Olympics Daily – Advances for Rowers and Rhys, All of Sunday’s Action

Appearing at his second Olympic Games, reigning world champion Rhys McClenaghan has qualified for the Pommel Horse final on August 3rd.

Two-time Olympian Nhat Nguyen came out on the right side of a lengthy battle with Israeli Misha Zilberman winning his opening Badminton match.

Sunday’s action includes the start of the Women’s Rugby Sevens, three Irish Boxers in action in the ring, and Team Ireland in action in Eventing, Rowing, and Sailing.

 

Saturday Gymnastics

Ireland’s two-time world champion Rhys McClenaghan not only qualified for the pommel final but topped the qualifying with a score of 15.200 points after an impeccable routine at the Bercy Arena. Not only did McCleneghan make more history as the first Irish gymnast to reach a second Olympic final, but his score, based on a degree of difficulty of 6.3 and an execution score of 8.9, ranked him top of the eight men who will contest the final next Saturday.

He finished on the same score as USA’s 2021 world champion, Stephen Nedoroscik, who had a marginally higher degree of difficulty (6.4) compared to McClenaghan’s 6.3.

The Down athlete absolutely nailed his routine, with not even the tiniest glitch, before a perfect dismount, which he acknowledged with a nod of his head and his trademark clenched fist.

Reflecting on his performance, McClenaghan said: It could be better, but it was solid. That was the word Luke (Carson, his coach) was using when I came off. It was calm.”

“That’s what you want to be like in that reappearance at the Olympic Games, and that’s what it did feel like, but of course, I want to be pushing more and more to perfection that isn’t attainable, but we’ll try. I can upgrade, and I plan to upgrade. Hopefully, we’ll be seeing that score bumped up even further. It felt so familiar out there, that pressure I have on my shoulders because I do it every day in training.”

Britain’s defending Olympic champion Matt Whitlock was third in qualification (15.166), followed by Japan’s Takaaki Sugino (15:033), Ukraine’s Oleg Verniaiev (15.033), and Kazakstan’s Nariman Kurbanov (15:000), with Korea’s Woong Hur (14.900), and Loran de Munck (14.76).

Earlier, Jordanian gymnast Ahmad Abu Al Soud, who was a medallist at the last two World Championships, was ruled out of the final after suffering several falls during his routine. He finished with a particularly low score of 12.46.

Three years ago, McClenaghan qualified in joint second place to the Olympic final in Tokyo, where he finished seventh. Topping the qualification this time means he will perform sixth of the eight finalists in a week’s time on August 3rd.

Saturday Badminton

Nhat Nguyen secured a hard-fought 2-1 win over his Israeli opponent in the opening Group P Match at the Porte de la Chapelle Arena.
Dubliner Nguyen, competing at his second Olympic Games, won the first game against Misha Zilberman 21-17. Zilberman then took the second game 21-19. In the deciding game, the 24-year-old showed great composure to close out the match 21-13.

Nguyen returns to action on Monday to face 172-ranked Prince Dehal of Nepal, who lost 2-0 earlier Saturday to World number 2 Viktor Den Axelson of Denmark.

Saturday Men’s Rugby Sevens

Ireland Men’s Sevens finished sixth at Paris 2024 after a narrow defeat to New Zealand (17-7) in Saturday evening’s fifth-place play-off at Stade de France. While the Olympics finished with a disappointing result, James Topping’s side has had a hugely positive campaign.

Just as they did in the Pool stages on Thursday, Ireland and New Zealand traded blows during another close battle in Saint-Denis. However, despite Chay Mullins’ first-half try, the Kiwis emerged 17-7 winners to claim fifth place.

Earlier in the day, Terry Kennedy’s try on the buzzer completed a thrilling 17-14 victory for Ireland over the USA in the fifth-place play-off semi-final. Hugo Lennox’s early try had given Ireland the advantage, but when the USA hit back with two tries on either side of the interval, Topping’s men needed a big finish.

A penalty on halfway allowed Mark Roche to kick deep into USA territory, and when his lineout throw hit Zac Ward at the back of the set-piece, the forward crashed over with 50 seconds remaining.  Still, two points in arrears, Niall Comerford then forced a penalty on the restart, and from the scrum, Kennedy tore around to the left to finish brilliantly for a last-gasp win.

