O'Connor still hopeful despite 'tough day' at the office

Chance for individual medal still there after team lose out

The ability to bounce back from a disappointment is an essential quality in sport - and life.

Now Cian O'Connor and his colleagues on the Irish show jumping team are going to have to do just that - bounce back that is.

Their hopes of getting a medal in the team event ended as they finished seventh at the truly picturesque Palace of Versailles.

With one competition gone all they can do now is get 'in the zone' and prepare properly for the individual event which takes places on Monday and Tuesday.

In the team competition yesterday the Irish were ranked fourth on five faults after two of their three riders had completed their rounds.

Shane Sweetnam on James Kann Cruz picked up faults by knocking the final fence and also picked up a time penalty. The Irish hopes were then revitalised by a superb clear from Daniel Coyle on Legacy.

Up stepped Cian O'Connor who needed to register a low round to ensure Ireland challenged for medals. However his horse Maurice clipped two fences and were just outside the 79-second limit. That put paid to Ireland's medal hopes. Great Britain took gold.

It was "a tough day" he said with a certain air of understatement.

As O'Connor knows there's a very fine line between victory and defeat, especially at the level he is operating at.

"We're at the pinnacle of our sport and it shows the fine lines at this level. We had good plans, but it’s a big arena with very unique fences - my lad has been jumping great all year and today just wasn’t his day but there’s a lot of people who put so much work in," he told RTE.

"We’ll dust ourselves down now, we’ve a few days off now and make sure our horses are ok. That's the main thing - we’ll come again," he added.

Resiliant, defiant, yes, as he knows he has to be, especially in the Olympic Games.