Tug of war team bid for medal in Taiwan
A small Irish team has travelled to the World Games in Kaohsiung, Taiwan, with the men's tug of war 640kg team taking centre stage on Sunday.
With a squad made up of athletes from the Boley club in Co Wexford, Lakehill from Co Mayo and Bremore from north Co Dublin, the Irish qualified for the games when they finished in the top six at last year's World Championship in Sweden.
Over the past few months, the team has been preparing with extensive strength and fitness training, apart from their work "on the rope" at least twice a week. Most of the team members have also been lining out for their clubs at various weight categories in the Irish Championships, which take place over the summer months.
"The key to success in tug of war is to have the eight people on the team working as a single unit," said coach Bill Kehoe.
In 2005, the Irish won a bronze medal at the World Games and generally have an excellent record at international level.
"We are the reigning European champions at 640kg so we have nothing to fear," said Kehoe.
STRONG
"We know what we are up against and a lot will depend on the day," he added.
Among the other nations entered are strong teams from England, Scotland, Sweden, Germany and Switzerland.
"The Swiss and the Germans are very strong but we feel we are more than capable of coming home with at least the bronze medal. If things go our way, and with a bit of luck, we can win it," says Kehoe.
Humidity could be a big problem for the Irish lads, with temperatures of around 40°C expected. Competition begins at 7.45 (Irish time) on Sunday morning.
More than 3,000 athletes from 90 nations are competing in Taiwan with 26 sports on the official programme. These include karate, rugby 7s and squash, all of which are bidding to become part of the Olympic programme as well as more exotic activities such as korfball, artistic roller skating and fin swimming. Tug of war was part of the Olympic programme from Paris in 1900 to Antwerp 1920, with many Irish involved.
Ireland is also represented at the World Games by squash player Aisling Blake and by Gerard Greene in the snooker.
