Bolt for London Grand Prix:ATHLETICS: Triple Olympic sprint champion and world record holder Usain Bolt will fine-tune his world championship preparations by running the 100 metres at the London Grand Prix in July, organisers said yesterday.
Bolt took gold in the 100m, 200m and 4x100m relay in Beijing last year, all in world record times, and the 22-year-old Jamaican has confirmed that he will go over the shorter distance at the two-day London Grand Prix at Crystal Palace on July 24th/25th, three weeks before the world championships in Berlin.
“London is a great meet and the fans there really get behind everyone,” Bolt said in a statement.
I normally base myself there during the summer so it is like a second home. As usual there will be strong competition but I guess that’s what Ill need ahead of the world championships.”
Bolt will also run in England on May 17th when he goes over 150 metres in a street race in Manchester.
Punchestown gets cup fever
PUNCHESTOWN racecourse have changed the start time on the final day of the festival on Saturday, May 2nd, to 1.10pm allowing race goers to watch live coverage of the Heineken Cup semi-final between Leinster and Munster.
The final day of the Irish National Hunt Festival features the €130,000 Grade One Ballymore Champion four-year-old Hurdle.
At the end of the eight race card, sports enthusiasts will be able to watch live coverage of the game at 5.30pm on five giant screens, 120 monitors and plasma screens with seating and access to bars and food outlets. General manager Dick O Sullivan said: “The final day of the festival is always a great celebration of sport, families and the local community. We will have a crowd of around 19,000 at Punchestown so the atmosphere is going to be electric!”
Safina gets number one spot
TENNIS:Dinara Safina became the new world number one yesterday. Safina took over from Serena Williams to become only the second Russian woman to top the rankings, following in the footsteps of Maria Sharapova.
And she and brother Marat – who topped the men’s rankings back in 2000 – became the first brother/sister duo to both reach the number one spot.
“It’s a great honour to reach the number-one ranking and it is a dream that every girl who has ever wanted to play professional tennis shares,” she said.
“It is even extra special for me since my brother Marat was able to reach the number-one ranking and I am happy to share this achievement with him.
In the past year Safina has won four WTA Tour singles titles.
Merga wins Boston marathon
ATHLETICS:Deriba Merga of Ethiopia won the men's Boston marathon today, pulling away in the final stages of the 113-year-old race, while Kenya's Salina Kosgei won the women's championship. Ryan Hall and Kara Goucher, trying to become the first American winners of the event in more than two decades, both finished third.
Merga covered the 26.2 miles from Hopkinton, Massachusetts, to Boston in two hours, eight minutes, 42 seconds, finishing 50 seconds ahead of Daniel Rono of Kenya. Hall, who pushed the men’s pace over the first half, faded down the stretch and finished at 2:09:40.
Kosgei took the women’s title in 2:32:16, one second ahead of defending champion Dire Tune of Ethiopia.
The winning time marked the slowest women’s race since 1980. Tune collapsed after crossing the line but recovered soon after.
Ecclestone remains confident
MOTOR SPORT: Formula One supremo Bernie Ecclestone is confident the Chinese Grand Prix will remain after 2010 but continued losses for the city of Shanghai make the future of the event less than certain.
Chinese media have estimated the anticipated losses over the seven years of the current contract, which runs out next year, at some €566 million.
Shanghai’s deputy sports minister said last year that a decision would be announced over the five-year renewal option before the end of 2009, and Chinese officials kept a discreet silence at the race over the weekend.
After a news conference involving those city officials at the Shanghai International Circuit was cancelled so that Ecclestone could meet with a vice-mayor, the Briton emerged in ebullient mood.
“I am sure it will be, he told reporters when asked whether the race would still be around in 2011.
Allen confident of upsetting O'Sullivan
SNOOKER:Northern Ireland's Mark Allen has warned Ronnie O'Sullivan "favourites don't always win" after setting up a second-round clash with the defending champion at the World Championships in Sheffield.
Antrim player Allen (23) reached the last 16 for the second time in his short career with a 10-6 victory over qualifier Martin Gould yesterday.
He will take on O’Sullivan on Thursday evening at 7pm.
Later in the day, Mark Selby brushed aside the challenge of Ricky Walden to reach the second round. Selby won 10-6 and made two century breaks, 127 in the first frame of the afternoon, 117 four frames later, and 101 to clinch his place in the last 16.
The all-Chinese match between Ding Junhui and Liang Wenbo was not living up to expectations. Ding established a 5-4 lead but was 4-1 in front at one stage.
The session took three hours and 35 minutes and they will resume tomorrow morning.
