Sign in. It’s quick, free and it’s up to you.
An account is an optional way to support the work we do. Find out more.
THE HOME OF Top 14 rugby team, Racing 92, hosted Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour on 15 May 2024.
Once the Swifties had departed La Défense, the Paris 2024 Organising Committee swept in to transform the arena into a Olympic swimming venue, complete with a 50m-long, 2.3m-deep pool, media centre, athlete zone and broadcast areas.
The makeover is magnificent. While there are no physical remnants of Gaël Fickou or Swift (although we could probably find a friendship bracelet if we looked closely enough), the noise and atmosphere their fans bring have been repeated during every swim session of the Games so far.
“I’ve never heard a crowd like that for swimming ever in my life,” Olympic debutante Erin Riordan said after her race on Saturday.
“What an incredible experience for a start, I had a French girl in my heat and the noise was deafening. They wouldn’t go silent at the start of the race, it’s something I’ve never experienced,” her relay teammate Danielle Hill – who will race in the 100m backstroke semi-final tonight (7.57pm Irish time) – said today after her first individual heat.
“I think coming from a small nation we’re going to enjoy every second of it and take it in as we don’t get it very often. Everyone from all nations can agree that this is possibly the loudest crowd that’s been at swimming, maybe London (2012) would argue that. This has been incredible. We’ve went from Covid times to this.”
Riordan and Hill’s experiences were during heats-only sessions but the French swimming fans raised their own performances to mythical levels last night as their aquatic hero Leon Marchand smashed the field in the 4x100m medley, taking gold and breaking the Olympic record.
“I’ve never competed in a crowd like this,” Mona McSharry said after racing a personal best time in the 100m breaststroke, making the final with the second-fastest time across competitors. That semi-final came less than an hour after Marchand wowed the crowd – during one of his lengths, the 15,000-strong audience screamed ‘ALLEZ’ every time his head emerged out of the water.
“Tokyo was very different,” she explained, also referring to the Covid restrictions on crowds. “So on one hand, I feel a little like a newbie but having these two races under my belt now has definitely helped.”
Although her pre-race routine is about blocking everything else out, she said she was able to maintain composure during the Marchand Madness, even to the point of enjoying it.
“The prep area is so close to the pool so we do hear all of that but it’s very exciting… to hear the home crowd cheering and supporting him is unbelievable,” she told reporters after leaving the pool area.
“And I have quite a few fans, friends and family up there as well,” she pointed out.
So it’s great to know that they’re cheering for me.”
Her dozens-strong squad can be spotted around the city of Paris wearing their Mona McSharry t-shirts and carrying Team Ireland paraphernalia. They all hold quiet hopes for a medal tonight.
The Sligo woman’s 1.05.51 time across the 100m lands her in a middle lane for the final (8.25pm Irish time), giving her the best chance of staying in the medal mix.
Calling it last night, she said: “There’s eight of us. We’ve all got a chance and, you know, it’s exciting to be up there and being in the middle lane is going to be great because I’ll be right in the middle of it.”
Going a little bit further on her own hopes, she adds, “I mean that’s what I’m here to do. So I’m definitely very excited.”
Excitement and relaxation seemed to be an ideal concoction for her as she progressed through the heats and semi-final over the past three days.
“I definitely think I swam my race better without kind of focusing on too much around me. And I did go out a little bit slower the first 50 and that was probably being more relaxed which is not necessarily a bad thing because I came back back faster,” the 23-year-old said last night.
“But hopefully I can, you know, put together the 50 from this morning and 50 from tonight tomorrow and see what happens.”
The personal best time has given her confidence that she is on the right path.
“I think roughly about 5% of people do actually PB at the Olympics and I’m glad to be on that side of it because it shows that my prep was right,” she explained.
