Equestrian: britain's Pippa Funnell claimed double gold at the European three-day event championships in Pau, France, yesterday just as she had done two years ago in Germany, reports Grania Willis.
But the closest the Irish got to the medals was by providing three-quarters of the winning team's horsepower, including the individual gold medallist, Supreme Rock, a 13-year-old son of Edmund Burke.
Cross-country clears from pathfinder Jeanette Brakewell, Funnell and anchorman William Fox-Pitt meant the British stayed out in front on Saturday, with the home side four show jumps adrift in overnight second.
The two greys, Sportsfield Iceman and Don't Step Back, faulted just once in yesterday's showjumping, while All Love du Fenaud hit two, but it was still good enough for the Irish to overtake Spain for eventual sixth. The British, despite a scary moment when Supreme Rock crashed through the last part of the combination, held on for double gold, with France taking silver and Italy finally claiming a much-deserved bronze.
Individual silver went to 26-year-old German Inken Johanssen when Greek rider Heidi Antikatzidis and Michaelmas faulted coming out of the combination, while Enrique Sarasola claimed Spain's first ever European medal when taking the bronze.
Cycling: Tim Cassidy provided the best result of an otherwise modest Irish campaign when he finished an impressive 15th in the junior men's road race at the world championships on Saturday, reports Shane Stokes.
Climbing strongly to survive a split in the bunch on the penultimate lap, Cassidy might have placed inside the top ten had he not been boxed in during the sprint.
Philip Deignan was 62nd while both Paudi O'Brien and Nicolas Roche lost out due to a crash. Susan O'Mara was a non-finisher in the elite women's race, which was won in a three-up sprint by Lituanian rider Rasa Polikeviciute.
The 1999 victor, Oscar Friere, yesterday won the elite men's road race with an explosive finishing surge at the end of the 254 kilometre contest.
Poor tactics meant Olympic champion Jan Ullrich was unable to shake off his rivals.
