ROWING: Garda got Ireland's campaign at Henley Royal Regatta off to an inspiring start when they beat Frankfurter Germania, a seeded crew, in the Thames Cup yesterday, writes Liam O'Gorman.
The result was matched in the very last race of the day when NUIG beat the seeded Reading University by one and three-quarter lengths in the men's student coxed fours.
Five of the eight Irish crews made it through, including the two other entrants in the Thames Cup for club eights.
Neptune had a narrow win over Thames Rowing Club, and Lady Elizabeth justified their seeding with a facile victory over Green Lake Crew from the United States.
Athlunkard, who have been rowing as University of Limerick all season, had one and a half lengths to spare over Agecroft in the Britannia for club coxed fours.
Garda coach Tommy Colsh knew it was crucial his crew were not left behind in the opening stage of their race against the big men of Frankfurter Germania.
"You try not to get dropped in two-boat racing, it's vital," he said.
His crew did not get the perfect start, but by a minute in they had drawn level, and they established a three-quarter length lead which they were able to hold until the German crew cut it to two-thirds of a length right at the finish.
Colsh is "cautiously optimistic" Garda will overcome Peterborough City today.
This would most likely set up a clash tomorrow with English giants Molesey, whom Garda would dearly love to overcome as they have fallen to them in previous contests.
Whoever emerges will take on Lady Elizabeth in the semi-finals, if the Trinity old boys' crew continue to win.
Tim Levy, their coach, is set to have a busy day today. Lady Elizabeth will take on Thames Tradesmen, and the Englishman has also been overseeing Tara, the nascent Ireland lightweight eight, who go in the Ladies Plate. "They're dying to race. They're really up for it," he said last night.
Levy might have had three crews on the water, but Trinity lost out in the men's student coxed four last night. UCD, in the Temple Cup, and Royal Belfast Academical Institute in the Princess Elizabeth were the other Ireland fallers on the day.
UCD coach John Holland said he had not expected his relatively inexperienced crew to overcome the seeded Cornell University. "I was hopeful they would have a bloody good row and they did that," he said.
ATHLETICS: Kelly Holmes has been forced out of Saturday's Cork City Sports through injury, writes Ian O'Riordan.
The double Olympic champion is still suffering from a Achilles' tendon problem, which prevented her running for Britain in the recent European Cup.
The injury flared up when Holmes won her only outdoor race of the summer earlier this month in Glasgow.
She has been getting regular treatment at her training base in Valencia, but her manager Jeff Fund yesterday confirmed she has withdrawn from the Cork meeting as a precautionary measure: "Getting ready for August and the World Championships is the most important thing and Kelly is being wise rather than running when she isn't quite ready," said Fund.
MOTOR SPORT: Formula One has stepped back from the brink after world governing body FIA opted to wait until September to punish the teams involved in the US Grand Prix fiasco.
Seven Michelin teams were summoned to an FIA world motorsport council meeting in Paris yesterday to explain why they refused to start the race at Indianapolis, leaving only six cars in the United States Grand Prix.
The teams - Renault, McLaren, Williams, Toyota, Sauber, Red Bull and BAR - were found guilty of two charges but cleared of three allegations, including the more serious claims.
Punishment was deferred until September 14th, by which time the FIA hope Michelin - who they are unable to punish directly - will act to restore Formula One's image and ease the reprisals on their teams.
That ends fears of a boycott of this weekend's French Grand Prix, while concerns over a heavy-handed FIA response, involving points deductions or bans, have also been calmed.