Speaking afterwards, captain Harry McNulty said: “It was disappointing for us not to finish with the win we wanted against New Zealand, but overall I could not be more proud of the group. We have worked so hard over the last number of months leading into the Olympics, and while we did not come to Paris to finish sixth, we know we gave everything in pursuit of that podium finish.

“As we saw all week and indeed all season, the margins are just so fine. We came out the wrong side of a couple of important moments and were made to pay, but it has been an unforgettable campaign for this group, who are the best I’ve ever played with. The support in Paris has been immense, and we will never forget our 2024 Olympic journey.”

Saturday Road Cycling

Fifteen years after his first appearance for Ireland, Ryan Mullen made his Olympic debut in the Men’s Individual Time Trial, finishing an outstanding twelfth place, notably Ireland’s best-ever result in the event.
Racing 32.4km around a rain-soaked Paris, Mullen finished in 37:57.16, just 1 minute 45 seconds behind newly crowned Olympic Champion Remco Evenepoel of Belgium (36:12.16).

Speaking after the race the 29-year-old said; “It was a slippery city centre circuit, it was just about managing risk and trying to deliver the power where it was feasible, feasible being a big underlined word there, because you couldn’t put power everywhere for risk of losing your backend or frontend.

“I did what I could, I took the risk where I felt I could, and I backed off where I felt like it wasn’t worth taking the risk. Like I said, I didn’t want to come all the way to Paris after 15 years in the making of getting here to lie down on a roundabout somewhere, so being safe and taking the calculated risk was the most important thing today, and you just delivered the best ride you could do in the safest way possible.”

Mullen returns to action in the Men’s Road Race on the 3rd of August.

Saturday Boxing

Ireland’s first boxer into the ring, Sligo lightweight Dean Clancy, was beaten on his Olympic debut, on a split decision, by Obada Al-Kasbeh of Jordan. A European U22 champion in 2021 and European Games bronze medallist last year, the 22-year-old Connacht man had high hopes in the 63.5kg division. However, he met a very experienced fighter in Al-Kasbeh who came at him very aggressively with a lethal left jab, and his opponent won despite earning an official warning for hitting him on the ground during the final round.

Al-Kasbeh won the first round 4-1 and the second round 3-2, but Clancy won the third 3-2 after the Jordanian was deducted a point for the warning. The older man still got the split decision 3-2.

“It took me a bit to get my distance right and I knew it was going to be a rough, tough physical fight, he got me with a few elbows,” Clancy said.
“I had an idea he was going to be that aggressive, and maybe it’s his greater experience but I felt I landed the cleaner shots. It was very messy at times, but look, that’s boxing.”

Saturday Equestrian

Corkonian Austin O’Connor with Colorado Blue scored Ireland’s best Eventing score of the day, 31.7, for his dressage test. This leaves Ireland with a total of 102.7 and in 11th place in the team event. Tomorrow’s cross country and Monday’s show jumping phases will follow.
Afterwards O’Connor, who is competing in his fourth Olympics, said: “I was trying to break the 30 barrier, but it’s improved eight marks from Tokyo, and I think a lot of his work was real quality. A few of the changes didn’t quite come off as we’d hoped, but other than that, he didn’t put a foot wrong.

With rain falling throughout the day in Versailles, softer underfoot conditions on the cross-country course will play a role tomorrow, and it is a test O’Connor is relishing: “We look ahead now to tomorrow – the ground is getting nice and soft, and it’s going to change the complexity of competition a bit so hopefully the blood horses will come to the fore – that’s the plan anyway.

“It’s going to be a tough test—the designer is a very clever course designer. It’s fair but clever, and it will be intense. It’s nine minutes; it’s going to be quick. It will be good, safe ground, on the softer side, and it will suit some horses better than others.”

Sarah Ennis and Action Lady M began Ireland’s Team Eventing competition with a dressage score of 38.0 at the Palace of Versailles this morning. Fourth into the arena, Ennis looked to be on her way to a score in the low to mid-30s before the 10-year-old mare, competing at her first Olympics, made a slight error in front of the big screen.

It means that the combination will have work to do in tomorrow’s cross country to make up ground ahead of Monday’s show jumping but Ennis was very proud nonetheless.

“I’m a little disappointed. She saw the big screen and the cameras move across the diagonal, and she just stopped. She’s a bit of a gawker, and she had a real look when we got down into the corner where the big screen is, and the thing is when she has a look, she has a real look. She’s only 10, though, and it’s her first Olympics, she’ll have another when she’s 14 and I’m really proud of her. I love her.”

