The opening hours of day one saw a host of Irish competitors in action including several of our medal contenders. Here’s how the Irish went overnight on day one at the Tokyo Olympics.
Ireland overnight on day one at the 2020 Olympics
Rowing
The men’s lightweight double of O’Donovan and McCarthy eased to a win in their heat and qualify directly for the semi final. No surprises for their medal rivals who all qualified safely. The semi finals are on Tuesday.
The women’s four of Keogh, Hegarty, Lambe and Murtagh were second in their heat just behind Australia but comfortable ahead of the others. The first heat saw the Netherlands ahead of China with everyone else going to the repechage. A strong showing for this Irish crew confirming their medal potential for Wednesday’s final.
Ireland are into the final of the Women's Four after a close second place finish in their heat #RTESport #Olympics #Tokyo2020
Watch live - https://t.co/XnOP6grnB7
Live updates - https://t.co/wDRRSpRzwu https://t.co/PkzT3GvF3a— RTÉ Sport (@RTEsport) July 24, 2021
The men’s double scull of Byrne and Doyle finished 3rd in the repechage to qualify for the semi final but again they didn’t look comfortable. They’ll need top 3 in tomorrow’s semi to progress and will race against Poland, France, GB, New Zealand and Germany. Big improvement is required.
The women’s pair of Dukarska and Crowley finished 4th in their heat and will race in the repechage tomorrow.
The women’s lightweight double of Cremen and Casey were 5th and their repechage is tomorrow too. Top 3 advances in every race from now until the finals
Gymnastics
Rhys McClenaghan posts a strong score of 15.266 which makes the top performer thus far and should see him safely through to the final#Tokyo2020 #rtesport #olympics
Watch live - https://t.co/b2OI4OoWVJ
Live updates - https://t.co/m4OeBT27LL https://t.co/lQvFbDZpVz— RTÉ Sport (@RTEsport) July 24, 2021
A very strong opening routine by Rhys McClenaghan saw him score 15.266 and that should see him comfortably through to the final with qualification set to finish later today. Rhys called his performance sloppy and his execution score of 8.766 shows room for improvement too. He has to to wait a week for the final
Boxing
Kurt Walker had a tight contest against his Spanish opponent but a strong last round earned him a deserved win on all 5 judge’s scorecards. His last 16 bout against the world champion from Uzbekistan is on Wednesday.
Taekwondo
Heartbreak for Jack Woolley in his first round bout as he lead his opponent from Argentina with 13 seconds to go before conceding 2 kicks to lose 22-19. His Olympic Games are over.
Cycling
The men’s road race is underway with the Irish team contributing to the work in the peleton to bring back the days opening breakaway. The race will finish this morning
Still to come today
History will be made as Ireland’s first ever Olympic women’s team (in any team sport) begin their hockey campaign with a game against South Africa. A win here is needed and it starts at 13:15 (Irish time).
In swimming Ellen Walshe is in heat 2 of the 100m butterfly at 11:28. That’s followed by Darragh Greene in heat 4 of the 100m breaststroke at 12:32.
Heike Holstein will enter the Dressage ring with Sambuca with qualifying starting at 9am.
SEE ALSO: An Irishman In Tokyo On The Olympics That Might Have Been
