It Was The Best Of Times, It Was The Blurst Of Times

Heartbreak for Barnes, Joy for Nevin

It may not be Baltimore, gentlemen, but the Gods will not save you. Sport, and the Olympics, might throw up a few great stories every once in a while, but there is no sentiment, no predetermined fairytales. Fate is nothing but a mirage, destiny an American volleyball player.

The boxing ring is an unforgiving stage; a roped-in venue for the bravest of athletes, the captive combatants that know they will step out triumphant in victory or crushed in defeat. In a reminder of the wild, emotional and unpredictable nature of sport, we experienced both within 25 minutes.

Paddy Barnes (right) picked up a bronze medal in Beijing, and immediately announced that "bronze is for losers". He came around a little since, granted, but it is still a reflection of the sort of spirit and mentality required to reach these levels of sport. Four years ago, he was beaten 15-0. In London, he was barely even beaten. 15-15 after three rounds against his former conqueror Zou Shiming, a countback of 45-44 was in favour of the Chinese fighter and Irish hearts were broken.

In truth, Barnes' performance against the World and Olympic champion may have been the best Irish performance of the Games, even taking into account the Golden Girl who triumphed yesterday. Bustling and busy, he banged to the body and head, but struggled - as everyone does - with Zou's reach and slickness. Barnes made the fight, and was magnanimous in defeat. Inconsolable, of course, but he has matured along with his skills in the past four years. Ireland's first medallist in consecutive Olympics deserves all the plaudits he will receive.

I, frankly, felt as though I'd taken a few of those Barnes body shots - sickened, I was. But if we needed cheering up, we didn't have to wait long. Mullingar's John Joe Nevin (left) - a teammate of Barnes in Beijing - became the second Irish fighter to grab a final berth with a fabulous win over reigning World Champion Lazaro Alvarez Estrada. A 19-14 victory was the very least Nevin deserved, as he peppered the Cuban with right hands throughout the bout. His performance was truly outstanding, though he will need to pull another big one out of the bag tomorrow night -he will meet home fighter Luke Campbell in the final. Campbell was victorious the last time they met, but if Nevin produces more of what we saw today, another Irish gold is a more-than-distinct possibility.