Living in Australia and watching Australian television while the swimming is on during the Olympics is frankly, nauseating.
I think our best approach is continue to back track athletes that are clearly talented we have produced some excellent track and field stars but as the brits showed we should target certain sports where you can gain based on talent that can be developed. Shootimg and archery. Possibly weightlifting. Hard to know if we will ever see so much success in rowimg again considering that skibb have produced generational talents in a short space of time
I presume the splitting of the Soviet Union into all the Stans has been disastrous for any semblance of integrity in amateur boxing. All these countries are corrupt as hell and run by despots. But because they are now separate countries and all very good at boxing the balance of power has shifted to those countries in terms of administration. As far as I can see the IBA is a wholly owned subsidiary of Putinworld.
But amateur boxing has always been bent. My oulâ fella used to talk about how Fred Tiedt was robbed in 1956 and how the Australian crowd were furiously booing the decision. I donât know what you can do about bent judging bar the abandonment of judging in favour of technology. And banning the bent judges, obviously. But its like whack a mole, judges will always be bent.
The rounds system is one thing that has to go. Itâs so much more open to abuse than the old points for punches system and itâs also terrible to watch for the viewer.
By any chance do you remember a Paul Buttimer who boxed at the 1992 games? He lost the first round. Hes a taxi driver now and i got him once, he told me he was screwed but tbh ive no idea. One of the madest taxi rides i have had
Swimming is one of the great Olympic sports but itâs much easier to rack up medals in it if youâre good.
If youâre rowing or boxing in the Olympics you have one shot at one medal. You can win multiple medals in athletics but itâs harder.
The core Olympic sports are Athletics, Swimming, Gymnastics, Rowing, Boxing.
If Rhys McClenaghan wins today it will be one of the great Irish gold medals.
The name very vaguely rings a bell alright but I canât say I remember his fight. Wikipedia says he was beaten 12-8 in the first round of the flyweight division by a Nigerian alright.
I have more of a recollection of two other Pauls who boxed for Ireland at that Olympics - Paul Griffin who was a European Champion who had a total nightmare and was stopped and made a tit of himself whinging afterwards, and Paul Douglas who I think was from Belfast who performed rather better, winning a couple of fights, but he didnât medal.
Yeah i had to look up for the name. Any great crack, initially didnt believe him until i looked up when i got home and he was correct. Wasnt sure if sour grapes or bent judging you know yourself
Former Olympians can pop up in the strangest places.
Great read here
I remember an Italian lad bet the head off Tyrell Biggs in the 1984 heavyweight final in LA but Biggs got the decision.
My Da used to bemoan Fred Tiedt getting robbed too. Fred ran a newsagents shop down around Denmark st for years. I seem to remember Fred boxing the head off some armed robber who tried to steal the days takings. Being robbed once was obviously enough for Fred.
They are doing some showcasing of Paris, Versailles and the outskirts in this road race. Itâs like a tourism advert.
It looks fucking incredible. You donât appreciate the sheer vastness of Versailles.
Why are they getting rid of the medal the Irish lads won in the rowing for the next Olympics?
My sister was a national champion for skulls and doubles, and towed for Ireland, we had a tradition of rowing where I lived growing up, close to the river and the clubs in Cork,
My uncle still rows competitively in his 80s
Once it gets a hold of you itâs intense
Roy Jones being screwed by Park Si-Hun in 1988 was the most infamous screw job of all.
I recall a Tiedtâs shop alright, but for some reason in my mind it was in Church Street. Youâre right, we used to pass it walking up to Croker.
I remember him well, I played soccer with his brother shortly after that
The Echo would also talk up Cork boxers, we were heartbroken when Kieran Joyce lost in an earlier games, he was a medal hopeful, also from the famed Sunnyside club
Buttimer didnât fight well in Barcelona, there was no suggestion that he was robbed
I knew a lot of rowers in college, one of my close friends rowed and still rows and coaches. Her husband rowed for Ireland in the Olympics, twice, I think. I know they were 4th in Atlanta. They are both heavily involved in rowing and trying to grow involvement in the sort.
I think the British campaign pre London to identify potential rowers and cyclists was âTall and Talentedâ
I thought it was gas he was still raging. Add to the fact i was absolutely plastered. Sound ole skin. I wasnt even alive for that Olympics so i didnt have a clue