Other sports stories in brief
Lee to fight Gibbs in Limerick
BOXING:Andy Lee will seek to get back to winning ways against Philadelphia-born middleweight Willie Gibbs at the University of Limerick on July 19th. The Limerick southpaw, who controversially lost his unbeaten run in his 16th pro fight to Texan Brian Vera last March, will clash with Gibbs over 10 rounds just a few months after he stopped Argentinian Alejandro Falliga in the fifth frame at the same venue.
Undefeated middleweight prospect John Duddy will hope to claw his way back into world title contention when he returns to action against Charles Howe in Boston on June 28th. Derry-born Duddy had been lined up for a crack at undisputed champion Kelly Pavlik but blew his chance with a dreadful majority-decision win over Tunisian Walid Smichet last time out.
Meanwhile, Katie Taylor advanced to the semi-finals of the Ahmet Cup following a 24-3 light welterweight win over Sweden's Klara Svensson in Istanbul, Turkey, yesterday. Taylor will now meet Chinese fighter Niyxur Ting in today's semi-final. She took all three rounds against Svensson yesterday.
Bigger prize fund for Irish Open
TENNIS:The Shelbourne Irish Open men's Championships has announced an increased prize fund this year of €48,679, up €9,736 from last year, reports Johnny Watterson. The event will be held at the Fitzwilliam Lawn Tennis Club from the June 29th to the July 5th. The tournament, an ATP Challenger, hopes to attract even more of the world's leading international players in the singles and doubles events. Traditionally players who do not qualify for Wimbledon (June 23rd) or get knocked out in the first rounds of that event, make the trip to Dublin. There are ranking points available as well as prize money.
The qualifying rounds will be held on June 29th and the morning of June 30th. The main draw will begin on the afternoon of June 30th culminating in the men's singles final on July 5th.
Hession finishes second over 300 metres in Ostrava
ATHLETICS:It proved a hugely rewarding night for most of the Irish athletes in the IAAF Golden Spike meeting in Ostrava, with Paul Hession capping it off when finishing a brilliant second to the American star Jeremy Wariner over 300 metres, reports Ian O'Riordan.
Although it's a rarely contested event, Hession proved his class when clocking an Irish record of 32.47 seconds - destroying the old mark of 33.36 set eight years ago by Gordon Kennedy. Wariner was chasing Michael Johnson's world mark of 30.85, but came home in 31.72 - with the other Irish athlete Paul McKee also inside the old Irish record when taking fourth in 33.33.
David Gillick continued his impressive consistency in the build-up to Beijing when he equalled his season's best of 45.65 to take second in the 400 metres, finishing just behind Britain's number one Martyn Rooney, who ran 45.32.
Earlier, Alistair Cragg had his best race in almost a year over 5,000 metres. In a race dominated by the Kenyans and Ethiopians, Cragg ran a season's best of 13:16.12, some 11 seconds faster than what he ran earlier in the season, even if it was only good enough for 14th on the night. Victory there went to Kenya's Eluid Kipchoge in 13:02.07.
However, Derval O'Rourke couldn't improve on her promising seasonal opener of 12.99 seconds in the 100 metres hurdles, as she clocked 13.06 when finishing sixth in what was a high-quality race. The American Lolo Jones was the impressive winner there in 12.68.
Germany hold off Ireland
HOCKEY:The Irish women put in a vastly improved performance against Germany at the Setanta Trophy yesterday but were unable to pick off a famous draw. Germany took the lead 14 minutes in when Anke Kuhn fired in a drag-flick. Ireland almost snatched a draw in the final moments with a penalty corner on the final hooter.
Ireland's men's side let a two-goal lead slip for the second day running as they drew 3-3 with Canada yesterday, meaning they need a good win against Britain in their final group match on Saturday to stand a chance of reaching the final.
Ireland led 2-1 at half-time and their goals came from Eugene Magee, Alan Sothern and Mitch Darling.
RESULTS:Women: Ireland 0, Germany 1 (Anke Kuhn); Britain 3 (Alex Danson 2, Mel Clewlow), South Africa 0. Men: Ireland 3 (Eugene Magee, Alan Sothern, Mitch Darling), Canada 3 (Mark Pearson, Bindi Kullar, Peter Short); Pakistan 3, Britain 3,
