Sport

Rio 2016: Irish in action on Day 11

Michael Conlan can secure bronze and Annalise Murphy’s rescheduled medal race

Michael Conlan can secure a bronze medal if he wins his bantamweight quarter-final against Russia’s Vladimir Nikitin on Tuesday. Photograph: Inpho/Dan Sheridan
Tue Aug 16 2016 - 08:00

1.45pm: Athletics

Tori Pena’s pole vault campaign gets underway on Tuesday and she will be looking for a marked improvement on a disappointing 2012 Olympics. California-born Pena, who chose to represent Ireland in 2010, couldn’t clear her opening height of 4.1 metres after three attempts in London and failed to progress from the qualification stage. Pena remains Ireland’s only ever athlete to compete in the pole vault and qualified for Rio after clearing the qualification height of 4.50 metres last year. She hold the Irish record of 4.60m which she set in 2013, but is yet to improve on that personal best.

2.00pm Diving

Oliver Dingley became Ireland’s first diving competitor in 68 years when he took part in the 3m springboard preliminaries on Monday - and a 13th place finish ensured his Olympic journey continues into Tuesday. Dingley produced his best routine of the night when it mattered the most - a 78.20 in his final dive securing his place in the semi-finals.

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2.00pm: Equestrian

Greg Broderick and his mount MHS Going Global will be in action on Tuesday in the second round of the individual show jumping competition. Broderick will be third to compete on Tuesday, and he carries eight penalties from Sunday’s first round.

3.30pm: Boxing

And then there was one. To say things haven’t gone to plan for the Irish boxing team in Rio would be an understatement, with Katie Taylor’s surprise defeat on Monday the latest in a string of big disappointments. However, as long as Michael Conlan remains in the competition Ireland’s best hope of a medal in the ring remains alive. The Belfast bantamweight was impressive in his opening bout against Armenia’s Aram Avagyan. Conlan showed he is equally at adept trading on the front foot as well as using his speed and the ring to stay out of trouble. He fights Russia’s Vladimir Nikitin, who beat Thailand’s Chatchee Butdee on Sunday, with a place in the semi-finals and a guaranteed bronze medal at stake.

5.05pm: Sailing

Farcical scenes on Monday saw Annalise Murphy’s medal race delayed due to a lack of wind - and then postponed until Tuesday because it got too windy. Perhaps Ireland’s best chance of another medal, Murphy enters the medal race of the women’s laser radial in bronze medal position. After suffering the heartbreak of fourth place in London in 2012, Murphy will be hopeful of medalling in Rio and is at least guaranteed of a top five finish the way the standings currently are.

Meanwhile Saskia Tidey and Andrea Brewster have slipped down to 12th place overall in the women’s 49er FX competition after a disappointing day on Monday which saw them finish 19th, sixth and 18th in their three races. They have races 10, 11 and 12 on Tuesday. In the men’s 49er Matthew McGovern and Ryan Seaton also slipped back - they lie in seventh after finishes of 13th, seventh and 13th. Again, they are competing in races 10, 11 and 12.

01.49am: Athletics

Thomas Barr came into the Olympics after a season affected by injury but he got off to a good start in Rio on Monday, running a time of 48.93 seconds to qualify for the 400m hurdles semi-finals. Barr finished the 10th quickest out of the 24 who progressed to the semi-finals, giving him a good chance of making the final. Jamaica’s Annsert Whyte is the man to beat after he ran a time of 48.37, showing Barr’s qualification time is competitive.