There are less than 500 days to go the opening ceremony of the 2016 Olympic Games. There is also reason for Irish sport to be optimistic on a number of fronts.
Yesterday we wrote about the Men’s and Women’s Hockey teams taking steps closer to qualifying as Ireland’s first full team to participate in the modern games.
Rory McIlroy continues to head the World golf rankings and the Irish team will give best to noone under the leadership of Paul McGinley.
Our boxers continue to fight at the top of their games with Katie Taylor showing all the hunger and dedication one would expect of a champion determined to defend her crown.
Today we bring you more good news from Dutch sports information company Infostrada who have built a prediction tool using a variety of inputs that aims to forecast the final medals table in Rio.
Ireland is forecast to win not one, not two but three gold medals which will place them in 28th spot on the final medal table. Infostrada suggest the Golds will come from Taylor, McIlroy and Rob Heffernan. It’s impossible to forecast accurately so far out but at least we can see the possibility and what more can one ask from sport.
It places us on a par with Jamaica in terms of Gold, and ahead of such larger nations as Greece, Argentina, Norway and Denmark. 500 days and counting then.
Probability is of course no guarantee of success but the smart mathematics that goes into creating models that are of value in sport and other areas are getting better and better, and who knows, it might give an edge of confidence that could in the end prove to be that smallest margin.
To see the full medal table go to http://vmt.infostradasports.com/
