Equestrian Sport: Ireland's Olympic three-day event team and three individuals for Sydney were named yesterday after a final viewing and full veterinary examination, writes Grania Willis.
The quartet that will contest the team medals is made up of Mr Mullins (Nicola Cassidy), Don't Step Back (Patricia Donegan), The Yellow Earl (Virginia McGrath) and All Love du Fenaud (Sasha Harrison).
Three other combinations were named by the selectors yesterday to run in the individual competition, which takes place immediately after the teams. The three individual runners are Joy Of My Heart (Susan Shortt), Horseware Fabio (Austin O'Connor) and High Scope (Trevor Smith).
Eric Smiley, who finished 13th at Punchestown with Irish Patriot, was dropped from the squad yesterday as the selectors felt that the horse was not 100 per cent fit. The grey will now be re-routed to Burghley at the beginning of September.
The Olympic horses - including Heike Holstein's dressage runner Ballaseyr Royale - all go into Punchestown at the weekend for a fortnight's quarantine before travelling over to England on August 20th.
The horses are scheduled to fly from Stansted airport direct to Sydney on August 23rd and will then have a further two weeks of quarantine in the Olympic stabling at Horsley Park 35 kilometres outside Sydney. The riders fly out to Australia on August 25th for the team competition running from September 16th to 19th, followed by the individual from September 20th to 22nd.
Rowing: Comfortable wins in their heats yesterday for Sinead Jennings and Sam Lynch saw them safely into the lightweight single scull semi-finals at the World Rowing Championships for non-Olympic events in Zagreb yesterday.
The women's lightweight quadruple scull also made it through to tomorrow's semi-finals by finishing third in their heat, but the men's quad face a do-or-die repechage after finishing fourth and last in their heat. If they do not finish third or better this evening, their championship is over.
Jennings has particular reason to feel pleased with her win, as she left German rival Angelika Brand well behind her, beating her by over 25 seconds after taking command during the first 500 metres. Brand had taken silver ahead of the Donegal woman at the World Cup regatta in Lucerne last month.
Lynch, a gold medallist at Lucerne, also had little difficulty in winning his heat by a margin of 10.42 seconds.
World Championships (Irish interest): Men - Lightweight quadruple scull (first three straight to semi-final) - Heat Three: 1 Japan 5:56.25, 2 Austria 5:59.98, 3 Spain 6:01.74, 4 Ireland (N Monahan, J Lyndsay-Finn, J Armstrong, stroke: D Holland) 6:12.56. Lightweight single scull (heat winners straight to semi-final) - Heat One: 1 Czech Republic 7:10.8; Heat Two: 1 Italy 7:06.04; Heat Three: 1 Ireland (S Lynch) 7:07.8, 2 Slovakia 7:18.23, 3 United States 7:21.17; Heat Four: 1 Poland 7:09.22. Women - Lightweight quadruple scull (first three straight to semi-final) - Heat Two: 1 Germany 6:41.20, 2 Japan 6:44.19, 3 Ireland (A Holohan, M Terry, R Doyle, V Lawrenson) 6:56.91. Lightweight single scull (heat winner straight to semi-final) - Heat One: 1 United States 7:55.05; Heat Two: Finland 7:50.7; Heat Three: 1 Ireland (S Jennings) 7:49.60, 2 Germany 8:13.64, 3 Latvia 8:22.90.
Cycling: FBD Milk Ras race organiser Dermot Dignam is expected shortly to decide whether to go ahead with plans to secure world-ranking status for the round-Ireland cycling race.
Dignam, who has organised the nine-day event since 1979, is in discussions with sponsors and the Irish Sports Council regarding a "substantial" increase in race budget that would be required. The 48-year-old event is the highlight of the Irish cycling calendar, and the upgrading of the race to a 2.5 ranked competition would have significant implications for the sport in Ireland.
With valuable world ranking points on offer, the move would see a large increase in both the number and quality of foreign teams applying to take part each year. It would also provide Irish cyclists with an invaluable source of the points that govern a country's world ranking and determines if riders can participate in certain UCI (Union Cycliste Internationale) events such as the world championships.
Dignam expects a decision to be made within the next fortnight once talks are concluded with the sponsors, FBD Insurances and the National Dairy Council, and the Irish Sports Council. He explains that "the upgrade to a world-ranking event would require a substantial increase in the race budget, mainly to bring the prize money in line with UCI requirements."
