The loudest cheer of the Olympics thus far: Leave it to the Irish!

You might be sitting there on your sofa or your rocking chair or your bean bag thinking to yourself, 'What has been the loudest cheer of this 2012 Olympics thus far?'. You might also find yourself a little shocked at the answer. Michael Phelps and his eight thousand medals? No. Usain Bolt making the rest of us look like mere mortals? Nope. Any number of British medals? No. The single loudest cheer of the 2012 Olympics thus far has been for a quiet, unassuming Irish girl called Katie Taylor.

Ireland's premiere Gold medal hope, Taylor, is also the class of women's boxing at the moment, and her magnificent fight with Britain Natasha Jonas was loud. Very loud. Much like the wildly disappointing European Championships, the sports loving Irish turned up in their thousands, decidedly out shouting their English hosts in the stadium.

Here's the science.

The Olympic officials in charge of such matters declared the decibel level at the peak of the fight to be at 113.7, beating all other events including the second loudest, the noisy cycling fans at the Velodrome. To put the noise in perspective, your average jet engine emits a decibel level of 140.

Taylor seems to be really plugged in to the flow and emotion of what is happening all around her, and she was visibly living off the positive vibe coming from the predominantly Irish crowd.

''I've never experienced an atmosphere like this before. I knew it was going to be great but it took me by surprise a small bit. It's a privilege to box for them, as well as my country''

Taylor is Ireland's best hope for Gold apart from John Joe Nevin in the men's boxing, however she elegantly cast all tensions aside with a dominant first round. Credit to Jonas, who may have just edged round two, but Taylor ran away with rounds three and four, and twice had Jonas reeling from ferocious punches. The fight ended with a big margin to Taylor, but Jonas can hold her head high after a proud, dignified performance. The spirit, class and dignity the two girls showed at the end of the fight was a heart warming reminder of what the Olympics is all about.



Onward and upwards for Ireland's gleaming emerland, Katie Taylor, who now faces Tajikistan's Mavzuna Chorieva in the semi final. Should she manage to get past that, a Gold medal bout awaits Thursday.

The last word goes to the classy young Liverpudlian Jonas, who said of Taylor and the chase for the Gold medal

"I think she will (win it) and hope she does"




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