Equestrian: World show jumping champion Dermott Lennon will be sidelined for several weeks after breaking his shoulder in a fall at the World Cup show in Gothenburg, Sweden, on Saturday night.

Lennon, who became the first Irish rider to claim the world title by winning gold in Spain last September, was using the Swedish round as his last-ditch attempt to gain a place at the World Cup finals in Las Vegas in three weeks. But the Co Down rider had already faulted twice before hitting the deck at the last fence, when the mare Liscalgot crashed through it in a jumble of poles.

"She spooked on take-off and just misjudged it and paddled through," Lennon said yesterday. "I don't think she actually fell - I haven't seen the video yet - but she definitely nose-dived. I knew as soon as I hit the ground that I'd done something, but I won't die from it. I'll be back in a couple of weeks."

There was better news for compatriot Trevor Coyle, however, when the Co Armagh-born rider steered the talented mare Fleur into sixth place to add another 11 points to his tally. That was enough to boost him to 14th in the western European league and guarantee his place on the Las Vegas startlist, his first return to a World Cup final since finishing second in the 1999 finals.

Coyle was one of seven through to Saturday's jump-off, but a fence down put victory out of reach, with the honours going to Switzerland's Markus Fuchs and another mare, Granie 5. Fuchs, World Cup champion in 2001, was recording his third qualifier win of the current series, having also scored at Leipzig and Vigo. With Gothenburg as the final qualifier, Fuchs was guaranteed top slot in the western European league, finishing well clear of his rivals on 107 points.

Jessica Kurten, Ireland's only other hope, also fell foul of the final fence to share eighth overall. The resulting five points put her 30th in the league standings, but with only 18 going through from western Europe she failed to make the cut for the Las Vegas showdown.