Ireland’s second Eventing rider, Susie Berry, was very satisfied with her dressage test at the Palace of Versailles, scoring 33.0 on board Wellfields Lincoln. The Banbridge 28-year-old, who is making her Olympic debut, admitted that there was a different feel to the competition – and even Wellfields Lincoln knew that there was something extra special about the Games.

Berry said, “It’s a surreal experience, but I’m thrilled with him. He can be a spooky horse, but he felt quite alert today. It was like he knew there was something different about today. His trot work felt beautiful in there, and maybe in his canter, he felt a little tense through his back, so we maybe lost a few moves that would ordinarily come naturally to him.

“It’s his first time being in an atmosphere like that, so I’m very happy with him. It’s very dense in there, very atmospheric, and the grandstands are so tall that the horses seem to be looking up a lot, but it’s an incredible arena.

Saturday Canoe Slalom

Liam Jegou advanced to the semi-finals of the Men’s C1 event on the opening day of the Games. Competing at his second Games, the 28-year-old Clare native did just enough to progress after a difficult day on the water.

In his first run, he recorded a time of 102.67 seconds before improving in his second run, completing the course in 99.93 seconds. This included three penalties, each two seconds in duration.

“It was really tough going, probably the toughest day on the water for me in a long time,” he said.

“I just couldn’t find my rhythm in the first run, and I was really surprised to be so far back. It was by no means a good run. In my second run, I struggled the whole way down but had more pace. I got a couple of penalties; it was so close. There’s no more room for mistakes.”
Jegou will have a day off tomorrow (Sunday) before he returns to action on Monday at the Vaires-sur-Marne Nautical Stadium.

Meanwhile, teammate Madison Corcoran failed to qualify for the semi-finals of the Women’s K1 event after both her runs down the 25-meter course. The 21-year-old missed a gate on her opening run, resulting in a fifty-second penalty, but she had a much stronger performance in her second outing, completing the course in 115.93 seconds, which included just two penalties, to finish 24th overall.

“I was happy with most of my paddling today. I had some unfortunate mistakes in the middle section, but I felt that I was able to keep my composure relatively well,” she said.

Madison, the daughter of two-time Irish Olympian Mike Corcoran, is joined on the Irish team by her twin sister Michaela and is embracing her first Games experience: “It’s really cool. I’m happy to qualify and be here; it’s special.”

Madison will be back on the course on Thursday, August 2nd, where she will be involved in the new Kayak Cross event, which makes its Olympic debut.

Saturday Rowing

It was a successful start for the Irish rowers on day one of competition, with both men’s and women’s double sculls crews progressing directly into their respective semi-finals. The rain came down at Vaires-sur-Marne, but with good water conditions, there was nothing holding back the two crews from Team Ireland.

The Men’s Double of Phil Doyle and Daire Lynch set the tone on a positive note, finishing with a comfortable win in the last of the three heats. The top three crews gained direct qualification into the semi-finals.

Through the first 500 meters, Ireland sat in third position, but from this point, they stayed the fastest crew on the water, moving up through the field as the race unfolded. They now head into Tuesday morning’s semi-finals with the fastest time out of three heats, obtaining a more favourable lane draw as a result.

Speaking afterwards, Philip Doyle said: ‘It was good, we got a lot of confidence from it, it was nice to just work on our race and then we came through in the middle just as we had planned. We knew that they would come off hot, and we just focused on ourselves and worked through the middle.”

“Daire made some nice calls to push in the middle, and we just started moving away from the other boats, which just gave us more confidence. Then we kind of knew it was done and sealed from the 1500. It’s only the first step of three, so we just need to take some confidence from this going forward and bring that into the Semi-final.”

Olympic debutants Fermoy’s Alison Bergin and Killorglin’s Zoe Hyde also advanced directly into the Women’s Double semi-finals after a third-place finish in their heat. Bergin, 2023 U23 World Silver medallist, sitting in a stroke of the boat, led the Irish double through the race, winding it up as they came through 1300 meters.

Sitting in fourth place through the opening half of the race, Alison and Zoe needed to make a move to get into the top three qualification places. Doing just that, Ireland stepped up in the second half, cruising through the Lithuanian double of Rimkute and Karaliene. They race again on Tuesday morning in the semi-finals.

Afterwards, Zoe Hyde said, “I think it was a good race, and we learned a lot, which I think is really important. We know what we need to work on now to step up for the semi-final. We had a good second half, so we’re going to try to replicate that in the first half, and then we’ll be laughing!”

