The Olympics Thread

[Avenger]

Isn't the football an under 21 tournament (with 3 over age players) so using a European U21 competition as a qualifier makes perfect sense (though I could be wrong)

I think it's u23 and you can have 3 players who are over that limit.

[sarah_lennon]

The men's game is U-23s with 3 bangers. The women's game is no as it is predominantly amateur

[TerenureJim]

The men's game is U-23s with 3 bangers. The women's game is no as it is predominantly amateur

Careful before a high profile member of team GB puts a super injunction on you

[mikey]

boxing on now - ahead in round 3.....cmon.....

[mikey]

she's through - happy days - shame about the rendition of the fields though......

[Dexter]

- shame about the rendition of the fields though......

I didn't see the other semi, but the IT reports that the Russian got through as expected, although the scoring was highly dubious. Anyone see it?

[Amz]

Anyone know an Irish bar in Nantes? Will be there tomorrow so would love to catch the fight if possible.

[tackle-bag]

Can someone tell me whether you can appeal the time penalties in the show-jumping? Cian O'Connor was finished for about half a second when they stopped the clock for him, listing him as .02 of a second outside the time limit, and it looks to have cost him a gold medal.

[Hornet]

Can someone tell me whether you can appeal the time penalties in the show-jumping? Cian O'Connor was finished for about half a second when they stopped the clock for him, listing him as .02 of a second outside the time limit, and it looks to have cost him a gold medal.

He got a Bronze.

[tackle-bag]

Assuming that Paddy Barnes wins tonight, much noise will be made in the coming weeks about the fact that these Olympic Games have resulted in our joint highest medal tally of all time. Melbourne 1956 produced one gold, one silver and three bronze. This could yet be surpassed if someone like Rob Heffernan manages to knick a cheeky medal in the 50km walk. Don't let these facts distract from the reality that sport in Ireland remains chronically underfunded. Katie Taylor, who when she fulfills her destiny tomorrow will rank as one of the great amateur boxers of all time, still has to go to the toilet in a pub next door to the gym in which she trains.

[tackle-bag]

Can someone tell me whether you can appeal the time penalties in the show-jumping? Cian O'Connor was finished for about half a second when they stopped the clock for him, listing him as .02 of a second outside the time limit, and it looks to have cost him a gold medal.

He got a Bronze.

Thanks for that completely uninformative response. Had he not been penalised by .02 of a second, he would have been guaranteed silver and would have entered a jump-off for gold. I'm wondering whether the Irish team can appeal the time penalty, because on the television it looked like he had crossed the finish line at about 79.60 seconds. I've gone back on live pause a couple of times now and it hasn't changed my initial impression.

[Hornet]

Can someone tell me whether you can appeal the time penalties in the show-jumping? Cian O'Connor was finished for about half a second when they stopped the clock for him, listing him as .02 of a second outside the time limit, and it looks to have cost him a gold medal.

He got a Bronze.

Thanks for that completely uninformative response. Had he not been penalised by .02 of a second, he would have been guaranteed silver and would have entered a jump-off for gold. I'm wondering whether the Irish team can appeal the time penalty, because on the television it looked like he had crossed the finish line at about 79.60 seconds. I've gone back on live pause a couple of times now and it hasn't changed my initial impression.

If you had been watching the Track Cycling you would have seen the timings come up on the screen slightly after the rider had crossed the mark. As with the cycling the show jumping was the same. Team Ireland knows that and didn't dispute the timings. Jumpers are timed most when the timing beams are broken at the start and finish of the jump off. The time, as in cycling would have shown an instant later on the screen. You would have been decieved by the speed of the clock in relation to what you perceived to have seen in relation to the position of the horse. Happy?

[tackle-bag]

If you had been watching the Track Cycling you would have seen the timings come up on the screen slightly after the rider had crossed the mark. As with the cycling the show jumping was the same. Team Ireland knows that and didn't dispute the timings. Jumpers are timed most when the timing beams are broken at the start and finish of the jump off. The time, as in cycling would have shown an instant later on the screen. You would have been decieved by the speed of the clock in relation to what you perceived to have seen in relation to the position of the horse. Happy?

I accept your explanation but I'm not happy. I appreciate that the rolling time graphic disappears for a split second after the finish before re-appearing as a static final time. What I'm saying is that on the TV coverage, O'Connor seems to cross the line when the rolling graphic is less than 80 seconds, only for a final time of 80.02 to be displayed an instant later. I'm surprised that the Irish team haven't lodged an appeal (assuming such a facility exists), given that .02 of one second is literally nothing in an event of this duration. You can be sure that any 100 metre sprinter who lost by .0025 of a second (which is the equivalent gap) would be challenging the ruling. Even by the standards of professional sport, it's a ludicrously small margin by which to miss out on a better medal.

[Hornet]

You can be sure that any 100 metre sprinter who lost by .0025 of a second (which is the equivalent gap) would be challenging the ruling.

Disagree. The technology on the finish line will show each runner's finishing position, in relationship to the winner. That's why it may take some time to annouce the winner. I've not yet seen an athlete challenge that. As an example, in the first race of the Women's Cycling sprint final, Pendleton beat Meares by 0.001 of a second, (not challenged by Meares or Team Australia), before Pendleton was excluded for straying out of the sprint lane. (The gap was around half the depth of a tyre at over 65km, as was shown on the finish line freeze frame). Horses are various shapes, so one may break the beam at a slightly different point than the other.

Edited for an exuberance of zeroes

[Dave Cahill]

The official clocks measure down to the 1000s of a second.

[Mauler]

http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2012 ... d=fb-share

[Dave Cahill]

BMX Racing rules all!!!!!!!!

[johng]

BMX Racing rules all!!!!!!!!

Katie Taylor rules all OK

[Peg Leg]

Classic stuff, cagey, messy fight. Well done Katie.

[Cianostays]

Katie Taylor you absoloute hero

Well done and thank you for today