Sports Digest

A round-up of other sports news in brief

Vonn defies shin injury to win the downhill gold

WINTER OLYMPICS: American Lindsey Vonn defied a painful shin injury to win the women’s downhill yesterday and briefly help lift the gloom shrouding the Vancouver Winter Olympics. Vonn, who could not ski for a week because of an injury that threatened her participation in the race, won the women’s blue-riband event on a picture-perfect winter’s day in the Canadian mountains.

The 25-year-old hurtled down an icy Whistler mountain in one minute 44.19 seconds to win her first Olympic gold medal, collapsing into the snow after she crossed the finish line.

Her American team-mate Julia Mancuso won silver, 0.56 seconds behind Vonn, while Austria’s Elisabeth Goergl won the bronze medal.

Germany’s Maria Riesch, Vonn’s best friend and main rival, finished well out of the medals.

Vonn’s victory in one of the most dangerous and glamorous events of the Olympics provided a rare feelgood story to a Games blighted by tragedy and bad weather.

Setanta Cup may go knock-out

SOCCER: The flagging Setanta Sports Cup is set to become a straight knock-out competition in a proposed general revamp next year, writes Paul Buttner.

After a break of almost four months, the 2009/10 competition restarts on Friday week when St Patrick’s Athletic host Linfield in Group Three. At its relaunch in Belfast yesterday, both Irish Football Association president Raymond Kennedy and Milo Corcoran, chairman of the Setanta Sports Cup committee, agreed a change is needed to reinvigorate the cross-border trophy.

“We might have to tweak it a little bit, change the format and move on,” said Kennedy. “I can take you back to the days of the Blaxnit Cup. That was a two-legs, knock-out competition and there was a lot of interest in that.”

Corcoran confirmed they are also looking for a new title sponsor of the competition next year, though Setanta Sports would continue to cover it as part of its current four-year deal.

Binocular out  of Cheltenham

RACING: Binocular has been ruled out of this year’s Champion Hurdle at the Cheltenham Festival with a muscle problem, trainer Nicky Henderson said yesterday.

“We’ve taken a lot of advice this week, short of consulting a psychiatrist, and it appears he has a muscular problem behind,” Henderson said. The six-year-old, favourite to win last year but finished third, was 6 to 1 to win the opening-day highlight on March 16th.

Rite Of Passage eases to victory

RACING: Rite Of Passage took his unbeaten record over jumps to two with a facile success in the Book Your Festival Tickets Hurdle at Punchestown yesterday.

Stepped up to two and a half miles following his win at Leopardstown last month, the Dermot Weld-trained six-year-old was never out of first gear to dispose of the opposition.

Amateur rider Robbie McNamara had the 2 to 7 shot handily-placed in second as Hilgib set the pace before taking the lead before the final flight. Healy’s Bar did his best to mount a challenge but he was never a serious danger and the one-length deficit flattered him.

Rite Of Passage remains Victor Chandler’s unchanged 7 to 2 favourite for the Neptune Investment Management Novices’ Hurdle at the Cheltenham Festival. William Hill go the same price (from 4-1).

Johnson to play at Adare Manor

GOLF: DUSTIN JOHNSON, who is the fastest rising player in the official world rankings, having moved from 54th at the start of the year to a current position of 25th on the back of his successful defence of the ATT Pebble Beach Pro-Am last Sunday, is the latest player to confirm his participation for the JP McManus Pro-Am at Adare Manor resort on July 5th-6th.

The 25-year-old American currently tops the FedEx Cup points standings on the US Tour – having followed up his third place finish in the Los Angeles Open with a win in the Pebble Beach Pro-Am, his third career win as a professional – and lies second on the US Ryder Cup team qualifying table.

Johnson, who turned professional after assisting the United States to victory in the Walker Cup at Royal Co Down in 2007, joins European number one Lee Westwood, Pádraig Harrington, Rory McIlroy, Jim Furyk, Ian Poulter, Paul Casey and Robert Allenby in the event.