Rowing
The first day of the Olympics witnessed superb performances from the Irish rowers, with both the men’s and women’s double sculls teams advancing straight to their semi-finals. Even as it rained down at Vaires-sur-Marne, Team Ireland was unstoppable in the excellent water conditions.
Leading the way were Philip Doyle and Daire Lynch in the men’s doubles, with an emphatic win in the final heat. Consequently, the top three teams, including Doyle and Lynch, ensured their semi-final places, bypassing the possible repechage on Sunday morning.
Despite sitting in third position around the initial 500-metre mark, Ireland soon become the most rapid crew on the water. Progressing steadily, they eventually put in the fastest heat time, securing an advantageous lane position in Tuesday’s semi-finals.
On the women’s side, the Olympic rookies, Alison Bergin of Fermoy and Zoe Hyde of Killorglin, similarly moved directly to the semi-finals following their heat’s third-place finish.
Gymnastics
Two-time world champion, Rhys McClenaghan, achieved more than just qualifying for the pommel final on behalf of Ireland – he also led the qualifiers with a flawless routine at the Bercy Arena, scoring 15.200 points. Becoming the first Irish gymnast to make a second Olympic final, his impressive score was derived from a 6.3 for degree of difficulty and an execution score of 8.9.
Rugby Sevens
In the men’s rugby Sevens, the Irish team secured sixth place. They were defeated twice by New Zealand in the tournament, with the All Blacks triumphing 17-7 in the match that determined 5th place, which took place at the Stade de France.
In a thrilling semi-final, Ireland clinched a spectacular 17-14 victory against the USA, thanks to late tries from Zac Ward and Terry Kennedy at the famed Stade de France. Despite a promising start through a try and conversion from Hugo Lennox, Ireland trailed at 7-14 when the USA’s Aaron Cummings and Perry Baker landed converted tries during the second half. The game’s close saw Ireland shining, particularly through Ward, arguably the team’s best player in these Olympic Games; and the supreme finisher, Kennedy who scored the late tries. Kennedy’s critical try in extra time involved him pulling US player Marcus Tupuola over the line and igniting raucous celebrations among Irish supporters at the jam-packed French stadium.
The venue was also the site of the largest cheer of the night during the men’s gold medal match, wherein French team captain Antoine Dupont led the hosts to end the glorious 17-game unbeaten run of Fiji, the double Olympic champions. The final saw a 28-7 win for France. Dupont, who scored two tries after being substituted in, concluded the scoring with a final dive over from a maul’s back; he also aided in setting up another try.
In the boxing circles, Dean Clancy’s match ended in a knock-out after a tough first round. A bruising encounter with Obada Al-Kasbeh concluded in a divided decision favoring the Jordanian. With four judges siding with Al-Kasbeh post the three-minute mark, Clancy, the 22-year-old Irish boxer, was left uphill battle against his seasoned opponent. He eventually lost 3-2 with a final tally of 27-29, 28-28, 29-27, 28-28, 27-29.
Meanwhile, in the badminton competition, Nhat Nguyen secured a challenging 2-1 victory against an Israeli adversary during the opening Group P Match at the Porte de la Chapelle Arena. The Dublin-born Nguyen, in his second Olympic Games, beat Misha Zilberman 21-17 in the initial game. However, the second game saw Zilberman winning 21-19. Nguyen remained composed in the deciding match and closed it at 21-13. Nguyen’s next match is scheduled for Monday where he’ll face Prince Dehal of Nepal, ranked 172 globally, who conceded 2-0 earlier to Denmark’s Viktor Den Axelson, world number 2.
Ryan Mullen of Ireland persevered through harsh weather conditions to secure the 12th position in the Olympic time trial; a race made difficult by relentless rain that has been plaguing the beginning of the Games. The gold medal was claimed by Remco Evenepoel of Belgium, six days after his third-place finish in the Tour de France. Wout van Aert, his fellow team member, won the bronze medal. Mullen, participating in his first Olympics, held the record as the fastest finisher for about 88 seconds before the more seasoned racers began the course. Referring to the weather conditions, Mullen noted: “From potholes, to corners and even cobbled streets, they threw it all at us.”
In another sport, Ireland’s men’s hockey team kicked off their Paris 2024 journey with a 2-0 loss against defending Olympic champions Belgium at the well-known Yves-du-Manoir Stadium, the very location of the 1924 Olympic games. The Irish team, led by Seán Murray fought valiantly against the third-ranked team globally, but Belgium’s better control and territorial advantage showed visibly on the scoreboard. Belgium’s Tom Boon and Alexander Hendrickx scored in the second and third quarters.
The swimming events began at Paris Le Defense Arena. Ireland’s Ellen Walshe and the Irish Women’s 4x100m Freestyle Relay team, consisting of Erin Riordan, Victoria Catterson and Grace Davison among others, made their first splash on the opening day. Walshe ended up 6th in her heat, clocking an impressive 58.70 in the 100m butterfly heat. The 4x100m freestyle relay was Ireland’s first female relay at the Games since 1972 in Munich. The team finished with a close time of 3:42.67, marginally falling behind the Irish record of 3:41.75, after a tight race with Hong Kong, who finished just ahead in 3:42.42.
The team eventing match for Ireland started off with Sarah Ennis and Action Lady M, a ten-year-old horse, at the Palace of Versailles with a dressage score of 38.0. A minor error in front of the big screen made it evident that they would need to improve their position in the forthcoming cross-country competition on Sunday to rise from the current 54th place, ahead of Monday’s show jumping contest.
Susie Berry, the second rider for Ireland, expressed satisfaction with her performance on Wellfields Lincoln, achieving a score of 33.0 which placed her in the 32nd position. The 28-year-old equestrian from Banbridge is participating in the Olympics for the first time and described the experience as surreal. She was particularly pleased with her horse’s performance, despite admitting that he seemed a bit tense during the canter.
Austin O’Connor, the final participant from Ireland, secured 31.7 points and is in the 28th place. The leader of the competition after the dressage is Laura Collett from Great Britain, who secured 17.5 points. She is ahead of Michael Jung from Germany, a three-time Olympic golfer, who scored 17.8.
In the canoeing event, Liam Jegou managed to secure his place in the semi-finals, despite admitting to RTÉ that it was probably the toughest day he’s spent on the water. The women’s kayak (K1) event, however, did not go as well, as 21-year-old Madison Corcoran failed to make it through to the semi-finals.