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| Hannah Craig. Pic Mick Feeney. |
CANOEING: Slalom canoeists Hannah Craig and Eoin Rheinisch have both qualified for London 2012 after their performances at the European Slalom Canoeing Championships in Augsburg, Germany.
Craig paddled cautiously on her first K1 run on Friday, clocking 110.14 seconds and hitting one gate for two penalty points. On her second run, she improved her time to 101.79, although she did pick up four penalty points.
Her overall time of 105.79 put her 25th and Ireland tenth of the nations competing – enough to take one of the two London Olympics places on offer to nations not already qualified.
Helen Barnes and Aisling Conlon also clocked solid times on their first runs and then pushing hard on the second. Both missed gates resulting in 50 second penalties; Barnes ended up 38th and Conlon 50th.
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| Eoin Rheinisch. Pic Mick Feeney. |
Both Eoin Rheinish and Ciaran Heurteau made it through to Saturday’s semi-finals. Rheinisch, who finished fourth at the Beijing Olympic, had shown a welcome return to form when he finished 17th in the heats last Thursday, with Heurteau 23rd.
In the semi-finals, Rheinisch finished 12th with a clean run in 98.38 seconds, just two places and .24 of a second off making the final. When it came to countries, Ireland was placed eighth – enough to book that crucial Olympic place.
Heurteau’s time of 102.20 (including a two-second penalty) put him 20th.
SQUASH: A brilliant win by Madeline Perry over world No 2 Jenny Duncalf was not enough to give Ireland victory over England in the European Team Squash finals in Nurnburg, Germany. After losing to Alison Waters in the Irish Open final a week earlier, Perry was in determined form and she fought back from 2/1 down to beat Duncalf in five games. Laura Massaro then steered the English ship back on course when she beat Aisling Blake 3/1 before Waters clinched victory by defeating Laura Mylotte 3/0. It was a best performance by the Irish since they last made a final in 1989.
In the men’s competition, the Irish team of Arthur Gaskin, Derak Ryan, Rory Byrne and Graeme Stewart made the Division B semi-finals.
HOCKEY: Irish Hockey Leaguer winners Railway Union could make it a double this weekend when they compete in the women’s Irish Senior Cup at UCD. But although Railway come into their semi-final bursting with confidence, they face a determined UCD team that put out defending champions Pegasus in the quarter finals. With Loreto playing Queens’s in today’s other semi-finals, Leinster is sure to have at least one representative in tomorrow’s final. Railay Union have also made the men’s semi-finals after toppling Glenanne in the quarters. They face the mighty Lisnagarvey in their semi-final, with Cork Harlequins taking on Instonians in the other match.
RUGBY LEAGUE: Three new Leinster teams play in this year’s rugby league season with the opening matches taking place today. Ashbourne host the Ballyfermot Bears, while in two away matches, Clondalkin Crusaders take on Tallaght Tigers and Portarlington Wolverines play Athboy. The seventh Dublin team, Dublin Exiles, has a bye this week. In total, 21 teams play in Munster, Ulster and Leinster divisions with two places in the All Ireland final at stake. Defending champions Treaty City Titans from Limerick take on West Coast Warriors, while in Ulster a new team to watch is the Antrim Ells, with Ireland Students internationals Matty Hadden and Peter McWhirter on their roster.
RACQUETBALL: Venezuelans visitors dominated the Irish Racquetball Open in Arklow. In the men’s competition Roberto Santander beat his fellow country man Ceasar Castillio 2-1, while Mariana Parades took the women’s title after her team mate Mariana Toban was ruled out of the final due to illness. Santander and Castillo also won the men’s doubles with Ireland’s Majella Haverty and Katie Kenny declared women’s doubles champions after the Venezuelan girls were unable to play.
A fortnight earlier in Wexford, Noel O’Callaghan of Fermoy won a record-breaking 20th Irish singles title, beating Mark Murphy of Kilkenny in the men’s final. In the women’s decider, Aisling Hickey of Rossmore successfully defended her title when she beat Newport’s Donna Ryder.
ORIENTEERING: Marcus Pinker of Cork O won the men’s classis title at the Irish Orienteering Championships at Inch Sand Dunes, completing the tough 10.53km course in 73 mins 19 secs. In second place was his club mate Darren Burke who had won the 6km middle distance race at Castlegregory a day earlier. In the women’s classic 9.29km race, Maeve O’Grady (DFO) came out on top. Trinity student Rosalind Hussey won the middle distance title.
MOUNTAINEERING: After 24 months of hard slog, Irish president Michael D Higgins cut the tape at the Glen of Imaal Mountain Rescue team’s new base in Trooperstown Woods near Laragh, Co Wicklow this week. Most of the labour on this “green” building, which will cost €450,000 when compete, was done by volunteers, working around their day jobs and 132 call-outs. Thanks to a Co Wicklow Partnership (EU Aid) grant of €295,903, no outstanding bills are left to pay. A rare good news story!
GYMNASTICS: After representing Dublin in style at the Scottish Festival of Gymnastics last weekend, Mid-Sutton Gymnastics Club is preparing for Fleadh 2012 in UCD on June 23/24 – a feast of display gymnastics combining acrobatics, tumbling, vaulting and dance. Top English, Scottish and Irish teams are expected.
TENNIS: A new addition to the calendar this year is the Glasnevin Tennis Club Junior Open, taking place at the Dublin club from August 2-5. A strong junior section in Glasnevin is looked after by coach Paul Keoghan and home players such as Sarah Curran will lead the entry.
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