Sports digest

Today's other stories in brief

Giggs wins sports personality award

SPORTS AWARD:Ryan Giggs was last night named BBC sports personality of the year for 2009 after beating the favourite, Formula One champion Jenson Button, to the award.

The 36-year-old Manchester United winger is the most decorated player in English football history and in May won a record 11th Premier League winners’ medal.

Button, 29, like Lewis Hamilton a year ago, may have won the world drivers’ championship but had to settle for second place on the rostrum behind Giggs.

Jessica Ennis, the 23-year-old from Sheffield who won gold in the heptathlon at the World Athletics championships in the summer, finished third.

England’s Ashes heroes were named team of the year for beating Australia and golfer Severiano Ballesteros was given a lifetime achievement award.

Schumacher 'set to return'

MOTOR SPORT:Michael Schumacher, who will be 41 next month, is close to signing a deal with Mercedes to come out of retirement and compete in Formula One next year, Germany's Bild newspaper has reported.

Mercedes have signed Germany’s Nico Rosberg for 2010 but have yet to name his teammate. Bild said a deal with the seven-time world champion could be announced as soon as next week, without citing any sources.

Track riders have good results

CYCLING:Ireland's track riders are due to head home after some good results in the third round of the track World Cup, which ran until Saturday in Cali, Columbia, writes Shane Stokes. Among the solid performances was seventh by David O'Loughlin in the points race, Matt Brammeier's second in a heat and eighth in the final of the scratch race, plus sixth place by O'Loughlin, Brammeier, Marcus Christie and Martyn Irvine in the team pursuit.

The trio of Joanne Hickey, Sinead Jennings and Heather Wilson were eighth in the women’s equivalent.

Ireland’s track riders are refocusing their programme for the 2012 Olympics after the UCI and the IOC removed some key events last week. They will continue to work hard towards next March’s World Championships in Copenhagen.

O'Donovan proves best

ROWING: Mark O'Donovan of Cork Institute of Technology was the standout name at the first national trial of the season at Newry, writes Liam Gorman.

The 21-year-old from Skibbereen was the fastest lightweight in yesterday’s time trial, covering the flat-calm course more quickly than Beijing Olympians Richard Coakley and Cathal Moynihan.

Seán Jacob was the fastest man home in a worryingly small heavyweight field. While Seán Casey, who has been training in Australia, remains part of the programme, only five heavyweight men competed yesterday.

The senior women’s ranks are even thinner, with no senior woman involved yesterday.

Two under-23 athletes – Lisa Dilleen of Tribesmen and Claire Lambe of UCD – won in the open and lightweight categories.

The best juniors were Shane O’Driscoll of Skibbereen and Portora’s Holly Nixon.

Nocher has to settle for ninth in 200m final

SWIMMING: Melanie Nocher, the only Irish competitor to make an individual final the European Short Course (25 metre) Championships in Istanbul this week, finished ninth in yesterday's 200 metres backstroke decider in Turkey, writes John Kenny.

The 21-year-old, who competed at the Olympic Games in Beijing, will, however, be disappointed in her swim, posting a time of two minutes 6.07 seconds.

That was just over half a second outside her Irish record which she set when finishing fifth in the final in Croatia last year.

Her time was four seconds slower than Alexianne Castel of France, who took the gold medal, with silver going to Jenny Mensing of Germany and Pernille Larsen of Denmark taking bronze.

The men’s 50 metre freestyle relay squad broke the Irish senior record as they posted a time of 1:30.26.