Near misses for Delaney, Smyth

It turned out to be a barren day for the Irish in the Sydney Paralympics, yet it very nearly bore fruit with two near misses in the men's field events, both coming from unexpected sources.

At one stage it appeared we actually had a silver in the bag when Micheal Delaney was declared a medal winner in the visually impaired high jump. With Delaney lying second, and the Australian Anthony Biddle occupying third spot, the tannoy proclaimed that both had won medals, sending a ripple of delight around the Irish contingent in the crowd.

Unfortunately, in his excitement at the prospect of both an Irish and Australian podium finish, the stadium announcer had overlooked the fact that some athletes still had jumps remaining.

Delaney's rivals went on to jump higher, Ruslan Sivitski clearing 2.02 metres for a new world record, relegating the Dubliner back into fourth.

Delaney himself missed the commotion. "I didn't hear it, and am glad I didn't because it might have affected my performance," he said.

Delaney's fourth place was matched in Stadium Australia by discus thrower Michael Smith. The Belfast man hurled a season's best 16.74 metres and was rightly pleased with the result.

As was Derek Malone when he qualified comfortably for the 800 metres final: "There was a little bit of bumping on the second lap and it was warm out there, but it was all right, I felt good."

Not so pleased was Patrice Dockery, who was beaten into fifth place in the 100 metres wheelchair final. Her time of 16.67 seconds was 0.10 slower than that recorded in the semi-final and some way off her personal best. She must now concentrate on the 800 and 1500m. David Malone failed to come through the 200 metres individual medley heats in the pool. In truth the 22-year-old will not be upset as his strength lies in the backstroke, where he holds the 100 and 200 metres world records.

Michael Doyle battled bravely in the lightweight judo, beating the current European champion before being thwarted by Gerald Rollo of France.

Also out are the table-tennis team of Ronan Rooney and Robert Kenny. Seeded last of the nine teams in their group, the pair played to form, winning just one set on their way to an early exit.

Today's medal prospects took a turn for the worse when, in a cruel twist of fate, world number one Bridie Lynch was forced to withdraw from the pentathlon. In perhaps the best form of her career, Lynch succumbed to a niggling hamstring problem.