GOOD DRAW FOR BYRNE

IRISH ANGLE :IRELAND'S sole Olympic fencer, Siobhán Byrne, has been ranked 35th ahead of her competition, which gets under way tomorrow. Last night, she was drawn against Irena Wieckowska of Poland, ranked 30th, ahead of the first round of the sabre competition, scheduled for 10am tomorrow, local time.

Nuala McGarrity, the Irish fencing team manager, said the draw "was a good one from the Irish viewpoint".

Also in action early tomorrow will be Letterkenny's Philip Deignan, who competes in the men's cycling road race with team-mate Nicolas Roche.

They have an arduous 245.4km journey ahead of them, although the weather forecast indicates thundery showers and temperatures in the high 70s rather than the 90s the duo have faced during their long practice sessions over the last two weeks.

"To be honest the heat doesn't bother me as much as it does some of the riders, it's something you get used to, although it would be nice if it was a little cooler but I wouldn't like it to rain because that would make stretches of the course more dangerous," said Deignan.