A round-up of today's other stories in brief
Chambers wins gold in Slovenia
ROWING:PETER Chambers won gold at the World Rowing Championships at Bled in Slovenia yesterday, writes Liam Gorman.
The 21-year-old from Coleraine teamed up with Kieren Emery to win the lightweight men’s pair for Britain. Chambers represented Ireland at junior level before joining his brother Richard at Oxford Brookes and becoming part of the British system.
For the Ireland team, Lisa Dilleen and Sanita Puspure compete in the women’s double scull A/B semi-final today. A place in the top three would qualify them for the A Final and guarantee a place for this boat at London 2012. The lightweight double scull of Siobhán McCrohan and Claire Lambe take part in their C/D semi-final and Sarah Dolan competes in the C Final of the lightweight single sculls.
Trainer Swinburn to call it a day
HORSE RACING:WALTER Swinburn is to quit the training ranks on October 31st. The former jockey, who will forever be remembered for his association with Derby winner Shergar, won the blue riband Classic as a rider on two other occasions. Swinburn took over the training licence from his father-in-law, Peter Harris, in November 2004, and has sent out over 260 winners from his yard in Tring, Herefordshire. The 50-year-old landed one of the biggest victories of his training career earlier this season when Julienas won the Royal Hunt Cup at Ascot. His decision to retire is reportedly related to the current economic climate.
Moylette and Hickey fight for place
BOXING: EUROPEAN Elite champion Ray Moylette and Irish Elite champion Ross Hickey will meet tonight at the National Stadium in Dublin in a three-round of three minutes duel for the Irish 64Kg vest.
The light-welterweight box-off is being run to confirm the one remaining place on the 10-man Irish squad for the upcoming AIBA World Championships and Olympic qualifiers in Baku, Azerbaijan.
Boxing begins at 7pm and will feature a number of additional bouts.
The Irish squad will join a training camp with hosts Germany, Moldova and the Netherlands in Cologne on September 11th.
The squad will then travel from Cologne to Baku for the first major qualifier for the London Games on Monday, September 26th.
GBR 1 moves into the lead at Schull
SAILING: BRITAIN'S team GBR 1 from West Kirby on Merseyside pulled into a narrow lead at the ISAF Team Racing World Championships at Schull yesterday when a second round robin series was completed, writes David Branigan.
The United States team from the New York Yacht Club remain in close contention on equal race wins and a scoring rate of almost 91 per cent.
Ireland’s three teams competing in the senior event slipped into the bottom half of the 12-nation event yesterday, led by the Royal St George YC team.
In nearby Baltimore, reigning national champion Mark Mansfield leads the 28-strong turnout for the Corona 1720 Euro championship after an opening race win plus a sixth and second place.
Kennelly to retire at end of Aussie Rules season
AUSTRALIAN RULES: TADHG Kennelly has announced he will retire from Aussie Rules at the end of the current season. However, any hopes in Kerry that the 30-year-old might make a second return to the green and gold after his successful All-Ireland winning stint in 2009 have been dashed, with Kennelly intent on remaining involved in the AFL, most likely in a media capacity.
He has also been concerned by his long-standing injury problems and admitted yesterday that stress caused by the condition of his knee had a negative impact on his form this year. “It’s been hard the past couple of weeks. I’ve been battling with myself to figure out whether to play on or not” said Kennelly.
“I think mentally I have been under a lot of stress, trying to get myself up, energy-wise, and positive, and that’s not me. I’m generally a very positive person and that’s taken its toll on me physically because I have been under so much stress mentally and it’s definitely affecting me on the field.”
He will play his 195th game in the AFL tomorrow at the SCG against a Brisbane Lions side that will include compatriots Pearce Hanley and Niall McKeever.
