Irish riders well in touch

Equestrian Sport: Ireland's three-day event ponies are Stromsholm, Sweden going into today's tough cross-country, writes Grania Willis.

The quartet of Dessie Kilkenny, J P Magnier, Pierce Power and his cousin Elizabeth Power have an overall score of 175.4 penalties. They are still well in touch of the leading German squad on 152.8, which is headed by the Irish-bred Dalcassian, previously ridden by Steven Walsh before being exported to Germany. The competitions at Stromsholm also include the specialist show-jumping and dressage championships, with three of Ireland's show jumpers - sisters Nathalie and Sarah Kate Quinlivan and Andrew Bourns - qualified for today's individual final. The team championships take place tomorrow.

Swimming: There would have been no justice if visiting German Jens Thiele of Hamburg had not taken at least one title in the National Championships in Belfast. He won the 100m backstroke yesterday in 56.86 seconds, ahead of Donal O'Neill of Phoenix (57.38). Thiele was just behind William Carey of Limerick who won the 50m freestyle in 23.77.

Fifteen-year-old Siobhan McNally of Longford provided the shock of the day when she clocked 1 minute 05.04 seconds for the women's 100m backstroke, beating Lee Kelleher of Sunday's Well into second place (1:05.80). Julie Douglas (Alliance Belfast) won the 50m freestyle in 26.35, with Catriona Kelly of Galway second, but Kelleher made a point of holding onto her 200m butterfly crown in 2:18.49, comfortably ahead of Nicola Pepper of Cormorants. Cormorants' Graham Beegan romped home to take the men's 200m butterfly honours. In the 100m breaststroke Louise Robinson defended her title in 1:11.06 while Michel Williamson (Lisburn) won an all-Ulster tussle in the men's race (1:04.89).