A round-up of today's other stories in brief
Puspure sixth in Munich final
ROWING:Sanita Puspure finished sixth in yesterday's single sculls A final in Munich. She recovered after a very poor start, but not enough to figure in the business end of a race won by double Olympic champion Ekaterina Karsten.
“I got a bit left at the start and panicked a little bit,” said Puspure.
The semi-final was her target race and her best of the weekend. Puspure said she felt “relaxed” as she slotted into the third qualification place and repulsed a challenge by Talia Gjoertz of Norway.
Puspure is set to compete at Henley Royal Regatta in little over a week before heading for London.
Meanwhile, Claire Lambe finished third in the C Final of the lightweight single scull, 15th overall.
Elsewhere, Ireland crews reached four finals at Henley Women’s Regatta yesterday, only to be beaten at this stage.
The Rowing Ireland crews of Lisa Dilleen in the elite single and the elite double of Laura D’Urso and Holly Nixon fell at the final hurdle as did UCD in the senior eight and Queen’s University in the senior coxed four.
Coyle has modern pentathlon place for London confirmed
OLYMPIC GAMES:Natalya Coyle has become Ireland's first official Olympic qualifier in modern pentathlon, her place now confirmed by the world governing body, the Union International de Pentathlon Modern (UIPM).
The 21-year-old Meath athlete, who only started competing at an international level in 2009, will be in action in London on the last day of competitions, Sunday, August 12th.
“To qualify for the Olympics really is a dream come true,” she said. “I’ve worked so hard to get there and now I’m excited to get a good block of training done in the run-up to the competition.”
Performance director Lindsey Weedon said: “Natalya’s qualification is not only a result of all her hard work and dedication but it’s been a massive team effort.
“Our High Performance Programme only began in 2010, and to have made such phenomenal progress in just two years is testament to all those who have helped us out along the way.”
Horse Sport Ireland chairman Joe Walsh said Natalya’s qualification was a great tribute to the work of so many people.
Breen's navigator dies following Rally crash in Sicily
RALLYING:Craig Breen's navigator, Gareth Roberts, died following a crash in northern Sicily during the Targa Florio rally on Saturday. The Waterford-born driver was unhurt in the incident.
The crash happened during the eighth stage of the rally when their Peugeot 207 went off the road about five miles from the start of the Cefalu leg.
A guard rail entered the car on the right side, where Welshman Roberts (24), was seated.
Targa Florio said on its website that nearby emergency crews responded immediately but that Roberts died instantly.
Organisers immediately ended the rally, which was in its 96th edition. The 106-mile Targa Florio this year became part of the Intercontinental Rally Challenge, taking the place of Hungary’s Mecsek Rally.
Breen and Roberts were lying sixth in the rally after seven stages when the incident took place.
IRC manager Jean-Pierre Nicolas said: “It’s a very sad accident that reminds us that motorsport is dangerous: accidents can affect both driver and co-driver in rallying.”
Morrow takes European title
GOLF:Seniors: A closing round of two under par 69 – the lowest score of the tournament – gave Adrian Morrow the European Seniors Amateur Championship in Austria to add to his Irish title won earlier in the year. The Portmarnock star was a stroke adrift of Swede Tomas Persson going into the final round but triumphed by one with an aggregate of 212. Morrow was the only Irishman in the 90-strong field.
European Tour: Darren Fichardt clinched his third European Tour title as he won the St Omer open by three shots from Gary Lockerbie.
Fichardt finished five under par for the weekend with Simon Lockerbie three shots back. Simon Thornton and Colm Moriarty both carded final day 73s to finish eight and 14 over respectively.
Amateur: Leading qualifier Lisa Maguire (Slieve Russell), twin sister Leona and tournament favourite Stephanie Meadow (Royal Portrush) are all safely through to the last 16 at the Irish Women’s Close Amateur Championship, Co Louth after yesterday’s play.
Lorenzo takes British GP to stretch lead
MOTOR SPORT:Moto GP: Spain's Jorge Lorenzo won the British Grand Prix yesterday to stretch his lead over Casey Stoner to 25 points in the MotoGP world championship.
Stoner, who had started on the front row, had to settle for second with Spanish Honda team mate Dani Pedrosa a close third.
Le Mans 24: Audi defended their Le Mans 24 Hours endurance title on Sunday with Germany’s Andre Lotterer taking the chequered flag for the second year in a row in a first victory for a hybrid car. The number one diesel-hybrid R18 – shared by Lotterer, France’s Benoit Treluyer and Switzerlands Marcel Faessler – led for most of the race and denied Denmark’s Tom Kristensen a ninth win in the number two Audi.