L’un des plus beaux trucs depuis le début de #Paris2024, la Marseillaise pour Léon Marchand avant sa course pic.twitter.com/VcUeoFmKwg
— Michel Bezbakh (@mbezbakh) July 29, 2024
With 24 hours to kill before taking the blocks for the race of her life, McSharry will be found eating and sleeping alternately. She also was out cheering on her Irish teammates this morning, one of whom – Ellen Walshe – will join her in a final tonight.
Two finalists competing in the same Olympic session is a sign of where Irish swimming is, and how McSharry (along with fellow finalist Daniel Wiffen) has been a key component in that rise.
Can she take it to the next level?
“I always love to say, I think I can go faster and, you know, that means pulling everything together and it being perfect. And so that’s kind of sometimes hard. But, you know, I’m just gonna do the best that I can and hopefully I can shave a little bit more off that 1.05.”
McSharry’s times aren’t a shock to the rest of the swim community. Asked last night about the Irish woman’s performance, world record holder Lilly King said, “She was 1:05.7 in January, so not in the slightest bit surprised. She’s been putting up really good times all year, so no reason not to be a medal contender.”
Not only is King the world record holder, she is a two-time Olympic gold medallist. McSharry finished ahead of her last night.
“I was thinking about it today like, sometimes I still feel like the new kid on the block which is weird… I’ve been racing [them] a long time and they probably all know me and I know them so it’s definitely not but, yeah, it’s it’s crazy to think you know, like Lilly King is the world record holder and she’s there in the lane beside me or like two or three lanes over. Insane. But it’s also really exciting to know that I’m racing against the best and you know holding my own.”
A reporter informs her what King says about her medal chances.
“Oh, that’s very nice,” she says with a smile.
To embed this post, copy the code below on your site
It’s a scary thing that nearly 10 years after that spectacular crash there is not a single substantive regulation in place to prevent it happening all over again.
They can still gamble with depositors and savers cash in most countries, and they could still create another house of cards that will come crashing down, and come back to us with the exact same excuse of ”you have to bail us out or your savings and deposits will come crashing down with us”
Don’t worry though, we have a secondary school teacher who was a disaster in every ministerial portfolio he’s ever been in charge of on the case…
It’s strange how many seem to believe Hilary Clinton will be the solution and that she will take on big banking, when in fact it was her husband who repealed the Glass-Steagal act and her highest donors so far are Goldman Sachs
Is this 1892? Why are you judging people based on what their husbands think?
Because she has quite clearly endorsed her husband’s platform, both when he was in office and recently..
Teacher? When was the last time Noonan taught?
There are several reasons why Hillary can be said to be pro-bailout and pro-moral hazard:
1. She voted for it
2. Bill has said the repeal of the wall between depository and investment banking was the biggest mistake he made in his Presidency, she has said it was not a big deal.
3. She is SWIMMING in corporate cash, esp from the financial industry.
Much of the time we compare well to the US system. If I’m elected Taoiseach, I don’t have to worry, as Obama does, that my own party in parliament won’t support the policies I ran on, I know they will because of the whip (which has its downsides but IMO more pro than con) but in this case we compare badly, were v similar. We did no financial reform, at least they did some token reform and a token stimulus, we did nothing
If I am elected Taoiseach … I thought you wanted to be elected Prime Minister Ryan … just saying …ignore if wrong !
Stop being a purposeful tool Dermot, it’s trying. They are the same bloody thing.
I’d have to check his teacher pension statement to answer that one Reg
They are not the same thing Ryan ..In Britain the Prime Minister bows to a sovereign Monarch , in Ireland the people are the sovereign !
You are so full of it Ryan !
Ireland is no longer SOVEREIGN,no if’s buts or any other argument about it,they like spain Greece Portugal etc etc have given up their SOVEREIGNTY to the unelected EUSSR.
Both Noonan and Kenny almost got away with the teachers pensions they never earned, they held their jobs for all the years in the Dail using substitute teachers to earn their pensions for them, the same substitutes usually graduates were not entitled to holiday pay or to contribute to their own public service pension.
