Tokyo Olympics

NornIrishAddick said:

el-pietro said:

Raith_C_Chattonell said:

When I was in Dublin I noticed there were no decent sized boats on the Liffey, then I noticed all the bridges were extremely low, low enough to prevent any kind of commercial activity.  In fact if you wanted to go down the river you'd have to go by canoe or kayak.  If this is the same all over Ireland?  If so it might explain where all these rowers are coming from.  

Similar in Cork city at least. Port of cork is currently at the east end of the city, though its being relocated to Ringaskiddy outside the city = in the next few years as that area is being redeveloped into housing/offices etc.

There are a handful of rowing clubs and one Kayak club that I'm aware of in the city. We also have the Ocean to City race each year which is a different form, using traditional Currachs on the open sea. The oars are not quite as aero(hydro?)dynamic as the river rowers use.

I don't think the Olympic rowers train in the cities though. Skibereen is a small town, and the river Ilen wouldn't be great for any kind of commercial use, its a very short river and Skibb is probably the largest town it passes through.

There is also the National Rowing Center just outside Cork city, built behind a Damon the Lee which flows into the city, which may have some influence on how so many of the rowers are from Cork. As far as I can tell it was opened in 2007, and all of Irelands rowing success in the Worlds/Olympics has come since 2016. Paul and Gary would have been 13/14 when it opened so very likely to have been a factor.

There are a tiny but growing number of schools that have rowing teams, often fee paying, like Portora Royal Grammar in Enniskillen (prior to its amalgamation into a new Enniskillen Royal Grammar along with Enniskillen Collegiate), but the backbone of developing rowing is really the university and alumni crews.  It does help that many universities in Ireland are adjacent to significant rivers.

There is a decent number of rowing clubs, some of which would be a hangover from pre-independence days, a residual popularity of rowing clubs in places like Palmerstown in Dublin and Fermoy/the Blackwater in Cork, previously associated with the British Army.

However, there is an increasing professionalism, reflected by the National Rowing Centre, arising out of, and increasing, the greater competitiveness of Irish rowers in recent decades.

se9addick said:

How does getting to a boxing semi-final guarantee a medal? Do the losers of both semi’s each get bronze medals?

LenGlover said:

Ellen White, White, White

Cafc43v3r said:

They have done a Charlton