In her non selection for the Great Britain ( but apparently not N.Ireland) cycling team that won a Gold Medal?
Yes
Is that the answer you wanted?
No.I'm devastated as a British citizen I am now apparently treated less favourably than those on the mainland. :'(
Wendy has had to out up with a lot.She was called Hooverbag by Jerome Quinn!
Maybe Upperlands finest will deflect to Team Ireland now ;)
http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/olympics/19147279 (http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/olympics/19147279)
Sour grapes, je we have a wile pile of whingers up here..... Wendy Hooverbag, Paddy Bradley, John Brennan, Joe Brolly, Nell McCafferty, Gregory Campbell................ The list is endless hahaha
Quote from: Take Your Points on August 06, 2012, 10:18:26 PM
Quote from: T Fearon on August 06, 2012, 07:46:37 PM
No.I'm devastated as a British citizen I am now apparently treated less favourably than those on the mainland. :'(
Wendy has had to out up with a lot.She was called Hooverbag by Jerome Quinn!
Sorry Tony but there are no citizens in Britain, you are a British subject.
But, he
doesn't reside in Britain! :P ;)
Q. How do you know when you are on a plane full of Derry people?
A. When the engines stop, you can still hear the whining
Quote from: Orior on August 06, 2012, 11:38:02 PM
Q. How do you know when you are on a plane full of Derry people?
A. When the engines stop, you can still hear the whining
;D ;D
London Eye – WendyHouvenaghel
August 6, 2012
London Eye – Wendy Houvenaghel
By Nigel Ringland
Amid all the celebration and jubilation at the success of the Great Britain cyclists at the velodrome over the weekend Wendy Houvenaghel undeservedly missed out.
On Friday she sat in the pen and watched Laura Trott, Joanna Rowsell and Dani King set the fastest time in qualifying, setting a new world record and quicker than anyone else by nearly four seconds.
As other countries, including eventual silver medalists, USA, changed riders for the first round and subsequent medal races on Saturday, Wendy sat alone again, waiting, wondering.
Now lets get one thing straight. Sport at the very highest level can be ruthless and without sentiment.
Back at the world cup event in London in February Wendy rode with Rowsell and Trott in qualifying when they finished second.
They all agreed they'd been surprised by the noise of the crowd and went out too fast – by the way the initial pace was set by Rowsell – but it was Wendy who was dropped for the final.
At the time little did she or any of us realise that would be the last team pursuit she would ride for Great Britain.
At the world championships in Melbourne in April – remember Wendy is a three-time world champion in the team pursuit – she was ignored for both qualifying and the final.
"It's been a pure emotional rollercoaster. I was anticipating coming in for the final and it didn't materialize so I had to just go away and deal with that and refocus," she said afterwards.
Behind the scenes however Wendy was considering whether to carry on at all. With just over 100 days to go until the Olympics was it worth putting in all the time and effort for no reward at the end.
GB cycling begged her to stay on because in order to maximize training there needs to be four girls pushing each other on.
There was also the difference in the Olympic schedule to consider as well with three rounds of racing and not two as normal. Even if you were to race once you would be guaranteed a medal.
Speaking back in April Wendy said, "At the Olympics there will be three rounds of racing and not two with only an hour of recovery time between the semi-finals and medal races. GB has the distinction of having four world-class riders and will look to use to use that to their advantage by sharing the workload. The different format for the Olympics means it's more promising that the four riders will all be used and I think that the frustration and disappointment I felt last week after being left out of the team pursuit will motivate me more than ever to make sure I get into the final line-up for the Games. Our Performance Manager, Shane Sutton, said that I could have stepped in at any stage and the team would have won gold so it's not like I'm not going well. This time they went with the same line-up but I would anticipate all four being used in the Olympics. It's not over yet, there are four or so month's left to go and a lot changes in that time. I'm very much in the hunt. I won't be stepping aside or making it easy for any of the others."
Even the team pursuit coach Paul Manning appeared to agree that all four riders would be used.
In May he explained, "We will consider utilising all four because they are so close it is a genuine prospect we will use them. We just have to see how the competition pans out and ultimately where everyone's form is on the run in, it will be a very tough decision."