Another example of low standards in high places.
If this judge cannot rule then why is he a judge ?
In fairness to Gerry Adams he can’t cut a hedge , but we don’t pay tax for Gerry Adams to cut hedges …that kinda thing …
Does this judge deserve to sit on the benches after proving total incapacity in the role for which he takes a salary ? particulary when Irish Law allows for Appeals … Why was it not referred to the Irish Supreme Court if he was too incompetent to rule , or why was another judge not appointed to the case in the first place !
Irish Law degrees ;- what a waste of a poor little calf’s skin !
She…
She wasn’t too incompetent, I’m sure O’Malley J had plenty of opinions of an intellectual vigour that would put you to shame, however under the law she hasn’t the jurisdiction to express them..
We were promised during Traeties that Irish Law would supercede European law ..No wonder theUnion is going to break up ..it is so riddled with lies that it is now an unholy beast of a thing !
Thanks Paul ..it just shows the conditioning …expect judges to be Male ..ah well mea culpa !
First thing of import to note, the ECJ is entirely unconnected to the European Commission and has regularly in fact ruled against the outcome the commission would have hoped for, so people shouldn’t worry about any kind of bias in this judgment..
Secondly, this has nothing to do with the promissory notes or the bank guarentee, both will be entirely unaffected by this decision..
Michael Noonan admitted that the Promissory Note deal was Illegal after he had it pushed through a drunken Dail.Stephen Donnelly questioned the illegality of it at the time …therefore the Promissory deal must be illegal !
If it illegal to drive a car when drunk then why is not illegal to vote on the future of the Nation when drunk ?
Killjoy, you are well named,lol !
And the high court said that it was legal when Joan Collins took a case.. I think TD’s being drunk while in session is a disgrace, but it makes no difference as to the legality of the outcome of a vote
I think the Irish Citizens should change that law and indeed other cases and compus mentis means that we shouldn’t even have to !
We ought to have a constitutional amendment to ban any future bailouts.
Non compus mentis is to do with criminal law, nothing to do with the legislative process.. And go ahead and change that law, won’t change the legality of the promissory note vote
there was no promissory note vote… after being found illegal, the prom note was converted into soverign debt…
The prom notes were converted into illegal sovereign debt by a vote backed by Fine Gael, Labour and a Michael Martin who said that he “trusted” the TAOISEACH … I WATCHED HIM AND HE LOOKING UP TO THE GALLERY OR CLOCK AS HE SMIRKED !
cAPS LOCKS SORRY !
Well if the decision goes to Europe we all know how that’s going to play out..Seriously!!
The judge is obliged the remit the matter to the ECJ as EU law is “supranational” and all the judge is doing is saving vast amounts of taxpayer’s money and court time whilst seeking a definitive answer to a highly important question. Remember, both sides cannot be correct and the shareholders do have certain rights such as to peaceable enjoyment of their property free from state interference . It looks like clear interference so the role of the ECJ is most welcome as it will bring clarity to a very important issue for thousands of citizens !
Fair enough in one sense ..but Permanent T.S.B. is owned by the people of this State.
It is regulated by the Irish Central Bank and was at the time.
And the Bank guarantee was voted on by the Irish Government under advise from an Irish Attorney General !
Are all our legal set-ups only a front for Angela and the Rotcshilds or what ?
Are all our legal set-ups only a front for Angela and the Rotcshilds or what ?
yes.
A pleasure Dermot,
These days I always check the gender of the judge when something unusual is announced..
Also note there is no mention of the “Supreme Court” which would tie in to your point about the supremacy of Irish Law…
This looks like a judge trying to buy time for the government. Let’s just see if PTSB will still be around by the time the ECJ rules.
Another vulture circling I’d say Paul !
The bank was overcapitalised after the government issues shares at a massive discount then flogged its main asset.
Go Piotr!
have your say