletics: Monday evening brought the gut-wrenching news that Ciara Mageean had to withdraw from today’s 1,500m heats due to an Achilles tendon injury. “I’m absolutely heartbroken not to be able to compete in my third Olympic Games,” she said. “I gave it everything to make it possible to be on the start line, but time was against me.” Ian O’Riordan reports on the latest of many injury setbacks for the Portaferry woman, at the very worst of times.
[ Ciara Mageean ‘absolutely heartbroken’ as injury forces her out of Olympic 1,500mOpens in new window ]
Athletics: Sophie O’Sullivan, the daughter of you-know-who (hint: Sonia), has finished seventh in the morning’s first 1,500m heat, just one place short of automatic qualification for the semi-finals - she now goes through to the repechage. It was a terrific run by O’Sullivan, a personal best of 4:00:23, in a race won by Ethiopia’s Gudaf Tsegay (3:58:84), with Britain’s Laura Muir second. Sarah Healy is up next in heat two. There’s live coverage on the RTE News channel.
Diving: First up for Ireland today is 19-year-old Jake Passmore in diving’s 3m springboard preliminary round. After his six dives, he needs to be in the top 18 to advance to the semi-finals.
Passmore is just the third Irish male diver to make it to an Olympic Games, after Eddie Heron, who competed in London in 1948, and Oliver Dingley, who qualified for Rio and Tokyo.
Born and raised in Bradford, his grandmother Elisabeth Barker from Dublin, Passmore has represented Ireland all along the way, winning the country’s first ever diving medal when taking bronze in the European Youth Championships in 2022.
His chief goal was qualifying for Los Angeles 2028, but two days before his 19th birthday, he got word that he was Paris-bound. “I almost don’t really have a word to describe the feeling,” he said of the news. “Not nervous ... I don’t know, absolutely blank.” Wishing the young fella well.
Showjumping: James Kann Cruz and Legacy, steered by Shane Sweetnam and Daniel Coyle, have hardly put a hoof wrong in these Olympic Games, so we probably shouldn’t have been hugely surprised by them having faultless rounds in yesterday’s qualifying for today’s individual final. Only France’s Julien Epaillard, on board Dubai Du Cedre, finished above them, so the three combinations will sit back and watch the first 27 competitors do their thing in Versailles before entering the arena. It’s live now on RTE2.
Good morning everyone. We had a break from medal-winning on Monday, but only because there were no medals to be won. Today? A whole different ball game, we’re gumming for more. Shane Sweetnam and Daniel Coyle are in the individual showjumping final, which gets under way at 9.0am this morning, having finished second and third, respectively, in the qualifying round. So, they’ll start second and third last in the 30-strong field.
And tonight, there’s the not so small matter of Kellie Harrington trying to upgrade her silver to gold when she takes on China’s Wenlu Yang in the 60kg final, the rather spectacular setting for the bout none other than Roland Garros which will host all the boxing finals.
Finn Lynch is through to today’s medal race in the dinghy event, but by his own calculation the best he can do is finish eighth, the points gap between himself and the leaders too wide.
In all, we have nine representatives in individual action today, as well as our women’s cycling track team pursuit quartet, so there’ll be a heap to keep an eye on. And athletics brings a string of must-not-miss finals, including the women’s 200m and the men’s long jump and 1500m where a lad by the name of Jakob Ingebrigtsen has half a chance of success.
