Sports Digest

A roundup of today's other sports news in brief

Winds hamper Fastnet going

SAILING: Light headwinds continued to hamper progress in the 608-mile Fastnet Race yesterday as the 300-strong fleet laboured towards the famous rock off West Cork, writes David Branigan.

Mike Slade’s ICAP Leopard continued its on-the-water lead, though, without threatening its 2007 course record.

The 100-foot super-maxi enjoyed a comfortable 20-mile lead from the pack of Open 60-footers and similar sized hunters, but the front of the main fleet was 100 miles farther back along the course.

The first night at sea witnessed many swept back along the English Channel in near calm conditions and a flood tide, though the bigger boats managed to escape the worst effects of this combination.

Leopard was last night predicted to round the Fastnet early this morning, though the main fleet could take until this evening and into tomorrow to reach the Irish coast, before turning for a spinnaker run to the finishing-line at Plymouth.

O’Dwyer earns manager gong

GAA: Wicklow football manager Mick O’Dwyer was yesterday named Philips Sports Manager of the Month for July.

Wicklow began last month with a three-point victory over Fermanagh in the first round of the All-Ireland qualifiers. They then defeated Cavan by seven points and Down by a single point, before falling to Kildare by four points in the fourth round.

O’Dwyer won the Philips Sports Manager of the Year award back in 1984.

‘Fatigued’ Stoner to take a break  

MOTOR SPORT: Casey Stoner has confirmed he will miss the next three rounds of the MotoGP World Championship in a bid to cure the mystery illness which has hindered his season.

Stoner has been suffering from severe fatigue since the Grand Prix of Catalunya in June.

Doctors have advised the 23-year-old Australian to sit out the next three rounds, beginning in Brno this Sunday.

Stoner said: “After five extremely difficult races due to my health, I returned to Australia to visit the sports doctors who have looked after me for many years.

“The doctors believe that during the Barcelona race I was suffering from a virus, and that I subsequently pushed my body too hard.”

English team leave India over security

BADMINTON: England’s top official has denied that pulling the team out of the world championships in India had been an overreaction, saying he had not been impressed by security levels.

The team flew back to England on Sunday because of what Badminton England said was a “specific terrorist threat” in the southern city of Hyderabad.

An Indian badminton federation official blamed the media for causing panic, while chief executive of Badminton Scotland Anne Smillie told local media England had “perhaps overreacted” and her team were confident security was at its best.

“I don’t think we have overreacted. We were very clear with our expectations of security before the championships,” Badminton England chief executive Adrian Christy said.

“We were not particularly impressed with the level of security we were faced with – both on our arrival and subsequent days as we began our preparation through practice in the arena.”

Selfridge, McGee progress in Boys British Open

GOLF: Irish junior international Chris Selfridge romped into the second round of the Boys British Amateur Championship at Royal St Georges, Sandwich, yesterday with an out-in-the-country victory over England’s Nathan Bateman.

The 17-year-old from Moyola Park did not lose a hole in demolishing Bateman from Weston-Super-Mare by 6 and 4. But he now faces a real examination against Stanislas Gautier of France, winner of the 2008 European Young Masters.

Selfridge, who played for Ireland in both the European Team championships in Holland and the Home Internationals at Hankley Common, made the ideal start by winning the first two holes and was three up at the turn.

Malone’s Garth McGee moved into round two without striking a ball in anger. He was given a walk-over after Yorkshire’s Lewis Cooper was disqualified on the first tee for using a distance measuring device.

Ballymena’s Dermot McElroy was eliminated by Dane Thomas Suneson despite playing solid golf. He lost three of the first four holes.

Dubliner Jeff Hopkins, now a student at Colchester Golf Academy had a real battle with England international James Webber before going down 2 and 1.

Meanwhile, in the Girls British Open Championship at West Lancashire, Irish title-holder Emma O’Driscoll from Ballybunnion kept herself in with a chance of qualifying for the knock-out stages with a six-over 78.