Saturday Hockey

Despite a battling defensive performance, Ireland Men’s Hockey opened their Paris 2024 campaign with a 2-0 defeat to defending Olympic champions Belgium at historic Yves-du-Manoir Stadium, the original site of the 1924 Olympic stadium this morning.

The Irish side, captained by Seán Murray, returned to the Olympic stage for the first time since Rio 2016 and produced a determined display against the world’s third-ranked side, but Belgium’s superior possession and territory eventually told on the scoreboard, as Tom Boon and Alexander Hendrickx notched goals in the second and third quarters.

Ireland battled resolutely until the final hooter, with goalkeeper David Harte producing a string of brilliant saves. There will be plenty of positives for Tumilty and his players heading into Monday’s crucial Pool B encounter against world number 4 Australia at 9 a.m. Irish time. The Irish team has a world ranking of #11.

Head Coach Mark Tumilty spoke afterwards: “It was a difficult start, but Belgium were very well set up today, and we probably struggled to break them down. At the same time, we defended well, and while they had a lot of opportunities in the final third, our defence stood up to that, and our goalkeeper was excellent. Australia next up will be a challenge as well, as they can play the game a number of different ways, and we need to be better with the ball.”

Saturday Swimming

Swimming got underway at Paris Le Defense on the opening morning, with Ellen Walshe and the Ireland Women’s 4x100m Freestyle Relay diving into action. In the 100m Butterfly, Ellen Walshe, competing in her second Olympic Games, clocked 58.70 for sixth place in her heat.

Speaking after the race, the Templeogue swimmer said, ‘‘I don’t think the time is great, but considering I’m trying to race the 400m (Individual Medley) on Monday, I have to keep a bit of mileage in my belt and my legs a bit fresh, too; but it felt good going in, and I just enjoyed it, to be honest. It was great to be out there and first up for Ireland.’

Walshe’s main events come later in the week, with the 400m Individual Medley on Monday and 200m Individual Medley on Friday.

Erin Riordan, Victoria Catterson and Grace Davison making their Olympic debuts, joined Tokyo Olympian Danielle Hill in the Women’s 4x100m Freestyle Relay, Ireland’s first female relay at a Games since Munich 1972. The quartet were just outside the Irish Record of 3:41.75 in 3:42.67, for eighth in their heat, after a great battle with Hong Kong in the next lane, who touched just ahead in 3:42.42.

16-year-old Davison, the youngest member of Team Ireland, spoke after the race: “It’s really exciting. I’m privileged to be amongst these girls. I’ve known them for probably less than they’ve all known each other, but they’ve made me feel really welcome. And I was really confident walking out with them this morning. I think we all push each other on, and that’s really special to have in the team.”

Belfast’s Catterson added, “To be out here with the girls and like Grace, who is only 16, I think we can all say that she’s held herself incredibly. All of us, I think, at 16 would have been a mess out there – like the crowd that loud and stuff but no, she has held herself so well, and we’re all so proud to have her on the team with us. We’re just so proud to be up here representing our country with these girls. It’s just a once-in-a-lifetime experience.”

 

Sunday Action

The Eventing team of Sarah Ennis, Susie Berry, and Austin O’Connor returns to action at the Palace of Versailles in the Cross-Country element of the competition.

The remaining five rowing crews yet to race (LW2x, LM2x, M2-, W2- and W4-) will all take to the water in a bid to reach the semi-finals of their respective events.

Tokyo bronze medallist Aidan Walsh is the first of three Irish fighters to enter the ring in the preliminaries of the welterweight division (71kg) in the morning. The Belfast man will be followed later by fellow welterweight (66kg) Grainne Walsh, who faces a Hungarian opponent also in the preliminaries. Monkstown BC’s Jack Marley will face Bereznicki of Poland in the last 16 of the heavyweight division (92kg) tomorrow evening.

Sailors Robert Dickson and Seán Waddilove, competing at the second Olympics together, are the first of the Irish team to take to the water in Marseilles when they contest the first, second, and third of the 12 races in the Skiff.

In swimming, Sligo’s Mona McSharry is the sole Irish swimmer in action in the morning heats of the 100m breaststroke.

The Women’s rugby sevens team will also commence their Olympic campaign in the Stade France against Great Britain, who finished fourth in Tokyo 2020, and later against South Africa.