SPORTS DIGEST:ATHLETICS: Olympic 100 metres champion Usain Bolt won the Jamaican title over rival Asafa Powell on Saturday and then declared that American world champion Tyson Gay had little chance of breaking his world record.
Bolt, who holds the record with 9.69 seconds set at the Beijing Games last year, ran home in 9.86 against a negative wind to post the years fastest non-assisted time.
Powell, who was quicker out of the blocks, was second in 9.97 ahead of Michael Frater (10.02).
Last Thursday Gay said he could break Bolts record if he could improve his start, but Bolt disagreed, saying: Personally, no disrespect to Tyson but that is going to be a hard for task for him. Tyson is more of a 200 runner than a 100 runner so it is going to be very hard.”
US sprinterTyree Washington has finally got his 2003 world 400 metres gold medal. The gold medal is a duplicate of one originally presented to 2003 winner Jerome Young, who last year admitted to using prohibited substances.
St Michael's take Leander trophy
ROWING: St Michael's won the Leander trophy at the Monkstown and Cork Harbour regatta at the National Rowing Centre on Saturday. The Limerick club also won the men's senior coxless four.
In the women’s senior eight, Muckross/Carlow took the honours by one and a half lengths from UCD.
Meanwhile, UCD will have two crews in the Temple Cup for coxed eights at Henley Royal Regatta, which starts this Wednesday. The college’s second eight qualified on Friday evening.
Rossi closing in on Agostini total
MOTOGP: Valentino Rossi can set a new mark for the most grand prix wins following his 100th victory in Saturdays Dutch MotoGP race, record holder Giacomo Agostini has said.
DAgostini won 123 races from 1965-76, although some pundits say one race was void and his record is 122, a mark the 67-year-old believes is well within Rossis reach.
It is a distant target but not that distant. Someone like Rossi, with a bit of determination, could even get there, said Agostini.
The 30-year-old champion Rossi said: You can do motorcycling at the top level until about 34, the Yamaha rider said after Saturdays race in Assen, where he unveiled a 10 metre-long poster showing his 99 previous wins.
Ireland finish with win for bronze
HOCKEY: Ireland won bronze at the Champions Challenge II in Russia on Saturday, two goals from UCD's Roisin Flinn giving the side a consolation victory over Ukraine after their defeat by Belgium on Friday saw them miss out on a place in the final, reports Mary Hannigan.
Flinn’s first goal, set up by captain Eimear Cregan, came after just 11 minutes, but Ukraine, with whom Ireland had drawn in the pool phase of the tournament, equalised early in the second half. But Flinn got the winner from a penalty corner six minutes from time.
In Scotland the senior men’s team retained the Celtic Cup with a 3-3 draw against the hosts. Gareth Watkins put Ireland 2-0 up with goals in the opening six minutes, but scores either side of the break drew Scotland level. Brian Doherty restored Ireland’s lead, Scotland’s last-minute equaliser not enough to deny Paul Revington’s young side victory in the tournament. In the women’s competition Ireland A were trounced 7-1 by Scotland.
Pellegrini regains 400m record
SWIMMING: Italys Federica Pellegrini (pictured) reclaimed the womens 400 metres freestyle world record when she took gold in the final at the Mediterranean Games in Pescara on Saturday.
Pellegrini swam four minutes 00.41 seconds to snatch the record back off Britains Joanne Jackson, who swam 4:00.66 in March. Even I am surprised by the record. Clearly I underestimated myself, she said. The 20-year-old was the 400 metres record holder before Jackson bettered her mark.
Future bright for unrated Brezac
TENNIS:CHARLES-ANTOINE Brezac returned to France yesterday harbouring high hopes of shooting up the ATP singles world rankings from his current position of 735th.
In the course of capturing the Irish Men’s Open Futures title at Fitzwilliam, unseeded Brezac put to the sword three players possessing considerably higher world rankings.
In Saturday’s final, the French player needed only 59 minutes on court to dispatch the top seed and 224th-ranked Ryler DeHeart of the Unites States, 6-2, 6-4.
Brezac had earlier defeated the number two seed, South Africa’s 326th-ranked Raven Klaasen in the quarter-finals, and the number three seed, France’s 424th-ranked Philippe de Bonnevie, in the semi-finals.
Hawaiian-born DeHeart had gone into the Dublin tournament on the back of winning the singles title in the recent ATP Challenger Tour event in Yuba City, California, and he had played against Rafael Nadal in the second round of last year’s US Open.
But the left-hander was no match for Brezac, who won three games on the trot to clinch the first set, and closed out the match in style by serving out to love in the 10th game of the second set.
Smyth sets under-23 100m record
ATHLETICS: Jason Smyth of City of Derry AC broke his national under-23 100 metres record and qualified for the European Outdoor Championships in 2010 when winning the event in a spectacular 10.42 seconds in Tullamore yesterday, reports Ian O'Riordan. It also moves the double Paralympic Gold medallist to fourth in the all-time 100 metres list.
Kelly Proper of Ferrybank AC did the double winning the under-23 long jump in 6.33 metres and the 200 metres in 24.04 seconds.
Following a fine performance on Saturday to win the 400 metres in 46.85 in Nivelles, Belgium, Tallaght AC’s Brian Gregan took the 200 metres under-23 title in a personal best of 21.58.
Charlotte Ffrench O’Carroll of DSD, who achieved the European Junior qualifying standard for the 3,000 metres at an IMC on Wednesday running 9.35.92, took the junior women’s 1,500 metres title. John Coghlan of MSB took the men’s under-23 1,500 metres in 3.50.42, beating Rory Chesser of Ennis Track Club and Michael Mulhare of North Laois.
