CELEBRATING GOLD
The celebrations continued long into the night after Daniel Wiffen’s Olympic Gold medal and Olympic record performance in the pool.
Seeing the tricolour raised and hearing Amhrán na Bhfiann played for only the 12th time in history will not have left many dry eyes across the country, and it was especially fitting that Swim Ireland CEO and Olympic Federation of Ireland President Sarah Keane was part of the presentation party in Paris.
Wiffen became Northern Ireland’s fourth Olympic Gold medallist after Stephen Martin and Jimmy Kirkwood in Hockey in 1988 and Lady Mary Peters in Munich for the Pentathlon in 1972.
The win was celebrated worldwide, with the BBC paying special tribute to Clare Balding and Rebecca Adlington poolside.
It was great to see Morgan Treacy of Inpho Photography poolside to capture the golden picture as well. Thanks to Daniel’s manager, Derry McVeigh, for this shot taken after we recorded Daniel for the Sport for Business Podcast earlier this year.
SKERRIES ROLE IN CANADA RISE
The Canadian Women’s Sevens Rugby team knocked out France and Australia en route to their Final defeat against New Zealand, in doing so producing two of the shocks of the Games.
There was a strong Irish presence at the helm with Jack Hanratty of Skerries their Head Coach for the past two years.
He played and coached Skerries before taking on a role as a development officer with Leinster Rugby and then heading West initially to take up a College Coaching career.
He is the nephew of Jim Glennon, another Skerries stalwart, former Irish International and currently Chair of Edelman Ireland.
THE €1 BN SEINE CLEAN UP THAT HAS WORKED KIND OF
It cost the Paris authorities €1 Bn to build the infrastructure to keep the River Seine clean for swimming, but it has been on a knife edge. Clear in five of the seven days leading up to the Games, nature took a hand with the heavy rain we saw at the weekend, and the Men’s Triathlon was pushed back 24 hours to follow this morning’s Women’s Race that is being staged.
The problem is the unsafe levels of eColi bacteria in the water.
That comes mainly from sewage, and American star Seth Rider has been building up her tolerance in the run-up to the Olympics by not washing her hands after going to the toilet.
The things that are done for the greater glory, and we kind of hope she gets her reward today before going for a long hot shower.
COULD TRUMP BE CALLED IN A CYBER HARASSMENT CASE OVER ‘LAST SUPPER’ AT THE OPENING CEREMONY?
Barbara Butch is the DJ who appeared to some as Jesus at the Last Supper in one of the tableau that made up the Opening Ceremony at the Games last Friday.
The reaction to her part in the scene has been so intense that she has filed a case for Cyber Harassment with the French legal system.
It likely won’t go much further than the headlines, but former US President Donald Trump, no stranger to the courts, called the performance a disgrace on Fox News and could be cited as one of the sources that have inspired much stronger abuse and even death threats.
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