So Wendy went to the training camps in Mallorca, not only pushing the other girls on but also bettering their times in training.
She couldn't do anymore.
GB cycling even insisted she turn up and do a pre-Games press conference here at the Main Press Centre last week. You've got to ask why make her do that if they had no intention of racing her.
Yes, Wendy is 37 while the other three girls are in their late teens and early twenties, they tweet, post pictures, they are the faces GB cycling like to project and they are all extraordinary talented athletes, no one is denying that and in their last six rides they've broken the world record on each occasion.
The coaches will point that out, that they made the right decision. But let's make this clear.
Had Wendy raced there would have been no difference in the result in any of the races.
Surely she deserved to race once – in qualifying or at least in the first round – just once so she could celebrate a gold medal with her team mates and bring to and end a career where she has dedicated the last six years of her life to trying to win an Olympic gold.
People will point out that Andy Tennant missed out on a gold in the men's team pursuit in similar circumstances but the margins in that event were much smaller.
The women were three and a half seconds faster that anyone else in qualifying and Wendy Houvenaghel doesn't cost you three and a half seconds.
On Saturday following the first round no one spoke to Wendy as she sat alone, warm-up completed, ready to race. Manning had a long chat with Rowsell before he had a quick word with Sutton.
It was Sutton who then walked over to Wendy and delivered the news. Wendy packed her back and quietly left the arena before the final. What she must have been feeling I can't possibly imagine.
It was cruel and it was brutal and in my opinion unfair.
David Beckham being selected for the GB football team would have been a sentimental decision.
Wendy racing in one of the three rounds would not have been. She is an elite high performance athlete and was here because she was at the same level as her team mates.
Wendy could have raced, she should have raced, and what went on behind the scenes will be her story to tell when she's ready but I think there will be much more to come.
There's always Team Ireland at Rio...
The Culnady Knights of King Solomon march at dawn. Damn you, England.
You have to feel for her reading that. Appears to have been fcuked over big time.
Quote from: Take Your Points link=topic=22027.msg1142515#msg1142515 dat
Sorry Tony but there are no citizens in Britain, you are a British subject.
/quote
It's been British Citizen for a while now i beiieve.]
well it was written by Nigel Ringland so it is going to be totally subjective
Quote from: T Fearon on August 06, 2012, 07:13:20 PM
In her non selection for the Great Britain ( but apparently not N.Ireland) cycling team that won a Gold Medal?
But is she a katlic?
I think it is very important that we know this.
It does seem harsh. The Americans used seven swimmers in one of their relay teams so they all got medals. Looking at the headaballs giving their charges a hard time in the women's pole vault last night, you can see that some coaches think they're the ones who do all the hard work
Sounds like she was hard done by - but then when 3 people are breaking records how can you tell one of them they are dropped for the next stage.
Badly managed for sure - would wait for the other side of the argument before making full judgement.
Unfortunately for Houvenaghel it's hard to argue against a gold medal and a world record in each race. She claims they were going quicker with her in the team in training. But hard to know. Reading between the lines here but do I get the impression that she wouldn't be the most popular member of Team GB (& NI)??
Sure it's not the first time a nordie has had to deal with bias from coaches at this olympics. Joanna Mills was blatantly dicriminated against by athletics Ireland. When you run faster than someone but they get picked in front of you there has to be something wrong.
Is there an Olympics for whinging?
The Ireland and GB&NI teams could both be made up exclusively of nordies and still romp home with a wheelbarrow of gold medals ;)
Quote from: OakleafCounty on August 07, 2012, 02:39:47 PM
Sure it's not the first time a nordie has had to deal with bias from coaches at this olympics. Joanna Mills was blatantly dicriminated against by athletics Ireland. When you run faster than someone but they get picked in front of you there has to be something wrong.
Bullshit (from a nordie)
Did that team not break the WR in the semi-final?? Very hard to break it up if that's the case. Very hard to take for her no doubt but objectively if you break a world record you can hardly break a team up can you??
I doubt Mills was picked on because "she's a nordie" either. The girl who was picked was the team doctor's daughter was she not? A wee bit of nepotism maybe but I doubt it was anything more.
