Other sports news in brief
Hession fastest European as Ireland hold on to status
ATHLETICS:Maintaining their First League status was always the main intention – and the Irish comfortably did that, finishing eighth best of the 12 teams – but in the process several athletes delivered season-best performances at this weekend's European Team Championships in Budapest, writes Ian O'Riordan.
Foremost among them was Paul Hession, who clocked the fastest time by a European this season when winning the 200 metres in 20.46 seconds.
Hession not only scored maximum points but underlined his medal potential for next month’s European championships in Barcelona
Derval O’Rourke also stated her intentions for Barcelona by finishing second in the 100 metres hurdles in 12.80 – well inside her season’s best.
Victory went to the unheralded Nevin Yanit of Turkey in 12.74.
There was a slightly worrying performance for David Gillick in Saturday’s 400 metres when he was beaten into second for the second time in a week, this time by Belgium’s Jonathan Borlee, who took the win in 44.99.
Gillick still ran well to clock 45.32.
There was a brilliant win for Thomas Chamney in the 800 metres, when he put his class and experience to full use to out-run the lot in 1.47.86.
Niamh Whelan underlined Ireland’s new sprint domination by finishing second in the 200 metres in 23.30.
Six crews for Lucerne regatta
ROWING:Ireland will send six crews to the final World Cup regatta in Lucerne next week. The team is a young one and a major aim, according to Ireland performance director Martin McElroy, is to give experience to the athletes who will go on from Lucerne to the World Under-23 Championships in Belarus.
The pair of Cormac Folan and Sean Jacob will head for Lucerne having recorded two wins at Marlow Regatta over the weekend, and the under-23 pair of Anthony English and Peter Hanily also did enough to nail down their Lucerne place.
At Henley Women’s Regatta, Claire Ludlow and Elaine Fitzgerald won the elite lightweight pair title. The Neptune crew were Ireland’s sole victors at the event, although the senior single sculler Marie O’Neill of Cork Boat Club and the Commercial senior coxed four – coxed by 10-year-old Rory Keogh – reached the semi-finals.
Ludlow and Fitzgerald were determined to win this year, having lost to Mortlake last year. They hope to be part of a composite four for the National Championships.
County charge ahead on all fronts after weekend double
CRICKET:North County enjoyed a profitable return from their two games in Sandymount over the weekend as a victory over Pembroke in the Lewis Hohn Williams Leinster Senior Cup on Saturday was followed yesterday by inflicting a first defeat of the season on Railway Union in their top of the table league encounter, writes Emmet Riordan.
It means the Balrothery men are the only undefeated senior side in the province, increasing their advantage at the top of Division One and putting them in tomorrow’s draw for the cup semi-finals.
Railway looked on their way to victory in yesterday’s clash at Park Avenue after Kenny Carroll and Tom Fisher went past 50 in their opening stand as they chased 209 for victory.
Richie Lawrence, who made an undefeated 76 in County’s innings, made the vital breakthroughs, dismissing both openers for 27.
He would finish with figures of three for 32 from his 10 overs as the County spinners took control of the match, with Jonathan Andrews (3-29) and Tomás Shiel (3-20) also getting in on the act as Railway were bowled out for 147 to give the visitors a 61-run victory.
County enjoyed a far more emphatic victory over Pembroke on Saturday at Sydney Parade, with the seamers to the fore this time around as they bowled Pembroke out for just 59 to win by 180 runs.
Ireland A bowler Eddie Richardson bagged five for 20, while Australian pro James Boyland took three for nine after County made 239 for eight from their 60 overs.
Railway also enjoyed success in Saturday’s cup games, hammering The Hills’ second XI by 171 runs in Milverton.
The Hills first XI also bowed out after Clontarf’s Australian pro Rod Hokin hit an undefeated 124 in a 64-run victory at Castle Avenue.
Malahide make up the draw after they trounced Old Belvedere by 148 runs, with Glenn Kirwan taking six for 24 as Belvo were skittled for just 59.
Fit-again Taylor wins in London
BOXING:World lightweight champion Katie Taylor (23) bounced backed from her recent injury to claim gold and the woman fighter of the tournament at the Haringey Cup at Alexandra Palace, London, yesterday.
The Bray woman, who broke her nose in sparring last month, chalked up a convincing majority decision over Ingrid Egner of Norway, who she beat in her first full international in Oslo in 2004.
Yesterday’s win arrived 24 hours after Taylor hammered Swiss lightweight Sandra Brugger, who she stopped in the second round of the 2007 European 60kg final in Denmark, in the Box Cup semi-finals.
Taylor will defend her European Union title in Hungary in August.
Meanwhile, Ireland Youths Hugh Myres, Myles Casey and Stephen Broadhurst claimed three wins in a 3-3 draw with Italy Youths in Sardinia on Saturday night.
However, the Irish senior A team were surprisingly adjudged to have lost all eight bouts against their Italian counterparts.
Double clear for Greene in Finland
EQUESTRIAN:Limerick's Joan Greene recorded a brilliant double clear on Tim O'Shea's mare Biscaya d'Eversem as Ireland won the Nations' Cup in Ypaja, Finland, yesterday.
Greene was making her debut at this level, as was Alexander Butler, who picked up a single time fault over the two rounds on Harold McGahern’s 10-year-old Touchdown grey Will Wimble.
A third newcomer, Thom Keane, faulted once in the first round but went clear in round two with Ronan Tynan’s 12-year-old stallion Warrenstown You 2.
Edward Little, who had a fence down in round one with Kalvinretto, didn’t have to jump a second time as Ireland finished on a score of five with Belgium next best on eight.
Irish duo in good form
CYCLING:Irish professionals Nicolas Roche and Daniel Martin both highlighted their form in advance of next week's national road race championships with strong performances over the weekend, writes Shane Stokes.
Roche ended the Tour of Switzerland 19th overall, four minutes and 36 seconds behind winner Frank Schleck (Saxo Bank) while Martin had a superb win in the Dublin round of the Halfords Tour Series on a Temple Bar/Dame Street circuit.
