London 2012 Marathon - who will go?

Marathon runners Ava Hutchinson and Linda Byrne may have run the A standard for the London Olympics but, as yet, neither is sure of an Olympic place.

In the past, with three places on offer, the National Championships acted as an Olympic trial, with the winner guaranteed a place, providing they made the qualifying time. If several athletes came home under the qualifying mark, then the fastest two got picked.

Under those guidelines, Linda Byrne, winner of the national title last October in Dublin, would have been sure of her place.

Ava Hutchinson

Byrne's time of 2 hours 36 minutes 20 seconds in her first ever marathon was achieved through hard work and impressive discipline on the day. With 190 days to go until London 2012, Byrne will not run another marathon; she feels her time in Dublin should be enough.

One woman learning a hard lesson in Dublin was Ava Hutchinson, who made the classic mistake of starting too fast; she finished in a disappointing 2:42.50. All was forgotten last Saturday when Hutchinson emulated Byrne's Dublin tactics  in Houston. She started slow, and then stuck to an even  pace she could manage until she reached the finish. Her time of 2:35.33 put her comfortably inside the Olympics A standard  of 2:37.

While Hutchinson and Byrne are likely to make the London 2012 team, all could change radically over the next few weeks. Maria McCambridge ran 2:35.29 in Paris two years ago, but could manage only 2:40.26 in Dublin last October - only months after the birth of son Dylan.

At the age of 36, McCambridge knows time is running out. She will run a marathon in the next few weeks - Seville on February 19 or Barcelona a month later on March 17 are two options - and if she gets her pacing right, could nail down the third place.

There are others who fancy their chances. The 2010 national marathon champion Barbara Sanchez ran her first race after a long break last week, and could join Caitriona Jennings, Lorraine Manning, Annette Kealy, Lizzie Lee, Breege Connolly, and Rosemary Ryan at the Rotterdam Marathon on April 15. Then there's Gladys Ganiel, who may line out in London after clocking 2:40.56 in Houston.

Gymnast Behan for London 2012

Kieran Behan - flying high

Gymnast Kieran Behan is the latest addition to the Irish team for London 2012 after finishing 34th position at the London Prepares gymnastics test event.
Behan, born in London of Irish parents,  placed sixth in his specialist floor discipline at the North Greenwich arena on Tuesday night, but had to wait until yesterday to find out whether that it was good enough for an Olympic place.
He is only the second gymnast to qualify for an Olympics; Barry McDonald made the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta.
Behan, now 22,  has had a tough struggle to the top of his sport.  After the removal of  non-cancerous tumour on his leg when he was 10, he was initially confined to a wheelchair but made a good recovery and, after 15 months, was back in the gym.  
Then aged 12,  he slipped and banged his head while working on the high bar damaging his inner ear and causing black outs if he moved suddenly.
After much rehabilitation, Behan returned to the gym after three years before  rupturing the anterior cruciate ligaments in both of his knees in separate incidents in 2010.
That proved a minor set-back and World Cup series success last year and a solid performance at the World Championships in Tokyo earned him a place at the Olympics test event.

Consistency Key for Irish Sailors

After two medal-race performances and one near miss at the  ISAF Championships in Perth,  five sailors from clubs in Belfast, Cork and Dublin booked their places at London 2012.
Ryan Seaton and Matt McGovern made it in the 49er skiff class, Peter O’Leary and David Burrows in the Star keelboat, and Annalise Murphy  in the Laser Radial.
Ireland’s only sailing medal came at the 1980 Moscow Olympics when 62 countries decided to boycott the Games. Since then, Ireland hasn't had a top-eight finish.
David O'Brien, in an excellent Irish Times article, points out that consistency must be the key if the Irish crews are to make the podium in Weymouth. 

Two bad races apiece for the Star crew and Annalise Murphy cost them medals in Perth. "...it’s not only about having brilliant races, it’s also about avoiding bad ones, and in terms of difficulty, it’s the hardest nut to crack," writes O'Brien.
In her last two World Cup regattas, Murphy has finished 15 times in the top 10 and has won 10 races. Her win rate at the Skandia Sail for Gold regatta on the Olympic course in Weymouth was matched only by Britain’s Ben Ainslie. Inconsistency prevented her from taking first place in both events.
In Perth, Murphy won four races, more than any other sailor in her fleet; her average position, excluding discard, was seventh. If she had scored seventh in her two worst races, she would have won the regatta by five points. Instead a couple of bad results kept her sixth overall in a 102-boat fleet  -  still a personal best.
For the relatively new Star crew,  there has been bronze  at the European Championships, fourth  at the Olympic test event and silver at the Bacardi Cup. On the downside, a 33rd and a 24th in Perth kept them out of the medal race. In the 41-boat Perth fleet, consistency paid off -  only one of the top three overall won an individual race but the top three rarely dropped out of the top 10.
With only six regattas left until the Olympics, the Irish crews resume their campaigns in January, with the Star and the Laser Radial based in Miami and the 49er in Europe.
The big challenge for them all is making the transition from Olympic qualifiers to medal prospects. 

Dervock's Kennedy McArthur Remembered

From the BBC

Kennedy Kane McArthur  was greeted him with a torchlight procession when he returned to his home town of Dervock, Co Antrim, after winning the marathon at the 1912 Olympics in Stockholm.

So it is only fitting that Dervock is included on the London 2012 Olympic torch relay route through Northern Ireland on the centenary year of that victory.
McArthur's life story reads like that of a comic book hero such as Alf Tupper.
He enjoyed chips for breakfast and smoking a pipe after his triumphs.
The former postman caught the running bug while  delivering letters as a young man in Co Antrim.

