Briefs

A round-up of today's other stories in brief

McIlroy parts company with his first corporate sponsor

GOLF:World number one golfer Rory McIlroy’s deal with his first corporate sponsor has ended ahead of confirmation of a new deal that will make him the new face of sportswear giant Nike.

US PGA champion McIlroy is poised to rubber-stamp a 10-year deal with US company Nike worth as much as €191 million, according to media reports.

Nike is set to supply the 23-year-old Northern Irishman’s clubs and have its name or logo on his clothing in an exclusive deal.

The Dubai-based hotel company Jumeirah Group said on Tuesday that its five-year sponsorship with 2011 US Open champion McIlroy had ended.

“Jumeirah became my first corporate sponsor when I turned professional back in 2007 and I would like to thank everyone at the company for their support in helping me become the player I am today,” McIlroy said in a news release.

The player said in November he did not think that ditching the Titleist clubs that have taken him to the top of the sport would affect his game. Nike is hoping a partnership with McIlroy will help it to move on after it dropped disgraced cyclist Lance Armstrong last year over his doping scandal.

Cool Federer has not warmed up for Australian Open

TENNIS:A disappointing end to 2012 left Roger Federer’s critics writing his tennis obituary, but the Swiss is confident he can win more Grand Slam titles after arriving in Melbourne refreshed following an extended break.

Federer, who is looking to add to his record 17 majors, skipped his traditional warm-up events in the Middle East and has not played a competitive tournament since losing a pulsating final to Novak Djokovic at the ATP Tour Finals in November.

After playing only a couple of exhibition matches, Federer arrived in Melbourne aiming to become the first man since Andre Agassi in 1995 to win the Australian Open having not played a warm-up tournament.

“Longevity . . . is what I am striving for this year in 2013 to hopefully keep on playing for many years,” he said.

Humer gets coaching role in Limerick

SWIMMING:New Zealander Lars Humer has been appointed as head coach of the High Performance Centre at the University of Limerick.

Humer will take up his new position next Monday.

Humer competed as a swimmer in his native land before turning to coaching and has been a high performance coach with British Swimming for the past 13 years. In that position he has coached both Paralympic and Olympic swimmers at various centres in the UK.

Swim Ireland’s national performance director Peter Banks welcomed the appointment saying: “We are delighted to have Lars on board, he has huge experience and a proven track record in coaching performance swimmers. I know he will do a great job in Limerick.”