SPORTS DIGEST:MOTOR SPORT: Injured Formula One driver Felipe Massa is up and about and expected to make a full recovery from Saturday's accident but will remain in a Budapest hospital for now, his personal physician said.
“He looks like a boxer but he’s eating well, walking about, taking showers,” Dino Altmann said yesterday.
Massa (28) fractured his skull in an accident during qualifying for the Hungarian Grand Prix when he was hit just above his left eye by a bouncing spring, weighing almost a kilo, that broke free from fellow Brazilian Rubens Barrichello’s Brawn car. Altmann added that Massa has even been able to joke around and when he heard that seven-time world champion Michael Schumacher would come out of retirement to take his spot at Ferrari, he said: “Let’s see if I let him.” Altmann said that Massa would stay in the Hungarian hospital for now but would eventually be flown home.
Loeb gets off to a flyer in Finland
MOTOR SPORT: World champion Sebastien Loeb posted the fastest time in yesterday's opening stage at the Finnish Rally.
The French Citroen driver, bidding for his sixth consecutive world championship title, raced through the 2.06-kilometres Killeri Super Special stage in one minute and 20.3 seconds, just 0.1 ahead of his Spanish team-mate Dani Sordo in second place.
“It’s good, but the rally is not finished yet,” said Loeb, who won here last year. “This is only a stage for fun – the real game will start tomorrow..”
Finland’s Ford driver Mikko Hirvonen, who leads the overall world championship standings by one point ahead of Loeb, posted the third best time, 0.9 behind the Frenchman.
The Finnish Rally resumes today with eight high-speed stages in the countryside east of Jyvaskyla.
Expectations high for juniors in France
ROWING: Ireland's top juniors are in action in France in the next eight days, writes Liam Gorman. A big team will take part in the Coupe de la Jeunesse, which begins today in Vichy, while the elite crew of Lisa Dilleen and Laura D'Urso competes in the double scull at the World Junior Championships which begin on Wednesday in Brive-la-Gaillarde.
The Coupe is a European Junior Championships, which does not include Germany and some of the Eastern European powers. It has traditionally been a favoured event for Ireland (we staged it in Cork last year).
Of the 12 countries involved this season, Ireland joins Britain and France as the only federations which have entered all 13 events.
Paul O’Donovan of Skibbereen, who achieved the extraordinary feat of winning three titles at the National Championships while still only 15, is notable among the 26-strong Ireland team.
Last year Dilleen and D’Urso were the stand-out crew at the Coupe, and they move up a level to the massive World Junior Championships, which begin on Wednesday.
This is where Germany comes into play in a big way, but this is one of the widest-ranging and most competitive of rowing events each season – 66 countries have entered 783 athletes this year, a record.
D’Urso, who is from Donegal, and Dilleen, from Galway, are part of 20 crews entered in the double scull.
The Carrick-on-Shannon Sprint regatta on Sunday gives rowers a chance to compete and socialise in what is traditionally the off-season for domestic competition. This year the event will again incorporate the finals of the Row-for-It Leagues, for younger athletes.
World Junior Championships: Brive-la-Gaillarde (Wednesday to Saturday), Ireland team — Junior Women's Double Scull: L D'Urso, L Dilleen. Coupe de la Jeunesse, Vichy, France (today to Sunday), Ireland team: Junior Men: P Grogan, S O'Driscoll, P O'Donovan, J Mitchell, T Deere, N Murphy, J Kearney, S Ryan, M Humphreys, S Prentice, P-J Stynes, A Kemple, E Smith, R Bennett, C Egan. Junior Women: M Dineen, D Walsh, H Nixon, O McEvoy, C Fitzgerald, K Craig, S Egan, R Egan, A Keogh, Z Mannion, C St Ledger.
Ireland start Euro Nations' Trophy as clear favourites
HOCKEY: Paul Revington will be forced to live with high expectations as his Ireland team deal with the tag of clear favourites at this week's EuroHockey Nation's Trophy in Wrexham. Ireland will be aiming to return to top-tier European hockey after a two-year hiatus following relegation in Manchester.
A top-five position assures a place in the World Cup qualifiers while a top-two finish must be a minimum target due to the promotion to A division status that comes with it.
Revington has called up 28-year-old Alan Giles to make his ranking-tournament debut. The coach’s other change, though, is more significant as Peter Caruth comes in for the free-scoring Mikey Watt, who is injured.
MEN'S EUROHOCKEY NATION'S TROPHY: Match Schedule: Saturday, August 1st (10am): Ireland v Belarus. Sunday, August 2nd (3.30pm): Ireland v Italy. Tuesday, August 4th (1.30pm): Ireland v Russia. Thursday, August 6th./Saturday, August 8th: Classification/Finals Day.
Elsewhere, Irish women’s coach Gene Muller has announced his squad August’s EuroHockey Nation’s Championships in Amsterdam.
IRELAND WOMEN'S SQUAD(club/caps): Lauren Barr (Ballymoney/13), Emma Clarke (Ulster Elks/76), Bridget Cleland (Ballymoney/132), Lizzie Colvin (Loreto/17), Eimear Cregan (Cork Harlequins/154), Roisin Flinn (UCD/59), Megan Frazer (Ballymoney/16), Mary Goode (Bray/57), Emma Gray (Hermes/11), Michelle Harvey (Pegasus/18), Lisa Jacob (UCD/54), Shirley McCay (Ulster Elks/71), Cathy McKean (Loreto/125), Cliodhna Sargent (Cork Harlequins/46), Alex Speers (Pegasus/60), Emma Smyth (Railway Union/12), Emma Stewart (Armagh/77), Nikki Symmons (Loreto/122).
Muralitharan to retire next year
CRICKET: Sri Lanka's world record holder spinner Muttiah Muralitharan announced yesterday he was planning to retire from Test cricket in 2010.
“We don’t have many Test matches next year but I am thinking that next year’s Test series against West Indies (in September) will be my last two Test matches,” Muralitharan, the world’s highest wicket-taker in Tests and one dayers, said. The 37-year-old has struggled with a knee injury in recent years and the problem forced him to miss the Pakistan series.
With surgeons warning him that he faces long-term pain in his knee, the off spinner said his body could not cope with five-day matches for much longer.“The doctors told me I have to go through (the pain) and train harder because an operation will mean me being out for six to seven months,” he said. “They told me to have the operation when I finish playing.”
However, the spinner plans to carry on in the shorter forms of the sport.
Olympic role for Sacchi
OLYMPIC GAMES: Former Italy and AC Milan coach Arrigo Sacchi has been given the job of improving the performance of Italy's Olympic team before the 2012 London Games.
Sacchi (63) will be part of a team of “Olympic preparation” consultants, the Italian Olympic Committee (Coni) said.
Coni wants Sacchi to find ways in boosting Italy’s results in underperforming team sports such as the basketball and water polo.