But it was only when he emigrated to South Africa, the country he represented in the games, that he started taking athletics seriousl. Ballymoney museum manager Keith Beattie explains:
"Kennedy Kane McArthur went over to South Africa as a young man, but there are plenty of accounts of him running during his post round and delivering the letters as fast as he could.
He would race the narrow gauge railway engine as it went by."
McArthur was  unconventional compared to modern athletes - a bulky individual who still had the  ability to run long distances.
"He ran six marathons in his career from 1908 to 1912 and he won them all which is a phenomenal record. There is talk that at the Durban Marathon in 1910 where he finished 15 to 20 minutes ahead of his nearest rival,  he was seen leaving the stadium smoking a big pipe of South African tobacco."
At the Olympic marathon in  Sweden, one athlete died in the sweltering temperatures and McArthur is believed to have been spurred on by a cry from home in the closing stages.

In those days there would have been refreshment stops, with a cup of tea or a glass of champagne rather than the energy drinks of today.
As McArthur ran towards the finishing line someone threw a garland around his neck, nearly knocking him to the ground.
"He was so tired and was struggling to reach the line, but the legend has it that someone shouted from the crowd 'Come on Antrim come on ye boy ye' and he found the last bit of strength to finish. The crowd carried him in their arms afterwards."
McArthur's athletics career ended a year after his Olympic victory when he injured himself in a freak accident while on patrol as a police officer.
In 2012,  Ballymoney Museum will brings his medal and trophies back to Northern Ireland from South Africa for a special  exhibition.
McArthur stadium in Potchefstroom where he settled is named after him."When he died in 1960, his widow presented his medals and trophies to the museum in Potchefstroom and they have agreed to let us borrow them next year.
"The Olympic gold medal is missing, no-one is quite sure where it is, but we will be displaying his Olympic blazer and the running number from his shirt.
"We have been talking to his relatives and they have a book that was presented to him in 1912 when he returned to Ballymoney and they want to come here next year to bring that across."

Dervock is planning to hold a centenary marathon in McArthur's memory next year with Stockholm following suit.

Mr Beattie said the flames and trains which helped spark this marathon messenger's passion for running would also be recalled in his home village.
"The exhibition we are planning will run from April to September and we have been generously supported by the Heritage Lottery Fund," he added.
"They are also helping us with another project which will be a play about McArthur's life which will coincide with the centenary.
"When he arrived back here by train after winning the Olympic gold there was a large crowd waiting for him at Ballymoney station and our plan is to reenact that at the station.
"He was put into a carriage and the people of the town unharnessed the horses and pulled him themselves to the town hall for a reception.
"When he arrived at Dervock there was a crowd of people waiting and a torchlight procession and we hope to reenact that as well."

Three Cyclists Qualify for London 2012

Ireland has qualified three riders for the London Olympics road race next year.

Thanks to the  achievements of Daniel Martin, Nicolas Roche and Philip Deignan, Ireland ends the season with a world ranking of 13 - enough to book a place at London 2012.

Three Boxers Qualify for London

John Joe Nevin from Cavan who reached the bantamweight semi-finals at the AIBA World Boxing Championships in Baku, Azerbaijan, has qualified for London 2012. Also booking their places were middleweight Darren O'Neill from Kilkenny and 19-year-old flyweight Michael Conlon from Belfast, who both went out in the last eight.

Deirdre Ryan doubled over.

NINE ATHLETES HAVE A STANDARD
Others with London 2012 qualifying marks include:  high jumper Deirdre Ryan, who finished 6th at the World Championships in Daegu, Korea, with a new Irish record of 1.95.
Race walkers Robert Heffernan, 2nd in the 50km  at Naumberg Germany last month in 3 hours 49 minutes 30 seconds and Brendan Boyce in 3:57.58 are also inside the A standard marks.
So too are both Fionnuala Britton 9:37.60 and Stephanie O’Reilly 9:42.91 in the women's 3000m steeplechase, Ciaran O Lionard in the 1500m with 3:34.46, Alistair Cragg 5000m with 13:03.53,  Olive Loughnane  with a time of 1 hr 31 mins 55 secs for the 20km walk and Paul Hession with 20.51 for 200m. That makes nine athletes in total. 
Inside the B standard are marathon runners Mark Keneally 2 hrs 17  mins 22 secs  and Sean Connolly 2 hrs 17 mins 23 secs; sprinter Jason Smyth 10.22 for 100m, 400m runner Joanne Cuddihy  51.82,  1500m runner Ciara Mageean  4:07.47 and pole vaulter Tori Pena  4.40.  That's a further six.
There's also a strong possibility that at least one relay team will qualify - the top 16 in the rankings for both men and women's 4x100m and 4x400m will make it.

Olympic football notes

Two Northern Irish footballers who played for GB teams at the Olympics.

Robert Patrick “Bertie” Fulton (6 November 1906 – 5 May 1979) was an amateur footballer from Larne, Co Antrim,  who played as a left back.

Bertie Fulton

Fulton played club football in both Ireland and England for Larne, Belfast Celtic, London Caledonians and Dundalk.

Fulton earned 21 caps for Ireland between 1928 and 1938; he also earned 21 caps for the Ireland Amateur team between 1925 and 1938. Fulton, then aged 29,  also represented Great Britain at the 1936 Summer Olympics.

He played in both games, a 2-0 victory over China, and a 5-4 defeat by Poland (some sources crediting him with one of the goals). He could surely have won more representative honours had he not been restricted from featuring in more mid-week matches due to his teaching duties.

Info http://nifootball.blogspot.com/2006/11/bertie-fulton.html

Hugh Forde (born 31 January 1936) is a Northern Irish former amateur footballer who played as a left half, representing Great Britain at the 1960 Summer Olympics. He played club football for Distillery, Ards and Glenavon, and is the younger brother of Tommy Forde. From Belfast.