Cycling: Ciaran Power and Eugene Moriarty finished third and fifth in the B world championship road race at Punta del Esta near Montevideo in Uruguay yesterday and this qualifies Ireland for two places in the Olympic road race in Sydney next September.
The five-man Irish team set out aiming to get at least one of them into the top seven nations at the end of the 10 laps of a circuit of almost 10 miles and the result exceeded expectations.
The Irish were prominent throughout with David McCann, Michael McNena and Tommy Evans and the outcome was resolved in a bunch sprint.
Georgio Baris of Uruguay was first across the line with Pedro Peris (Cuba) second and Power in third place. Oscar Pineda of (Guatemala) was next and then Moriarty.
McCann and McNena were also in the big pack at the end but Evans failed to finish.
In the women's race New York based Deirdre Murphy also qualified for an Olympic place as she was fourth behind two Cubans and a Brazilian.
World B championship - 1, G Baris (Uruguay) 3:29:25; 2, P Peris (Cuba); 3, Ciaran Power (Ireland); 4, O Pineda (Guatemala); 5, Eugene Moriarty (Ireland); 6, M Argair (Iran) all same time.
Rowing: A Commercial women's eight formed from the club's top women scullers were impressive at the Neptune Head of the River at Blessington on Saturday, completing the course faster than the host club's men's senior eight. Mary Hussey, Debbie Stack and Ailis Holohan, part of the women's eight, also finished one-two-three in the women's single sculls.
Albert Maher had 13 seconds to spare over Sean Jacob in the men's single sculls, with Derek Holland and Con Collis of UCD a further 17 seconds back. Garda had their expected win in the men's eight and won the overall category at the head.
Athletics: A Jamaica Amateur Athletic Association appeals panel has cleared sprinter Merlene Ottey of illegal use of drugs. She had tested positive for nandrolone on July 5th at Lucerne, Switzerland.
"The JAAA will have a meeting after the events of the hearing have been put in writing and the JAAA will then pass it on to the International Amateur Athletic Federation," said JAAA president Adrian Wallace.
