Men of Action: Bradley Wiggins Ends The Year With BBC Award

Posted on December 19, 2012 by aaron

The BBC Sports Personality of the Year was awarded to Bradley Wiggins this past Sunday. The Olympian has had a stand out year, racing into the Guinness World Records for being the only cyclist to win an Olympic Gold Medal and the Tour de France in the same year.

For many, his victory at the BBC’s Sport’s Personality of the year was unsurprising, but in a year filled with sports stars, its a huge achievement in its own right.

His award has spurred him on to get back on his bike in 2013 and build on the momentum from this year.

‘You reset your goals, I’m still hungry to do other things, but I’m never going to top this. I don’t mind accepting that’

‘I always wanted to win a second tour,’ Wiggins explains. ‘I want to win the Giro d’Italia and the Tour de France behind it. It’s a new challenge. People said it can’t be done – winning two tours in one year – so let’s have a go.’

Based on the skill and determination he’s shown this year, we’re excited to see what next year has in store for him!

London 2012: Spectacular Closing Lifts The Cloud of Limitation

Posted on September 12, 2012 by aaron

The London 2012 Paralympic Games came to an this past Sunday with a spectacular closing ceremony that was testament to an extraordinary summer of sport.

London 2012 has been a constant reminder of what the human body is capable off. Records were broken and champions were hailed. Sebastian Coe delivered a moving speech in which he shared a story of a chance meeting with a Paralympic athlete:

‘I met Emily – a games maker at the Paralympics Games. She talked of what the games meant for her and what participating in wheelchair basketball means to her’

‘”It has lifted the cloud of limitation” she said’

We appreciate this sentiment, as everyday we read story of people achieving the extraordinary. In this summer’s Games we were all spoilt for choice of heroes to cheer on.

The packed Olympic Stadium saw performances from Coldplay, Jay-Z and Rihanna, and a mesmerising firework display that brought the summer to a close.

What is its legacy? The cloud of limitation has been lifted and we should all now strive to be the best that we can be.

London 2012: Danny Boyle’s Opening Spectacle

Posted on July 27, 2012 by aaron

This is it! Today is the opening ceremony of the London 2012 Olympics, and as of 9:45pm (GMT) the Summer Games will have begun.

People from all corners of the globe have been preparing for this – not just the athletes we’ve been featuring recently, but organisers and fans.

Acclaimed British director Danny Boyle will be beckoning the Games with the final hour of the opening ceremony. Best known for his films Slumdog Millionaire (which won eight Oscars in 2009), Trainspotting and 28 Days Later, Boyle has been tackling a very different beast when putting together the opening stadium show.

Last year, Danny Boyle directed an adaptation of Mary Shelly’s Frankenstein at London’s National Theatre. The show quickly sold out and won a lot of critically acclaim. But as well as thrilling audiences in a live-action setting, this was also a good place to try out concepts for the Olympic opener.

Nicholas Hytner, director of the National Theatre, described Boyle has having ‘massive conceptual and visual panache and an old-fashioned showman’s flair for the big gesture’. So we’re in good hands then.

Danny Boyle’s heritage is rooted in Ireland, his mother came from Ballinasloe, Co. Galway and in a global event filled with them, he is wearing the badge of a ‘Man of Action’ well. He accepted the opportunity to direct the opening ceremony ‘without any hesitation at all’, and can already see the level of success that all involved have achieved:

‘I believe it’s a success already because I believe the way that it’s mobilised people together’

It’s difficult to place Boyle’s works in a particular genre, which is a quality. One thing is for certain, though, all of pieces share a sense of spectacle and imagination that have captured audiences. And with an expected 1 billion viewers today, that quality will be paramount.

London 2012: The Olympics Is The Next Step For Murphy

Posted on July 26, 2012 by aaron

Ireland’s best hope in the pool this summer is Gráinne Murphy. She has been making her appearance known in the water since 2009, and already holds three individual national records: the 800m freestyle, 1500m and 200m Individual Medley.

At the 2010 European Aquatics Championship Murphy won a silver medal in the 1,500m freestyle and a year later she had her eyes on the London 2012 Olympics.

Murphy qualified for the Olympics on the 3rd December 2011 at the Dutch Open Championships, after a memorable performance in the 800m freestyle. She secured an impressive time of 8.31.14, which also won her a bronze medal at the event.

She had already raced with qualifying times in 2009 and 2010, and this was the next step in her career. Her coach, Ronald Claes said:

‘Qualifying for the Olympic games is obviously a fantastic achievement… a great step in the right direction but not the end goal’

But like the other Olympic athletes we have featured, Murphy isn’t letting the pressure get to her. Instead, she’s using it as inspiration to make this a summer to remember:

‘I don’t feel under pressure from anyone. I’ve got my own goals and obviously if I achieve them I achieve them, but I’m going to the Olympics to do the best I can, to enjoy the experience and have as much fun as possible’

For Gráinne, London 2012 will be a vital step on her career path, but she already has ideas of where she wants to go when the Games come to an end.

‘I suppose the Olympics do only come around every 4 years, but I’m still only 19. The World Championships are next year again, so there’s always something on the horizon’

This is an exciting time for Gráinne and we’re looking forward to seeing her do what she does best.

