Sir, – Congratulations to Olympic gold medallist Kellie Harrington. She has given the whole country a huge lift.
As she said after the final, “This is the stuff of dreams.”
It certainly is, and we are inspired by her hard work, dedication and discipline. – Yours, etc,
CLARE BALFE,
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Dublin 7.
Sir, – As the Olympics finish, the medals table has a familiar look to it, with the global superpowers in the top positions. If you consider their populations though, the achievements look a little less impressive. The US’s 113 medals represent about one per three million people. China’s tally, at 88 is far fewer per capita, perhaps a quarter of the American’s haul. Japan had home advantage and took about a medal per two million people, as did the Russian group of athletes. The British team exceeded a medal per million, following an orchestrated investment programme and a strong focus on some previously obscure sports. This is all expected, as is the high per capita medal haul of the sporting cultures of Australia, the Netherlands and New Zealand. The latter team managed to win about one medal per 250,000 of population, a remarkable result.
In this context Ireland’s four medals are a creditable return, representing about one for every 1.5 million people or so. The performance of Skibbereen is astonishing, though, with medal winning contributions to two teams from a town of 2,778 people, according to the 2016 census. They have produced more than one medallist per thousand people. Presumably then, in preparing for future Olympics, the world’s superpowers will keep a watchful eye on Skibbereen.
Congratulations to all our athletes, and thanks for the inspiration they provided this summer. – Yours, etc,
BRIAN O’BRIEN,
Kinsale,
Co Cork.