The first morning of Paris 2024 saw Irish competitors in action in hockey, equestrian, swimming and rowing.
Main Headlines
Two of Ireland’s seven rowing crews raced this morning; the men’s and women’s double sculls, with both qualifying directly for the semi-finals on Tuesday.
The Men’s Hockey team faced the ultimate test against reigning Olympic champions Belgium in their opening game ultimately losing 2-0.
In swimming Ellen Walshe raced in the heats of the 100m butterfly finishing 22nd overall, with the women’s 4x100m freestyle relay team placing 16th overall in their event; notably the first Irish female relay to compete in over fifty years.
In Equestrian, the Eventing team got underway with the dressage element. Sarah Ennis and Susie Berry performed in their respective tests, with the last of the trio Austin O’Connor in action later.
Rowing
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, meaning Doyle and Lynch have now bypassed tomorrow mornings Repechage.
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 and that just gave us more confidence and 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 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 stroke of the boat led the Irish double through the race, winding it up as they came through 1,300 metres.
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 to qualify for Tuesday morning’s semi-finals.
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 Yves-du-Manoir Stadium, the original site of the 1924 Olympic stadium.
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; goalkeeper David Harte producing a string of brilliant saves, and 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 9am Irish time. The Irish team have a world ranking of #11.
Head Coach Mark Tumilty said after the game:
“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.”
Swimming
Swimming got underway with Ellen Walshe and Ireland Women’s 4x100m Freestyle Relay diving into action on the opening morning. 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.
Érin 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.
Equestrian
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 hard in tomorrow’s cross-country phase to make up ground ahead of Monday’s show jumping.
Commenting on her opening phase Olympic experience, Sarah Ennis admitted:
“When she came to the bottom of the arena she was in awe. The trot work was very nice but it’s that corner – and even when I went in there the other day, I was riding square into the corner. “Maybe it’s the big screen, the cameras or the clocks but she spotted something. She’s a sharp mare – not sharp that she would do anything to you but she’d have a look. I call her the gawker, once she spots something she’s locked into it, you can’t soften her. “She saw the cameras moving across the diagonal and she just stopped on me but she’s only 10 – very young and she’s an incredible mare – and it’s her first Olympics, she’ll get used to it and grow from it and will get another one when she’s 14 so I’m very proud of her. I love her!
Ireland’s second Eventing rider Susie Berry was very satisfied with her dressage test, 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:
“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, 27th July 2024 Team Ireland Results
Equestrian, Eventing – team and individual Dressage, Sarah Ennis, score of 38.00
Men’s Hockey, Pool B, Ireland 0 – 2 Belgium
Swimming, Women’s 100m Butterfly heats, Ellen Walshe 6th in 58.70, finished 22nd overall
Rowing, Men’s Double Sculls (M2x), Philip Doyle & Daire Lynch, won heat in 6:13.24, through to semi-finals
Rowing, Women’s Double Sculls (W2x), Zoe Hyde & Alison Bergin, 3rd in heat in 6:52.61, through to semi-finals
Swimming, Women’s 4x100m Freestyle, Danielle Hill, Erin Riordan, Grace Davison & Victoria Catterson, 8th in heat in 3:42.67, finished 16th overall
Equestrian, Eventing – team and individual Dressage, Susie Berry, score of 33.00