I'm just surprised Kate Hoey hasn't broken the Olympic and World records she holds for talking shite by sticking her neb in on the issue and giving us the benefit of her opinion about such a shocking snub to province ... the bitch
Good chance Wendy could be riding for Ireland very soon........ ;)
Quote from: AQMP on August 07, 2012, 02:56:33 PM
Quote from: OakleafCounty on August 07, 2012, 02:39:47 PM
Sure it's not the first time a nordie has had to deal with bias from coaches at this olympics. Joanna Mills was blatantly dicriminated against by athletics Ireland. When you run faster than someone but they get picked in front of you there has to be something wrong.
Bullshit (from a nordie)
Explain.
Quote from: give her dixie on August 07, 2012, 11:50:41 PM
Good chance Wendy could be riding for Ireland very soon........ ;)
Apparently the whole Olympic village goes riding mad after the events finish so you could be right.
http://www.indianexpress.com/news/olympic-village-host-to-huge-sex-party/984516/
"Journalism of Courage."
Indeed.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/olympics/19147279 (ftp://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/olympics/19147279)
About 1.36 in she is taking about one of the team who was sick. Also mentions it again at around 2.40 about the sick team mate (ex).
Was listening to the new GB golden girl cyclist on Olympic BBC Breakfast this morning and what do you know, doesn't Miss Trott have an ongoing dodgy tummy complaint that goes away when she throws up. No big deal.
Mmmmmmmm????? PR machine kicking in there?
Oh and and maybe not the best turn of phrase to be using at around 2.24
Quote from: winghalfun on August 08, 2012, 12:33:17 PM
http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/olympics/19147279 (ftp://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/olympics/19147279)
About 1.36 in she is taking about one of the team who was sick. Also mentions it again at around 2.40 about the sick team mate (ex).
Was listening to the new GB golden girl cyclist on Olympic BBC Breakfast this morning and what do you know, doesn't Miss Trott have an ongoing dodgy tummy complaint that goes away when she throws up. No big deal.
Mmmmmmmm????? PR machine kicking in there?
Oh and and maybe not the best turn of phrase to be using at around 2.24
They mentioned it on the radio last night - she is sick after every race it seems - though she herself said in the omnium she want well at the start but felt better at the end so maybe 2 things going on there.
She has a stomach condition apparently, was very ill as a youngster.
Lost interest in Ringlands piece when he took the rather large leap of saying the coach had appeared to say all 4 would be used when he actually said they would 'consider' using all 4.
Sheamy is she from Culnady or Upperlands? I drove through the latter a couple of times last week and it is properly festooned in pomp and pleasantry as usual ::)
Listening to Radio Uladh last week too, there was some craic from your man standing for fat Nolan winding up the callers complaining about the exclusion of not only WH but of NI from Team GB...
I think they are trying to say something...
Quote from: Aerlik on August 14, 2012, 06:38:18 AM
Sheamy is she from Culnady or Upperlands? I drove through the latter a couple of times last week and it is properly festooned in pomp and pleasantry as usual ::)
You could say both, Aerlik. Culnady (Cuil Cnadaidhe or "nook of the sluggard") is the townland whilst Upperlands (Upperlands or 'place of pomp and pleasantry') is the
planted bawn town. She's from a couple of miles from the town I think.
Can't believe the woman is embarassing herself by crying about this. If she was good enough she would have been on the team, obviously the other 3 were faster as the coach/selector would have been more concerned about winning than where each rider was from. As mentioned, people from this island would do well if there was an Olympics for whinging. Between Grainne Murphy and Nocher coming up with excuses for their performances to Houvenaghal's yapping about not getting on, what a bunch of whingers.
Disappointing for big Wendy, but such knock backs are part and parcel of all levels of competitive sport.
I think missing out on the obligatory gold medal winning MBE is probably more of a sore point though.
Quote from: sheamy on August 14, 2012, 08:41:25 AM
Quote from: Aerlik on August 14, 2012, 06:38:18 AM
Sheamy is she from Culnady or Upperlands? I drove through the latter a couple of times last week and it is properly festooned in pomp and pleasantry as usual ::)
You could say both, Aerlik. Culnady (Cuil Cnadaidhe or "nook of the sluggard") is the townland whilst Upperlands (Upperlands or 'place of pomp and pleasantry') is the planted bawn town. She's from a couple of miles from the town I think.
