A round-up of other sports news.

Manley lifts SEC title

Irish swimmer Steven Manley, who was swimming for the University of Kentucky, has won a South Eastern Conference title at the SEC Championships in Knoxville, Tennesse.

Manley, who is from Terenure, won the 200 metre freestyle event at the meet with a school record time of 1:35.06. This was the first time since 1957 that a Kentucky swimmer has won a freestyle event. He has already posted 14 individual wins this year at college level and is in a great position heading into the National Collegiate Athletics Association Championships in March.

"It seems kind of weird that I actually won an SEC title," Manley said. "Four years ago, I didn't even think I could get to this point, so to win it seems surreal. I'm so excited." Manley is one of Ireland's top swimmers and is the holder of Irish records in 100m Freestyle, 200m Freestyle, 400m Freestyle, 1,500m Freestyle and the 100m IM.

O'Loughlin starts well

Irish road race champion David O'Loughlin got off to a solid start in the Amgen Tour of California, placing 35th in the opening 3.1-kilometre prologue in San Francisco, reports Shane Stokes.

O'Loughlin showed well against some of the big stars, completing the hilly course in a time practically equal to that set by current world time trial champion Michael Rogers and 2000 Olympic TT champ Viatcheslav Ekimov.

The prologue was won by local rider Levi Leipheimer, the 2005 Tour of Germany winner showing strong form at this early stage of the season. He was almost five seconds quicker than last year's Paris-Nice victor Bobby Julich, with George Hincapie and Floyd Landis third and fourth. O'Loughlin's time was 21.28 seconds off that set by Leipheimer.

The race continues with an undulating 129.1-kilometre stage.