A roundup of today's other sports news in brief
Cole best of Irish at Europeans
CYCLING:Jonathan Cole was best of the two Irish competitors in yesterday's opening event at the European road race championships, placing 58th in the 28-kilometre junior time trial, reports Shane Stokes. British rider Joseph Perrett was quickest over the distance, averaging just over 48 kilometres per hour to set a time of 34 minutes 58 seconds and secure gold. This was almost 20 seconds better than the two other medallists, Bob Jungels (Luxembourg) and Kevin Labeque (France). Both Cole and his Ireland team-mate Marcus Christie were over four minutes back, the latter placing 59th.
Today Mary Costello will be in the 12km junior women’s race against the clock, while Seán Downey will ride the 37 kilometre under-23 time trial. Saturday and Sunday will see these time trial competitors and a number of other Irish riders take part in the road races.
Arguello found dead in Managua
BOXING:Alexis Arguello, the three-times world boxing champion who was elected mayor of Nicaragua's capital last year, was found dead yesterday in an apparent suicide, local media reported. Police in Managua were investigating Arguello's death from a gunshot wound.
Arguello (57) had battled drug and alcohol problems and admitted to having contemplated suicide in the past. He retired from the ring in 1995 with a record of 82 wins and eight defeats with 65 knockouts. Known as The Explosive Thin Man, Arguello was the sixth man to win world titles in three different weight divisions and was inducted into the Boxing Hall of Fame in 1992.
Arguello began his professional boxing career in 1968 and held the World Boxing Association featherweight, the World Boxing Council super featherweight and WBC lightweight titles. He lost a boxing fortune when the leftist Sandinista government seized his assets after taking power in 1979 and he briefly trained with the US-backed Contra rebels who fought to overthrow the Soviet-backed regime in the 1980s. But he later joined the Sandinista party and became deputy mayor of Managua, his home town, in 2004. He was elected mayor last November.
Arguello’s foray into politics was marred by controversy after opponents of President Daniel Ortega’s Sandinista government denounced last year’s municipal elections as fraudulent.
Concerns over London Games
OLYMPICS:The showpiece stadium for London's 2012 Olympics risks becoming a "white elephant" if no tenant can be found for it after the Games. The promise of a legacy was a significant factor in London winning the bid to host the 2012 Games, the London Assembly's Economic Development, Culture, Sport and Tourism Committee noted in a report yesterday.
Concerns included the failure to deliver employment targets, tourism strategy and sports participation, and to attract an anchor tenant for the main stadium. Rugby and soccer clubs have expressed interest, but have been put off by the organisers’ commitment to retain an athletics track around the pitch.
- SWIMMING:Spains Aschwin Wildeboer Faber broke the 100 metres backstroke world record during the 4x100 medley relay final at the Mediterranean Games in Pescara yesterday. He swam the first leg in 52.38 seconds, beating American Aaron Peirsols previous record of 52.54 in winning gold at the Beijing Olympics last year.
Worcester meet abandoned
RACING:Racing at Worcester was abandoned yesterday in the interests of "equine welfare", according to track officials.
A shortage of on-course water for the horses was attributed to the fixture having been called off after just one race. The track ran out of water for the horses after the opening Winterfold House Conditional Jockeys’ Novices’ Handicap Hurdle.
One of the runners, Highland Laddie, collapsed with heat exhaustion. The meeting was put on hold while the track refilled its water holders. But, following a meeting between the stewards and veterinary officials, the fixture had to be abandoned.
Stipendiary steward Richard Westropp said: “Due to the excessive heat, and the fact it was 85 degrees inside the racecourse stables, the horses were arriving on the track already dehydrated before they had run a race.”
McComb in bantamweight action
BOXING:Seán McComb, of the Holy Trinity club in Belfast, will meet Haroon Khan, brother of 2004 Olympic silver medallist Amir, when Ireland take on England at the National Stadium in Dublin tomorrow night.
They will go head to head at bantamweight in one of 11 bouts in a round robin tournament also featuring Germany and Italy.
The IABA have named a 12-strong squad for this weekend’s series of internationals. Germany and Italy get proceedings under way at 3pm tomorrow, while Ireland meet England at 7pm that evening. Ireland take on Germany on Saturday evening (7pm) and face Italy on Sunday morning (10am).
IRISH SQUAD:48Kg: Ryan Burnett (Holy Family) 48Kg: Chris Phelan (Ryston) 51Kg: Gary Molloy (Moate) 54Kg: Sean McComb (Holy Trinity) 57Kg: James Fryers (Clones) 60Kg: Mark O'Hara (Holy Trinity) 64Kg: Jamie Kennedy (Toome) 69Kg:Jason Quigley (Finn Valley) 75Kg: Conrad Cummins (Clonoe) 81Kg: Patrick Ward (St Anthony's) 91Kg: Ciarán O'Griofa (Conamara) 91+Kg: Sean Turner (Drimnagh).
Australian union give no reason for sacking Tuqiri
RUGBY: Australia have sacked veteran winger Lote Tuqiri, one of the country’s highest-paid players. The Australian Rugby Union (ARU) gave no reason for the abrupt termination, but said in a terse statement released yesterday it was effective immediately.
The ARU said earlier this week it was investigating possible player misconduct after disciplining three Wallabies squad members, James O’Connor, Quade Cooper and Josh Valentine, for a food-fight at a team hotel while on tour last month.
“The employment contract of Lote Tuqiri has been terminated effective today,” the ARU said. “ARU has treated this issue as a standard employment matter. The ARU will not make any further comment on the matter as it may be the subject of legal proceedings,” it added.
Tuqiri, who was contracted until 2011, was named in a 29-man squad in May, but was overlooked for the matches against the Barbarians, Italy and France last month. His agent said he would launch immediate action against the ARU.