Not quite right. Upperlands is in the townland of Ampertaine, Áth an Phoirt Leathain, meaning "ford of the broad (river) bank". The Primary school in the village is called Ampertaine PS. Culnady is a separate village a few miles south west of Upperlands.
Quote from: Champion The Wonder Horse on August 14, 2012, 09:38:56 AM
Quote from: sheamy on August 14, 2012, 08:41:25 AM
Quote from: Aerlik on August 14, 2012, 06:38:18 AM
Sheamy is she from Culnady or Upperlands? I drove through the latter a couple of times last week and it is properly festooned in pomp and pleasantry as usual ::)
You could say both, Aerlik. Culnady (Cuil Cnadaidhe or "nook of the sluggard") is the townland whilst Upperlands (Upperlands or 'place of pomp and pleasantry') is the planted bawn town. She's from a couple of miles from the town I think.
Not quite right. Upperlands is in the townland of Ampertaine, Áth an Phoirt Leathain, meaning "ford of the broad (river) bank". The Primary school in the village is called Ampertaine PS. Culnady is a separate village a few miles south west of Upperlands.
I didn't say Upperlands was in Culnady. I thought, or was led to believe, that WH was from the townland of Culnady, 2-3 miles from Upperlands (or Ampertaine or whatever people who couldn't pronounce Áth an Phoirt Leathain called it).
Quote from: sheamy on August 14, 2012, 10:21:47 AM
Quote from: Champion The Wonder Horse on August 14, 2012, 09:38:56 AM
Quote from: sheamy on August 14, 2012, 08:41:25 AM
Quote from: Aerlik on August 14, 2012, 06:38:18 AM
Sheamy is she from Culnady or Upperlands? I drove through the latter a couple of times last week and it is properly festooned in pomp and pleasantry as usual ::)
You could say both, Aerlik. Culnady (Cuil Cnadaidhe or "nook of the sluggard") is the townland whilst Upperlands (Upperlands or 'place of pomp and pleasantry') is the planted bawn town. She's from a couple of miles from the town I think.
Not quite right. Upperlands is in the townland of Ampertaine, Áth an Phoirt Leathain, meaning "ford of the broad (river) bank". The Primary school in the village is called Ampertaine PS. Culnady is a separate village a few miles south west of Upperlands.
I didn't say Upperlands was in Culnady. I thought, or was led to believe, that WH was from the townland of Culnady, 2-3 miles from Upperlands (or Ampertaine or whatever people who couldn't pronounce Áth an Phoirt Leathain called it).
I misread your post, I thought that is what you were saying. I've never thought of Culnady as the townland and always associated the name with the village - a bit like Swatragh I suppose. WH's links seem to be more Cuil Cnadaidhe than Áth an Phoirt Leathain.
Culnady and Upperlands are not in anyway like Swatragh ;)
Quote from: nrico2006 on August 14, 2012, 08:52:01 AM
Can't believe the woman is embarassing herself by crying about this. If she was good enough she would have been on the team, obviously the other 3 were faster as the coach/selector would have been more concerned about winning than where each rider was from. As mentioned, people from this island would do well if there was an Olympics for whinging. Between Grainne Murphy and Nocher coming up with excuses for their performances to Houvenaghal's yapping about not getting on, what a bunch of whingers.
I suspect her gripe (justified or otherwise) is that she was persuaded to carry on in competitive training etc at the age of 37 on the basis that she would have been an integral part of the team i.e. in contention for a place should her times justify it.
Whereas when she got there, with (according to her) the fastest times in training, she still didn't get a look-in, even when one of the others was under the weather for one run, and a single participation would have entitled WH to a medal.
In other words, she seems to feel she was brought along under false pretences (a "spare" rather than a member).
If so, I feel very sympathetic towards her, since her distinguished record for GB down the years surely entitled her to be invited along on the basis that she would be 4th choice back-up for a 3 person team.