The Gracenote Virtual Medal Table, renowned for its successful predictions of Olympic medal winners, anticipates a record-breaking seven medal wins for Team Ireland in the upcoming Paris Olympic Games this summer. With just 100 days remaining until the 26th July opening ceremony, the Gracenote team shared their projections for gold, silver, and bronze placements this week, basing their forecast on results from crucial worldwide and continental competitions since the postponed 2021 Tokyo Games.
In the Tokyo Games, Team Ireland came away with two golds and two bronzes, totalling four medals. Now, Gracenote believes the team will pocket seven, including two golds, three silvers, and two bronzes. This prediction would overtake the previous record of six medals, which included a gold for Katie Taylor’s boxing match, from the 2012 London Games.
Among the gold hopefuls are rowers Paul O’Donovan and Fintan McCarthy for the lightweight double sculls, potentially making O’Donovan the first Irish sportsman to take home medals from three consecutive Games, following a silver win in Rio 2016. Rhys McClenaghan, a world-renowned gymnast from Newtownards, is projected to clinch gold in the pommel horse.
Tokyo’s 60kg gold-winning boxer, Kellie Harrington, and equestrian athlete, Cian O’Connor are anticipated to receive silver medals. Daniel Wiffen, a swimmer from Armagh and double gold winner at the recent Doha World Championships, is predicted to win silver in the 800m freestyle and bronze in the 1500m freestyle, though it’s expected he might disagree with the projection.
Additionally, it is predicted that Rory McIlroy will win bronze in golf. However, it’s worth noting there are no predictions for track & field medals, even though young athletes Rhasidat Adeleke and Ciara Mageean both achieved fourth place in the 400m at the Budapest World Championships last summer.
The forecast suggests that Ireland, securing seven medals, is likely to be placed at rank 36 on the comprehensive medal tally, a slight improvement from their previous position tied at 39th in Tokyo. The United States of America is anticipated to clinch the highest position on the medal chart, gaining 123 awards altogether. They are followed by China and Great Britain with 89 and 66 medals respectively. Meanwhile, host country France is expected to show a significant rise in the number of medals won, going from 33 in Tokyo to 55, making it the fourth top medal earner.