SET THE ALARM CLOCKS
We have only ever won ten Olympic Gold Medals in the history of the modern games. Anybody under the age of 30 will only remember that of Katie Taylor in London 2012 and Paul O’Donovan and Fintan McCarthy in the past two weeks.
The only time in history that we have welcomed home two different gold medalists was in 1932 with Bob Tisdall and Pat O’Callaghan.
On Sunday morning at 6 AM Kellie Harrington will step into the ring in a bid to bridge that 89-year gap. It is sporting history in the making and if you have a sporting bone in your body you will want to be up to watch it live.
I guarantee you it will not be easy to watch. When it gets to this level the nerves will have you on the edge of your seats in a way you might never have expected.
Because there is no visible scoring mechanic we will rely on the evidence of our eyes and the guidance of Hugh Cahill on the microphone.
He will reveal the scores of the judges a split second before we see them on screen. If Kellie is ahead we will recognise the judges for their clear-sightedness and fairness. If she’s behind we will dive behind shaking of heads over just how unfair the whole judging system is.
I was fortunate enough to be at Katie Taylor’s Gold medal bout in London. It was a sporting experience I will never forget. I remember getting back to my house to watch Michael Carruth win in Barcelona. I remember watching Michelle Smith upend all expectations in the swimming pool in Atlanta.
These moments live long in the memory. Don’t let it pass by without sharing in the collective experience of getting behind a woman from North Inner City Dublin, whose family home is a left hook or two away from the iconic five lamps and one corner away from Croke Park.
There’ll be plenty of time to sleep after the fight.
NATALYA COYLE ON THE CUSP OF A MEDAL
Going into this morning’s final events of the Modern Pentathlon Ireland’s Natalya Coyle is poised to challenge for a medal at her third Olympic Games.
The equestrian event can be a lottery with an open draw pairing up horses with competitors. Then it is over to the track in the same Tokyo Arena for a 3.2-kilometre run interspersed with pausing, getting the heart rate down and firing her laser pistol.
She is in as good a position as she could have hoped for after a strong fencing and an equally impressive swimming performance.
It will all be decided before lunchtime today.
IRISH HOPES STILL STRONG HEADING INTO FINAL ROUND OF GOLF
Stephanie Meadow is in tenth place in the Women’s Golf with Leona Maguire one shot and eight places further back after the third round of the Women’s golf.
Nelly Korda of the USA is still out in front on -15 with Aditi Ashok of India three back in the Silver medal position.
Four golfers from Australia, New Zealand, Denmark and Japan are in Bronze on -10 and that is the target for the Irish duo who need to make up three and four shots respectively on the final round.
We know they are capable of big finishes and that’s what will be needed but they are still in contention with 18 holes to play and it will make for dramatic viewing overnight.
BBC’s HIGHLIGHTS WORTH A LOOK
RTÉ’s coverage of the games has been excellent and extensive, focused naturally on the Irish effort. If you cannot get enough of the games though it is worth recording the nightly BBC look back on the Day’s events. Yes there are the ‘Brits and Pieces’ segments but they highlight the best of the Games from a slightly different perspective and Clare Balding alongside Alex Scott are two top class guides.
Last night we got to know everything we could imagine we’d ever need to know about Speed Climbing, Kate Karate and Skateboarding as well as some great human interest stories from around the world.
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