OlympicIRL

Probably for the best because it was impossible to prepare for this high level competition with all the focus these last few months being on trying to secure the funding. My aim is top 4. It won't be easy but if we are ever to progress in this sport at all then we need to start showing it and stop drifting from one Olympic cycle to the next with no ambition.

Woohoo, we got 1 point to get on the placings table at least

Not another clan of brothers .......and just when I thought it was safe after the Ingebrigtsen hype was dying down! The Borlées.... who the hell are they?

Lucky you

Oh don't worry, we've heard about him about 10 times during this final already

Damn, this Ingebrigtsen hype on Eurosport which was already incredibly annoying is going to become unbearable now..... as shown already by the British commentators practically going on and on about him and not giving a sh*t about anyone else including the winner

Great result for Syria

The Irish federations like to do a lot of talking and planning but in the end usually nothing comes from it. How hard can it be to field a team or to organise some kind of plan to get up to that standard? Sometimes I wonder why we have Chef d'Equipes or head coaches in many sports at all for all they contribute.

Shange has the best technique as far as my naked eye can see

His technique looks great as well!

So do South Africa have yet another star?

Shange has rockets on his boots right now.... he is motoring!!

Bonfim got a red card warning.

Yeah he really struggles with his technique which is why I don't see him as a serious medal threat yet in a global championship.

It's sad that our dressage scene is as bad as ever..... if you remove Judy from the picture then there is nothing.

6 months to go! And so the first piece of the jigsaw is filled in as we passed the 6-months to go milestone this week (on August 9th) Key: a1 6 months to go a2 3 months to go a3 1 month to go b1 150 days to go b2 100 days to go b3 75 days to go c1 Four Hills Tournament begins c2 Hahnenkamm Race begins c3 Winter X Games begin d1 tickets go on sale d2 2018 Olympic year arrives (Jan 1st) d3 2018 Olympic Prediction Contests Open on Totallympics e1 lighting of Olympic flame in Olympia, Greece e2 Olympic flame arrives in Incheon e3 Olympic flame arrives in Gangwon province x Olympic cauldron is lit e1 b1 e2 c1 30 b2 e3 c2 30 b3 x c3 30 24 23 22 21 20 19 18 a3 d3 a2 d2 17 12 30 d1 16 11 15 10 14 9 13 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 PyeongChang 2018 ------------------50--------------------------------------25--------------------------------------02----- --------49-----------------48------------------27-----------------24-------------------04----------------01- -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- --47----------------------------46-------29-----------------------------22-------06----------------------------03 --------------------------------------36--------------------------------------16------------------------------- --45-----------------------38--43-------30--33-------------------16--21-------08--13------------------------05 --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- --------44-----------40---41------------------28--31-------20--23-------------------10--11-----------07--- ------------------42--------------------------------------26--------------------------------------09------------- ----------------------39-----------------------------32-------19----------------------------12----------- -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ----------------------------37-----------------34-------------------17----------------14------------- --------------------------------------35--------------------------------------15---------------

As we approach the 25 weeks to go milestone until 2018 Winter Olympic Games in PyeongChang, it's time to open our official countdown thread here on Totallympics. Members can post here on the thread day-by-day to help build the excitement in the coming weeks as we countdown to the big event. This thread can be used to mark any milestones on the way, such as the opening of the Olympic village, tracking the arrival of delegations, the raising of our national flags in the Olympic village, news and details about the Opening Ceremony and so on. To help us countdown the days ahead, I have created an Olympic Countdown Clock depicting the 2018 Winter Olympic logo alongside the Olympic rings. The clock consists of various elements to help us mark off milestones along the way as we edge closer and closer to the Opening Ceremony on the 9th February. Firstly, the logo itself is divided into 2 elements.... the first part consisting numbers 1-24 representing the number of weeks until the official start of the 2018 Winter Olympic Games. As each week passes, another coloured "block" will be added to the logo until it begins to take on it's familiar appearance. The second element consisting of the an alpha-numeric system will represent various other milestones to watch out for along the way that signify the the Games are getting closer. I will draw up a list of ideas for these milestones and I am calling on you to help with suggesting ideas for this (I am not very knowledgeable in Winter Sports). Ideas currently include: Key: a1 6 months to go a2 3 months to go a3 1 month to go b1 150 days to go b2 100 days to go b3 75 days to go c1 Four Hills Tournament begins c2 Hahnenkamm Race begins c3 Winter X Games begin d1 tickets go on sale d2 2018 Olympic year arrives (Jan 1st) d3 2018 Olympic Prediction Contests Open on Totallympics e1 lighting of Olympic flame in Olympia, Greece e2 Olympic flame arrives in Incheon e3 Olympic flame arrives in Gangwon province x Olympic cauldron is lit Finally, below the official logo is a depiction that becomes active on the "50 days to go" milestone, consisting of the numbers 1-50, representing the 5 Olympic rings. As each day passes, another piece of the Olympic ring is shaded in colour until the 1 day to go milestone, after which the 5 coloured rings will be depicted in their complete form. The Countdown Clock will not be complete until the Olympic cauldron is officially lit inside the Olympic stadium on the night of the Opening Ceremony. Upon completion, the Countdown Clock should look like this...... 30 30 30 30 30 30 30 30 30 30 30 30 30 30 30 30 30 30 30 PyeongChang 2018 ------------------50--------------------------------------25--------------------------------------02----- --------49-----------------48------------------27-----------------24-------------------04----------------01- -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- --47----------------------------46-------29-----------------------------22-------06----------------------------03 --------------------------------------36--------------------------------------16------------------------------- --45-----------------------38--43-------30--33-------------------18--21-------08--13------------------------05 --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- --------44-----------40---41------------------28--31-------20--23-------------------10--11-----------07--- ------------------42--------------------------------------26--------------------------------------09------------- ----------------------39-----------------------------32-------19----------------------------12----------- -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ----------------------------37-----------------34-------------------17----------------14------------- --------------------------------------35--------------------------------------15--------------- So without further ado, let the countdown to the Pyeongchang 2018 Winter Olympic Games begin

8th place for Robert..... thank you for a great career!! End of an era

400m runner Chris Brown finished 4th in the world championships 2005, 2007 and the Olympics in 2008, then 5th in the world in 2009..... very tough streak.

Glavan becoming the new Robert Heffernan..... 3 times 4th place in a row in global championships now! Heartbreaking for him.

Diniz doesn't look at all like he just completed a 50km in one of the fastest ever times..... he could go for another 50k it seems

Heffernan up to 7th now

Heffernan up to 9th place in his final race..... nice end to a great career

Yes, I remember this

He would have lapped everyone about 4-5 times at least