A date with destiny for Mullingar"s Olympic trio

The Olympic dream begins this week for three young Mullingar athletes, when the Games of the XXIX Olympiad commence in Beijing, China on Friday, August 8.Mullingar Harriers distance runner Martin Fagan - who travelled to the Far East earlier this week - and boxers John Joe Nevin and John Joe Joyce are finalising their rigorous training schedules for their participation in the forthcoming games.Only this week, the two Mullingar boxers finished their sparring sessions at the Russian Far Eastern port city of Vladivostok, where they have camped since late July. As confirmed by Gary Keegan, the IABA"s high-performance boxing director last week, the Russian camp was originally due to have run until Wednesday of this week, but ended two days earlier then scheduled.On Monday, the Mullingar duo and their Team Ireland colleagues - led by team captain, Ken Egan - returned to Beijing to settle in at the Olympic village.Joyce, a member of St. Michael"s Boxing Club, Athy, is the first of the local athletes to take centre stage, and his first 64kg Light Welterweight bout will take place either in the morning or the evening of Sunday next, August 10 (China Standard Time) at the Workers" Arena, Beijing. Later in the week, Cavan clubman John Joe Nevin will fight his first preliminary bout in the 54 kg Bantamweight category.Both boxers have undergone a gruelling training programme ahead of the Games, facing top Russian fighters such as Sergey Vodopyanov and Gennady Kovalev in sparring sessions at the Vladivostok camp. Vodopyanov is the favourite in John Joe Nevin"s bantamweight category, while Kovalev is among the top-ranked light welterweight fighters.Meanwhile, Irish marathon hopeful Martin Fagan left Ireland this week bound for the Olympic Village, and he will have plenty of opportunity to hone his skills ahead of the Mens" Marathon final later in the month. Tullamore Harriers" Pauline Curley - who trained with Fagan at Belvedere House and Gardens prior to the China trip - will carry Irish hopes in the Ladies" Marathon final.The opening ceremony will take place on Friday next, August 8 at 8pm (12 noon Irish time), and all three Mullingar Olympians will be involved.