Rowing: Neptune confirmed their position at the top of the rankings in rowing in Ireland with an emphatic win in the senior one men's eights final against Garda at Trinity regatta at Islandbridge on Saturday, writes Liam Gorman.
The run-up to the event had been dominated by Neptune's decision to refuse to allow top oarsmen Ciaran Lewis and Sean Jacob to compete for Queen's Tower at the regatta, an unpopular decision with the hosts as the London club pulled out as a result.
A win for the Neptune eight was still far from assured, and the most controversial race of the day was their semi-final against Commercial. The inexperienced umpire shouted at the crews to stop after a clash which left Commercial severely disadvantaged early in the race, but he did not raise a red flag and refused to sanction a re-row at the finish despite an angry reaction from Commercial.
In the final, Neptune then repeated the win over Garda which they had gained in their own regatta.
Snooker: Anthony Hamilton booked his place in the second round of the Embassy World Championship with a 10-4 win over qualifier Marcus Campbell in Sheffield yesterday.
Leading 6-3 overnight, Hamilton edged a close opening frame before Campbell claimed the second 64-55. The world number 11 increased his advantage to four frames with a well constructed 86 break to move within two of victory.
Campbell had a number of opportunities to win the 13th frame, but Hamilton played his way out of several snookers before finally clinching a 54-35 success.
Cycling: Former world junior champion Mark Scanlon yesterday took his second win in less than a week when he won the Joey White memorial race in Stamullen. Scanlon broke clear of the main bunch on the second of six laps, joining up with a leading group which contained a number of strong riders including Olympic mountain bike rider Robin Seymour, who had elected to race here due to foot-and-mouth limitations on off-road racing.
Scanlon, national under 23 champion David O'Loughlin and Shane Prendergast then forged ahead on the fifth 12 mile lap, with O'Loughlin being jettisoned on the final climb of the gruelling Snowtown hill. Scanlon dispatched Prendergast seven miles later and showed his strength to go on and win.
