The I-Knew-We-Were-Going-To-Come-Good-Sometime Blog - Irish at the Olympics: Day 12

Rowdy Roddy Piper used to say, "Just when you think you know the answers, I change the questions". Well, just when we thought we knew the narrative, the strange world of sport changes the line-up, the sport, the venue, the gender and the script. Katie Taylor's moment as the first Irish athlete on a podium was not to be; instead, it was a familiar Olympic competitor to grab hold of the first medal of the game.

Cian O'Connor (left, on his horse Blue Loyd) crashed out of the showjumping two days ago. He was made first reserve, but so what? As anyone who has stood forlornly at the side of the stage through their fourth class production of Grease will know, after trying vainly to dry the tears of disappointment on the sleeve of a patent leather jacket which your mum had spent all night altering, watching that dickhead Patrick Casey dancing with the prettiest girl in the school taught you at an early age that first reserve means nothing. However, O'Connor clearly has more luck than me anyone that happened to and, after a vet ruled Goran Bengtsson unable to compete, found himself handed a golden ticket to the final.

The opportunity was grabbed with both hands, the only blemish on his card a 0.02 second time violation in his second clear round of the day. That saw him go to a jump-off with Gerco Schroder of Holland, and with the silver within sight, Cian's mount Blue Loyd clipped the final fence. Still, a bronze medal is utterly unexpected - frankly, his place in the final was unexpected, even his participation in London was unexpected. It is another twist in the fascinating story of the Kildare rider - who would bet against a few more turns along the way?

Katie Taylor, of course, was the focus of attention today, and as usual the Bray girl failed to disappoint. A convincing victory over Mavzuna Chorieva sealed her spot in tomorrow's gold medal bout, where she will face old foe Sofya Ochigava. Today's opponent employed a strange tactic of showboating, which would have been more convincing if she wasn't getting seven shades of shite knocked out of her. Taylor remained non-plussed, and her march towards glory continued.

Yet another medal can be confirmed in just over an hours time, as Paddy Barnes takes to the ring in his quarter-final. Should he win through, it would make this the most successful Irish campaign in 56 years. And to think there were people moaning about how disappointing everything was a week or so ago? You should all be ashamed of yourselves.