Athletics: MARK Carroll just failed in his bid to clock a world championship qualifying time when he finished eighth over 5,000 metres at the Prefontaine Classic in Eugene, Oregon yesterday.
The Corkman clocked 13 minutes 32.28 seconds, outside his target of 13:25, but it was still a positive run for this stage of the season. The race was won by Kenya's Luke Kipkosgei in 13:13.27, but only after he pulled away from the American Bob Kennedy on the final lap.
Sinead Delahunty opened her international season with a sixth place finish in the women's 1,500 metres, clocking 4:11.04 behind the winner Suzy Favor Hamilton (4:06.93).
There was also a surprise defeat for Maurice Greene in the 100 metres after Patrick Jarrett of Jamaica made the most of a suspect start to win in a wind-assisted 9.89 seconds.
Elsewhere, Pauric McKinney was yesterday crowned AAI national marathon champion after a comfortable victory around a flat and fast course in Dungarvan. The 36-year-old Donegal man, who runs with Civil Service AC, took over the race just after 16 miles and at the finish had over four minutes to spare on the veteran Dick Hooper, who took second place ahead of fellow Raheny athlete Mick Traynor.
Susan Waterstone of Naas, now aged 44, was the surprise winner of the women's title. Meanwhile, in Goetzis yesterday, Olympic silver medallist Roman Sebrle of the Czech Republic became the first man to break the 9,000 points barrier in the decathlon. Sebrle (26), compiled 9,026 points to better the previous record of 8,994 set by his compatriot Tomas Dvorak on July 4, 1999.
Soccer: One of the great controversies in Irish sport in the 1940s was recalled yesterday following the death of the remarkably talented Peter Corr. Corr, a revered name, first in Gaelic football and later soccer, died in Preston at the age of 77 after a long illness. A member of the Sean O'Mahoney's club in Dundalk, he was a member of the Louth team which won the Leinster senior football championship in 1943. They were beaten by Roscommon, the eventual champions, in the All-Ireland semi-final, and Corr, hampered by injury, was unfairly targeted by the team's supporters for a sub-standard performance. It so upset him he became disenchanted with the code and caused something of a sensation by defecting to the "foreign" game. He was signed as a winger by Dundalk in 1946 and after only four appearances, he moved to Preston North End, then one of the leading clubs in the old English First Division. The following year year Corr joined Everton, and while at the club he shared in one of the Republic of Ireland's most famous wins when they beat England 2-0 at Goodison Park. It was the first occasion that an England team was defeated on home terrain by a nonBritish side. An uncle of the Corrs singing group, he was one of only four survivors from Jack Carey's celebrated team. A gifted athlete, he left his imprint on the broad canvas of sport at a time when it filled an important role in Irish society. - Peter Byrne
Sailing: Ireland's Maria Coleman continued her quest for the 2004 Olympic Games with another world class result at Medemblicjk, Holland when she ended the SPA Eurolymp Regatta in seventh overall, writes David Branigan.
Other Irish crews at SPA included Max Treacy and Anthony Shanks who finished 10th in the Star keelboat class, while Tom Fitzpatrick and Fraser Brown finished 17th in the 49er Skiff fleet.
Competitors at the event voiced serious concerns at a new scoring system that only allocated points for the first 15 places in a given class. Organisers are understood to have agreed not to repeat the experiment next year.
Meanwhile at Tarbert on Lough Fyne, the 200-boat Scottish Series reaches its penultimate day this morning. Colm Barrington's Golves Off holds the lead in Class Zero, while Dun Laoghaire rival Azure, on its debut, is fifth.
