Macken sacked as Irish trainer

A round-up of the day's other sports stories in the Sports Digest.

EQUESTRIAN: Eddie Macken, who was appointed as Olympic trainer for the show jumpers in February, has been sacked by the international selectors following a run of disappointing performances on the Nations Cup circuit that has left the Irish team trailing in last in the Super League table, reports Grania Willis.

Macken offered his services as team trainer at the beginning of the year but, in a controversial move, the selectors appointed Lt-Col Gerry Mullins, then in charge of the Army Equitation School. Representations from several of the senior international riders resulted in the decision being reversed and, after Mullins had stepped aside, Macken was appointed.

Despite the apparent about turn, Macken was given virtually no powers, but his dramatic removal from the role came as a total surprise to him when he was informed last night of the unanimous decision by the international selectors.

The selectors have agreed to revert to the previous management structure with Tommy Wade acting as chef d'equipe and team trainer.

ROWING: The World Cup regatta in Lucerne, which begins tomorrow week, will be the only competitive event for Ireland's two Olympic crews before the Athens Games, reports Liam Gorman.

Plans for the lightweight four and the lightweight double to compete at Henley Royal Regatta the week after Lucerne have been abandoned. "Right now it's about getting the training right so that they can have their peak performance at the Olympics," explained Ireland's high performance director Richard Parr yesterday. Ireland's lightweight women's double and heavyweight pair and single get their chance to go to Athens at the Olympic Qualifier in Lucerne, which begins on Sunday.

ATHLETICS: Just two of the 12 athletes so far qualified for the Athens Olympics will be competing for Ireland in the European Cup in Reykjavik, Iceland, on the weekend after next, June 19th-20th, reports Ian O'Riordan. Cathal Lombard is selected to run the 5,000 metres and Derval O'Rourke will compete in 100 metre hurdles.

Lombard has qualified to run both the 5,000 and 10,000 metres in Athens, but is targeting the longer distance at the Olympics.

Alistair Cragg will tomorrow have his final race for the University of Arkansas when he competes in the 10,000 metres at the NCAA Championships in Austin, Texas.

CAMOGIE: Tipperary won their 16th Munster senior championship title beating Cork 2-7 to 2-6 last night in Semple Stadium.

TIPPERARY: J Nolan; S Kelly, Ú O'Dwyer, S Howard; S Nealon, C Gaynor, T Brophy; A Mc Dermott, T O'Halloran; N Kennedy (0-2), E Hayden, J Ryan; E Mc Donnell (0-2), D Hughes (1-1), J Horan (0-1). Subs: P Bulfin for T O'Halloran, C Grogan (0-1) for A Mc Dermott, L Young (1-0) for N Kennedy.

CORK: A Murray; J O'Callaghan, R Holland, C Foley; R Buckley, M O'Connor, E Dillon; V Harris, G O'Connor (0-1); B Corkery (0-1), R Moloney (0-1), E Burke (0-1); C Desmond (1-1), E Watson, J O'Leary (1-0). Subs: Ú O'Donoghue for E Burke, S Dunlea for C Foley.