Lots of hope, but little medal talk

IRISH OLYMPIC TEAM:THERE WAS a lot of talk of hopes and dreams at yesterday's announcement of the Irish Olympic team for Beijing, but precious little talk of medals. In the four years since Athens, the Government investment across all Olympic sports, including athlete and governing-body funding, has totalled over €100 million.

Minister for Sport Martin Cullen said getting 51 athletes to qualify represented a good return, even if the medal prospects were minimal.

"For 51 athletes to qualify is a very big team for a country of our size, and just to qualify is something I've already laid emphasis on," he said.

"So there's no question that the money that's been invested through the Irish Sports Council and into the Olympic association is proved well worth while.

"I wouldn't say we're going with no medal prospects. The beauty of sport is the unexpected."

Cullen also confirmed he would be attending the opening ceremony on August 8th, despite the enduring calls for a boycott over China's human-rights record and control of Tibet.

"Well, sport is sport, and there was a very strong view among all sports ministers to keep sport in its proper perspective," said Cullen. "That was the European view, and quite rightly, in my view. Ireland has a very strong and deepening relationship with China, and I want to respect that."

Olympic Council of Ireland president Pat Hickey was also adamant the political backdrop to Beijing would be forgotten once the Games began.

"That's a damp squib," he said. "I can tell you the rest of the world now is just focused on the Games. George Bush is attending. Sarkozy has changed his mind.

"I had to laugh today; the president of the European Parliament, Hans-Gert Pöttering, made a statement that he wouldn't attend because of the Dalai Lama. Well I checked, and he wasn't invited.

"I think the Games will be a great celebration of great athletic prowess in all sports and China is saying to the world, 'we've arrived'. We tend to think of China in a different way, but I was there two months ago during the Sarkozy time, and ordinary people we met were so annoyed with the interference by western countries. Ordinary Chinese were so proud that their nation was hosting this magnificent event. This is the new China, and it's great."

While Hickey was also playing down the medal chances, he wasn't ruling them out: "I'm always optimistic. For athletes to qualify is a magnificent achievement in itself, and it's much harder to qualify nowadays than it was three or four Olympics ago. So those athletes can be very proud.

"But the rest of Europe is very concerned about the medal tally and we in Europe have called a debriefing meeting for September, in Athens, for the whole 49 countries of Europe - because we are worried that we will be way down - and what we have to do.

"So for Ireland, I think that we have to hope for a bit of luck. We have five boxers (for whom), unlike, say, in track and field, the draw is everything. For the rest, it's very difficult to put pressure on any athletes.

"I think if everyone does great performances, personal bests, and has a bit of luck along the way, then that will be great. But let's not put them under pressure."