Rowing: With the last big domestic regatta before the National Championships at Athlone tomorrow, and a strong Irish entry at the Women's Henley, it will be another busy weekend for local rowers, writes Liam Gorman.
The unfortunate illness of the two key Commercial scullers, Maedhbh Terry and Vanessa Lawrenson, limited the club's options in choosing a quadruple for Women's Henley, but there is still a real prospect of a good showing.
It will certainly be interesting to see how single sculler Fiola Foley of Killorglin performs, while Ailis Holohan (Commercial) and Hazel Craigie (Neptune) would also be contenders in this discipline.
The women's entry at novice level in Athlone is also exceptional, but it will be to a very strong men's eight event that the thoughts of many will turn. Garda have been the dominant force in recent regattas, but thanks to a completely open draw, their heat at 10.24 a.m. pits them against Neptune, Trinity and St Michael's, with only two crews moving to the final at 3.36. The other heat features NUIG, Tribesmen and Castleconnell.
Some of the crews will roll on to Galway on Sunday.
Garda have their sights set on the Thames Cup at Henley in two weeks' time, and they are only a part of a big Irish entry. The Irish lightweight four now look set to face two of the strongest fours in the world in the Stewards - not only Steven Redgrave's Leander crew but the Australian Oarsome Foursome as well!
The Irish are also sending a Tara eight to the Ladies Plate and a lightweight quad.
Surfing: Ireland is set to host the World Surfing Games in 2004 after beating off bids from Tahiti and Chile at the a.g.m. of the International Surfing Association (ISA) held in Porta de Galinhas, Brazil. The meeting was held in conjunction with the 15th World Surfing Games.
Strict ISA criteria will have to be met by Ireland in the next 12 months including the obtaining of tangible financial commitments. The proposed location is Bundoran in Donegal.
In the surf the Irish team had a disastrous day. All four open surfers were knocked out, although team captain Colin O'Hare was leading his secondround heat comfortably when he tore his shoulder ligaments. Junior surfer Brendan Gannon made his exit in the third round while there were second-round exits for both women surfers and bodyboarder Aine O'Doherty.
Cricket: Former South Africa captain Hansie Cronje confessed yesterday to approaching two team mates about fixing a one-day match against India this year and admitted accepting nearly $100,000 from bookmakers.
In testimony to a government inquiry, Cronje accused former Indian captain Mohammad Azharuddin of introducing him to a bookmaker who led him astray, a charge Azharuddin denies. Cronje also said Pakistan's Salim Malik had appeared to know about a secret bribe offer and had asked him about it on the field during a match in 1995.
Cronje, who apologised to the players and said he would never play representative cricket again, confirmed many of the allegations made against him but insisted he had never thrown a match or manipulated a result.
Equestrian Sport: Jane O'Flynn has been forced to postpone her Olympic debut until Athens in 2004 following the news that Kilnadeema Star, the horse she was aiming for the Sydney three-day event team, has been sidelined by injury and will miss the rest of the season.
Open Day: The Hercules Health and Physical Club at Lurgan Street, off North King Street in Dublin, invite the local community to an Open Day tomorrow from 12 noon to 4 p.m. Visitors can view Olympic wrestling, body building and powerlifting. Children must be accompanied by an adult.
