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Olympic medals

Ireland’s Daniel Wiffen celebrates with his gold medal. Picture: James Crombie/Inpho

Ireland got among the medals early in Paris, with Mona McSharry winning bronze in the women's 100m breaststroke, and Daniel Wiffen taking gold in men’s 800m freestyle.

The sight of Irish athletes on the podium - and Wiffen’s emotional reaction to the anthem and tricolour - is not something to take for granted. The medals won are the physical embodiment of years of sacrifice and dedication not just by the athletes themselves but by their families. As the late Jerry Kiernan once pointed out, young swimmers who commit to training every morning need their entire families to commit to getting them to those training sessions.