A round-up of other sports stories in brief.
Harnedy announces his retirement
ROWING:There is sad news on the international front with the retirement of Tim Harnedy at only 25, writes Liam O'Gorman.
The Skibbereen man, who has been struggling for the last few seasons with an ankle injury, took silver at the World Championships in 2005 and gold and bronze World Cup medals in the same season. He was part of the outstanding lightweight four which qualified the boat for the Olympics in 2003 but was not selected in the crew for the Games.
Meanwhile, Belfast-born Derek Porter has been named as one of the finalists for the Thomas Keller medal, with which the governing body of the sport, Fisa, honours former greats. Rowing for his adopted country, Canada, Porter won gold in the eight in the Olympic Games of 1992 and silver in the single scull in 1996. The other finalists are: Elisabeta Lipa (Rom); Jean-Christophe Rolland (Fra); Britain's James Cracknell and Katrin Rutschow-Stomporowski (Ger).
Kluft decides not to defend heptathlon title
ATHLETICS:The two leading figures in Olympic champion Carolina Kluft's rise to the top of world athletics have backed her decision not to defend the heptathlon gold and said the move was a big relief for the Swede.
Kluft's father and manager Johnny said yesterday the high expectations on his daughter at last year's world championships in Osaka had affected her motivation.
"She always said it must be fun and she must enjoy it. Last year was more pressure than fun for her," her father said. "Everyone said she would take a gold medal . . . if she takes a silver medal people will wonder what's happening with her."
His views were backed by her coach, Arne Bergvall, who described how the sparkle returned to the athlete's eyes after deciding not to defend her title in August's Beijing Games.
The 25-year-old Kluft, unbeaten in six years, said on Wednesday she would not defend her heptathlon gold because she no longer had the same hunger for the discipline.
Denman's half-sister for sale
RACING:A half-sister to Gold Cup hero Denman looks sure to be popular when she goes under the hammer on April 16th.
The unraced four-year-old is being consigned by Edmond Kent's Ballyhampshire Stud on behalf of his father-in-law, Colman O'Flynn, who at last year's sale sold Lindeman, a three-parts sister to Denman, to Richard Kelvin Hughes.
Kent said: "We have some of the family that we are retaining and felt this offered the racing and breeding world a wonderful opportunity to invest in these fabulous bloodlines.
"She has been cantering at home on my stud but is guaranteed untried. She has a wonderful physique and can been seen and tried on Brightwells' new Eco Track at Cheltenham on the Tuesday prior to sale. "We would dearly love to see her race before she starts what I am sure will be an illustrious breeding career."
Backing for umpire
CRICKET:Controversial Australian Darrell Hair should be allowed to umpire all international matches, Sri Lankan Cricket Board chairman Arjuna Ranatunga said yesterday.
Hair (55), reinstated as a Test and one-day umpire by the International Cricket Council (ICC) on Tuesday, had been dropped from the ICC's elite umpires' panel for his role in the Oval Test between England and Pakistan in August 2006.