London 2012: Team Ireland Adopts Jezierski In The Sprint Canoe

Posted on July 25, 2012 by aaron

Another Olympian with his eyes on a medal for Team Ireland is C1 200m sprint canoeist Andrzej Jezierski.

Polish by birth, Jezierski opted to compete for the Irish Olympic Team when the opportunity arose. He is an adopted son of Ireland as he lives in Cork and regularly trains at the National Rowing Centre in Farran Wood.

After winning his second Gold medal at the World Championships in 2005, Jezierski decided to retire from his sport and moved to Ireland in search of work. It was in Ireland that he returned to sprint canoeing and was quickly on the radar of the Irish Canoe Union. In May, he announced that he would compete for the Irish team at the Summer Games and qualified at the European Sprint Canoe Qualifier, held in his native Poland.

He battled challenging conditions to finish in second place and secured his Olympic spot. But the road has not bee easy since then. After qualifying, he promised only that there would be ‘more hard training’, and mixed with his sheer determination, Ireland certainly has another competitor for an Olympic medal.

London 2012: Sigh Of Relief As O’Rourke Sets Personal Best

Posted on July 23, 2012 by aaron

Athletes have been flocking into London over the past few days, and the final track events before the Games have taken place.

Team Ireland breathed a slight sigh of relief when medal hopeful Derval O’Rourke recorded her best time in the 100 m hurdles at a track meet in Ligano, Italy. One might not be surprised by this, as the athletes have all been training hard for months – O’Rourke is exactly where she should be right now.

But it was a very different story at the beginning of the month, when O’Rourke withdrew from the 100m hurdles in the national championships on the 8th July. She suffered a back spasm, decided it best not to race.

As the weeks continued, and the pressure mounted, O’Rourke came back fighting, last Tuesday with a time of 13.02 seconds, the second fastest score at the track meet. She finished closely behind American Lolo Jones, who won with 12.85 seconds. But O’Rourke’s return to form and fighting attitude means she is now closing in on Jones, and has become her biggest challenge for the medal.

We’ll be watching this battles very closely when the two meet once agin on the Olympic race track.

London 2012: Katie Taylor Leads The Fight For Olympic Gold

Posted on July 20, 2012 by aaron

Katie Taylor is part of the Irish Olympic Boxing team, and the four time World Champion is leading the way in the fight for medals at London 2012.

The Irish Boxing team has already come together for intense training session in preparation for the Games. The pressure is on for them, particularly for Katie, who has been leading the way in her category. The team’s head coach, Billy Walsh knows this better than others:

‘Katie is the flagship of the women’s sport and one of the main reasons it got into the Games. Other countries are chasing her and trying to find ways to beat her’

But even in the face of such pressure, Katie remains determined and is thriving on the opportunity a head of her:

‘For me, it has been a lifelong ambition to represent my country in the Olympic Games, so I want to enjoy the privilege and take it all in’

‘I am aware of the expectation that is on me, but nobody expects more of me than myself’

For Katie, there is more to the Summer Games then a medal hunt. As the world number one, she will be leading the way in the return of women’s boxing to the Olympics in over 100 years. Not since the 1904 Games in St. Louis have women battled it out in the boxing ring at the Olympics.

‘The world is going to see how competitive it is and I think people will be shocked when they see it’ says Katie.

This is an exciting time for the entire team and we wish them luck in the coming weeks.

Men of Action: Ireland’s Olympic Boxing Team Gear Up For The Games

Posted on July 12, 2012 by aaron

The London Games are only weeks away and teams all over the world are gearing up for this global stage.

Ireland is no exception and is proving to be a strong contender this year.

Ireland’s boxing team has been assembled and are making their final preparations for the games. The team consists of Darren O’Neill, Paddy Barnes, John Joe Nevin, Michael Conlan, Adam Nolan, and Katie Taylor.

O’Neill, the team captain says the team have a positive attitude going into the games:

‘All of the squad are capable of winning medals if we perform to the best of our abilities. We’re capable of beating anyone, but they’re capable of beating us also, so it is crucial that we perform to our best’

‘A bit of luck in the draw would also be welcome in London, but that’s outside our control. However, we can control our own performances. If we do that the rest will follow’

Making his Olympic debut this summer in the boxing is Michael Conlan, a 21 year old flyweight boxer from Belfast. Conlan qualified for the the games at the 2011 World Championships in Baku, after he beat Nordine Oubaali.

‘It was a great fight. It was a tough fight,’ explains Conlan. ‘I was behind at one stage at the start of the first round, so I was three points down and I pulled it back. I was happy with that’.

He is confident that he is the right competitor for the Olympic games, and like O’Neill is focusing on his performance.

‘Go as far as possible. Win the first 30 seconds of the first round and keep winning the next 30 seconds of each round’

‘Anything can happen at the Olympic Games. You see favourites getting beat. You see unbelievable results happening. You see world records. You see Usain Bolt. You see the unexpected’

And we’re excited to see Conlan and the Irish Boxing Team. With not long to go, we wish them the best of luck and hope you all get behind them!

Tag Archives: London Olympics 2012