Across Ireland, Europe and the World this was an incredible weekend of sport with Irish stars to the fore across a multitude of disciplines. Here are some of those from home and abroad that serve to prove the enduring power which sport has to lift the mood of nations.
15 – Katie Taylor landed her 15th Major Title in Hungary at the European Women’s Boxing Championships but that was perhaps overshadowed by the fact that Irish boxers claimed no fewer than 15 medals five of them gold. Taylor’s prowess in the ring and commercial backing out of it was featured in the Irish Independent on Saturday, with a contribution from Sport for Business but on this occasion she deserves equal billing alongside Kristina O’Hara, Amy Broadhurst, Grainne Gavin and Jacqui Lynch.
21 – Dan Martin ended a 21 year wait for an Irish stage Victory at the Tour de France when winning Sunday’s event and climbing to eighth place in the overall standings. Martin was tipped as an outsider for overall victory by some in advance of the race and he is delivering.
52 – It was 1961 when Dublin last won a Leinster Hurling Championship but that was another drought consigned to a footnote in history ata sun drenched Croke Park on Sunday. A high octane contest of strength and skill saw Anthony Daly’s side overcome Galway and they have now accounted for the two sides that dominated the sport last year. Dublin are down as low as 3/1 with bookmakers to go all the way to All Ireland glory in September.
67 – Graeme McDowell shot 67 in his fourth round at the French Open Golf in Versailles on Sunday to win his third event of the year and establish himself as a firm leading contender for the British Open Championship later this month. The Irish Open was poor for our major winners but they remain a world class force in international golf.
77 – Numerologists will have been in rapture over the victory of Andy Murray in the Wimbledon Men’s Singles Championship at Wimbledon. It ended a 77 year gap since the last British winner of this most quintessentially British event. It happened on the seventh day of the seventh month in Murray’s seventh Grand Slam final and sent most of Scotland and Britain into seventh heaven.
A Wonder Weekend of Sport in Numbers
