A round-up of today's other stories in brief
Gallagher quits 'for personal reasons'
GAELIC GAMES:Antrim captain Aodhan Gallagher has stepped down "for personal reasons" from the squad just as preparations are stepped up for Saturday's All-Ireland football third round qualifier against Tipperary in Thurles.
Gallagher, a teacher at Methodist College, Belfast, has been an ever-present in the Saffrons’ line-up for several years and has won many honours with his club St Galls.
His withdrawal follows the departure of Paddy Cunningham who has been Antrim’s top scorer for the past few seasons and skippered the side when they met Tyrone in the 2009 Ulster final.
Antrim liaison officer Tony McCollum has indicated, however, that the door would remain open to Gallagher should he wish to resume his inter-county career at some stage in the future. “Aodhan has given superb service to Antrim and we are sorry to lose him but we respect his decision,” said McCollum.
“He has reached this decision for personal reasons but we hope that he might return, though – he will always be welcome.”
BBC scoops rights to future Olympics
OLYMPICS:British broadcaster BBC has been awarded the Olympic broadcasting rights for its territory until 2020, keeping the world's biggest multi-sport event on free-to-air television for at least another eight years, the International Olympic Commission said yesterday.
The BBC also acquired the broadcast rights across all media platforms, including internet and mobile for the Games at Rio de Janeiro 2016 and the Winter Olympics of Sochi 2014 and Pyeongchang 2018, the IOC said in a statement without providing any financial details of the deal. BBC director-general Mark Thompson said in the statement: “It’s terrific news in the days before BBC Sport begins to cover the London 2012 Games and a tribute to the enduring partnership between the BBC and the Olympic movement.”
The BBC, funded by a licence fee levy on British households, plans to stream live coverage of every event from the London Games starting on July 27th, something it has never done before.
O'Rourke on track for London Games as she ups her speed
ATHLETICS:Derval O'Rourke is back on track to compete in her third Olympic Games after she proved her fitness at a meeting in Lignano, Italy on Tuesday night. O'Rourke clocked her fastest time of the year at 13.02 seconds finishing second to the American star Lo Lo Jones, the winner in 12.85.
This performance will have come as a boost and a relief to the Corkwoman as she clearly bounced back from the back spasm she suffered on the eve of the AAI Championships in Santry last Sunday week.There were good performances from two other hopefuls with Paul Hession finishing second in the 200 metres at 20.54 seconds and Deirdre Ryan clearing 1.86 metres in the high jump. At the same meeting Roseanne Galligan from Kildare clocked 2:02.72 in the 800 metres, just outside her best of 2:02.39.
Conor McCullough, smashed the Irish U23 hammer record in Luzern, Switzerland, with a throw of 75.09 metres, breaking the old mark of 71.10 set by Gary Halpin in 1988.
Germany's world number 18 Petkovic to miss Olympics
TENNIS:Germany's world number 18 Andrea Petkovic will miss the London Olympics after failing to recover from an ankle injury that prevented her playing at the French Open and Wimbledon. "Really sorry to announce that I will not be competing at the Olympic Games," she said on her Twitter feed. "I'm heartbroken and sad as can be but I'm just not ready yet."
Petkovic tore ankle ligaments at the Stuttgart Grand Prix in April having just returned from a stress fracture of her back. Bosnian-born Petkovic was one of four German women to qualify for the Olympic singles, along with Angelique Kerber, Sabine Lisicki and Julia Goerges. No decision on a replacement in the women’s singles has been made.
