A round-up of today's other stories in brief
Crash hampers Bennett in Worlds
CYCLING: A crash in the finale of yesterday's under-23 World Road Race Championship delayed Ireland's Sam Bennett at a crucial time, with the Irish rider being forced to come to a complete stop and losing out on his chance of grabbing a medal in the 168 km race, writes Shane Stokes.
Bennett, a known fast finisher, was well positioned heading towards a big bunch sprint, but had to clip out of the pedal to avoid falling when riders ahead of him came a cropper. He finished 37 seconds back in 95th while Philip Lavery, who was at one point clear in a break, was 53rd.
Frenchmen Arnaud Demare and Adrien Petit pulled off a rare one-two in the event, outsprinting the rest of the field on the uphill drag to the line in Copenhagen.
Junior duo Jack Wilson and Ryan Mullen compete in today’s junior road race, while Siobhán Dervan lines out in the Elite women’s event. Nicolas Roche, Dan Martin and Matt Brammeier go in tomorrow’s Elite road race.
Leyden hat-trick seals Connacht crown
RUGBY: A hat-trick of tries from Shane Leyden in the first half gave Connacht their first interprovincial Under-20 crown in 10 years and a 32-18 win over Munster in Dubarry Park.
After Munster had taken the lead through a JJ Hanrahan penalty, Leyden got his first try, and quickly followed up with another five minutes later.
After Munster scored through a Miah Cronin intercept, Leyden completed his hat-trick to hand Connacht a 21-13 lead at the break. Conor Finn sealed the title for Connacht just after the hour mark.
CONNACHT: S Leyden; C Finn, R Henshaw, T Leader, C Boland; J Carty, K Marmion; P Griffin, C O’Connell, J Dever; D Qualter, C Kindregan; A Conneely, W O’Brien, B Moylett. Replacements: E Tarmey for Kindregan, A Keating for Dever (both 55 mins) Scorers: S Leyden 3 tries; C Finn try; T Leader 2 pens, 3 cons.
MUNSTER: G O’Suilleabhain; S Glynn, R Scannell, JJ Hanrahan, S Horgan; E Mills, B Haugh; B Scott, J Rael, N Horan; S Buckley, J Donovan; M Cronin, C Gallagher, R Murphy. Replacements: T Ryan for O’Suilleabhain (31 mins). Scorers: M Cronin, K Slater try each; JJ Hanrahan 2 pens, con.
Leinster put four tries past Ulster
RUGBY:Leinster put four tries past Ulster to secure a 33-13 victory in the under-20 Interprovincial Championship match at Donnybrook, but it was all to no avail as Connacht sealed the title.
The home side slipped into an unassailable lead as number eight Jordan Coghlan and backs Michael Sherlock, Stephen Murphy and Foster Horan scored tries.
LEINSTER: M Sherlock; B Daly, S Murphy, F Horan, S Coghlan-Murray; C Marsh, L McGrath (capt); D Merrey, P Reilly, J Cawley, A O’Connor, T Beirne, J Conan, B du Toit, J Coghlan. Replacements: M Roche for Coghlan-Murray (48 mins) A Clarkin for Cawley, N McCarthy for du Toit (both 51 mins), M Oyunga for O’Connor (55 mins) T O’Reilly for Merrey, P Lydon for Marsh, R Holt for McGrath (all 75 mins). Scorers: J Coghlan, M Sherlock, S Murphy, F Horan try each; C Marsh 2 pens, 2 cons; P Lydon pen.
ULSTER: C Simpson; R Scholes, C Farrell, P Nelson, I Morrison; J Creighton, C Spence; R Harrison, D Kerr, K McCall, S O’Connell, J Donnan, J McMahon, M Shiels, C Joyce. Replacements: R McMaster for Creighton (38 mins), A Cairns for Spence, J Kirk for McMahon (both 46 mins), R Jablinski for Harrison, N Faloon for Donnan (both 49 mins), J Andrew for Kerr (60 min), A Andress for Morrison (71 mins). Scorers: R Scholes, J Andrew try each; P Nelson pen.
AIBA dismiss Azerbaijan gold medal allegations
BOXING: Amateur boxing's world governing body has dismissed as "preposterous and utterly untrue" allegations that Azerbaijan was promised two gold medals at next year's London Olympics in exchange for a loan of millions of dollars.
The International Amateur Boxing Association (AIBA), said in a statement they rejected the claims “in the strongest possible terms” but would set up an investigation committee.
The allegations, by an unnamed insider, were broadcast by the BBC on Newsnight on Thursday.
“Any suggestion the loan was made in return for promises of gold medals at the 2012 Olympics is preposterous and utterly untrue,” said the AIBA statement.
The BBC said it had uncovered evidence of “secret payments” of millions of dollars from a mystery source in Azerbaijan to World Series Boxing (WSB), a competition run under the auspices of AIBA.
AIBA’s communications director Sebastien Gillot said that the allegations aired on the BBC were “absolutely false and ridiculous”.
AIBA also said it was not aware of any credible evidence to suggest that the allegation that WSB’s Ivan Khodabakhsh promised two gold medals in return for cash was true.
There were fears at the last Games in Beijing the boxing competition was open to manipulation and AIBA have already announced that London 2012 will have a new electronic scoring system, making each ringside judge openly accountable for his actions.
Thorpe to return to pool next month
SWIMMING: Five-time Olympic gold medallist Ian Thorpe will return to international competition at the World Cup in Singapore in November, Swimming Australia have announced.
The 28-year-old has not raced in an international meeting since 2006, but has been included in a 26-strong squad for the three Asian legs of the World Cup in Singapore, Beijing and Tokyo.
Thorpe, who earlier this year revealed plans to come out of retirement, said: “I’m excited about being part of an Australian Swim Team again after all these years.
“The reality for me is I’m now at the next stage of my preparation and getting ready to race competitively, and I’m really looking forward to catching up with everyone in Singapore.”
Libby Trickett, a gold medallist at the last two Olympics, also returns after a two-year absence.
Federer out of Shanghai Masters
TENNIS: World number three Roger Federer has pulled out of next month's Shanghai Masters to rest and recover after a gruelling summer, the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) said yesterday.
“After consultation with my team, I’ve unfortunately decided to pull out of the Shanghai Masters in order to take some necessary time to rest and recuperate after a long summer,” said the Swiss maestro.
“I have some nagging injuries that I need to address and I look forward to returning to the ATP World Tour as soon as possible.”
The 16-time Grand Slam champion suffered a five-set loss to US Open champion Novak Djokovic in the semi-finals at Flushing Meadows before arriving in Australia to aid Switzerland’s return to the Davis Cup World Group.
“I have very fond memories of Shanghai so I will miss this amazing tournament and all my loyal Chinese fans, but I look forward to returning to China next fall,” he said.
