Irish Olympic badminton star Scott Evans, who gained global attention for ripping his top off at the Rio Olympics, will retire from international competition next week, after the European Team Championships in Russia.

Shane Lowry is saddened there will be no repeat fairytale for an amateur in next month’s Dubai Duty Free Irish Open.

Flagged as a great Irish middle-distance hope since winning silver at the World Youth Championships in 2009, Ciara Mageean has been hampered by severe injury. But the Portaferry native made good on her talent last July, with a 1,500m bronze medal at the European Championships in Amsterdam.

Given the summer he’s had, this seems like a quiet week for Paul Dunne.

August’s World Championships in Beijing may be the summer priority but Mark English has also earmarked the Monaco Diamond League meet in mid-July for a crack at David Matthews’ 20-year old Irish 800m record.

Greystones’ Paul Dunne survived the shock of nearly missing his tee time and went on to become the first Irish amateur to come through Final Qualifying for the British Open for 27 years.

A text message at 9:33am yesterday morning from Derval O’Rourke signalled the end of a glittering career for one of Ireland’s most medalled athletes.

Irish sprinter Steven Colvert has been forced to withdraw from the European Team Championships in Tallinn, Estonia this weekend due to an adverse finding for EPO in an out of competition test on May 20.

ATHLETICS: Paul Robinson narrowly was narrowly outside David Matthew’s Irish 1,000m record of 2:17.58 with 2:17.93 at the Golden Spike meeting in Ostrava last night.

It was a notable weekend for Irish athletics with Thomas Barr and Mark English enjoying the perfect build-up to the European Championships with some stunning displays.

ATHLETICS: Paul Robinson mixed with the world’s best milers in the Dream Mile at the Bislett Games in Oslo, Norway last night and came away with a new personal best of 3:54.77.

Pádraig Harrington sent his penultimate shot a dozen rows deep into a final hole grandstand but then chipped-in for birdie to be just three strokes from the lead after two rounds of the Omega European Masters.

Fionnuala Britton’s decision to skip the remainder of the outdoor season was taken with a longer-term view, admitted coach Chris Jones.

Ireland’s double European Cross-Country Champion Fionnuala Britton will miss next month’s World Athletics Championships in Moscow after announcing she is to take an “extended break” from the sport.

The surnames of Lawler and Healy, though not yet in lights, are inscribed above the 100m and 200m national junior records, while Lavin is our fastest ever junior over the hurdles, quicker even than Derval O’Rourke.

Ireland steered well clear of relegation in League 1 of the European Team Championships in Morton Stadium over the weekend to record their best ever placing of seventh but the “sporting extravaganza” that was promised never materialised.

Brian Gregan recognised yesterday he has now become the leading athlete for Team Ireland at the European Team Championships this weekend after the national squad was rocked by a series of withdrawals.

Athletics Ireland High Performance Director Kevin Ankrom admitted Ireland will be fighting for survival at the European Team Championships first league in Morton Stadium on June 22/23 on the announcement of the team yesterday.

Brian Gregan sprinted to victory in 21.05 seconds in the 200m at a lack-lustre Woodie’s DIY AAI Open Games yesterday that was designed as a dry run for the European Team Championships in Morton Stadium.

Derval O’Rourke’s coach Terri Cahill is shocked at the news that European Indoor 60m hurdles champion Nevin Yanit of Turkey has been charged for failing multiple drug tests which could see the Cork woman boosted to the bronze medal as a result.

Phillips Idowu today insisted he had not broken off contact with his coach Aston Moore in the build-up to his unsuccessful bid for Olympic triple jump glory.

Claire Coughlan (Cork), Niamh Kitching (Limerick) and Terry Sexton (Dun Laoghaire) are the respective captains of the Irish Ladies’, girls’ and senior international teams this season.

PAUL HESSION faces his first big test of the season when he lines up for the 200m at Cork City Sports today in a field that includes Alonso Edward (Panama), silver medallist behind Usain Bolt at the World Championships in Berlin two years ago when the Jamaican shaved .11 of a second off the world record he set at the Olympic Games in Beijing the previous year.

Ireland's athletes are 10th of the 12 competing nations after the opening day's events in the European Team Championships 1st League in Izmir, Turkey.

COACH Neil Manchip put one over on pupil Shane Lowry when he outscored the European Tour star by three shots in the opening round of the Ladbrokes.com Irish PGA.

JASON SMYTH makes history today by becoming the first Paralympian to compete in the European Athletics Championships.

AS about 1,400 of Europe’s finest athletes explode into action this morning in Barcelona’s big European Championships, the image in my mind’s eye is not of any of the 30-strong Irish team involved.

WITH the majority of the Irish athletes due to fly into Barcelona today, Paul Hession has opted to remain at the training camp in Murcia until Monday, the day before the European Championships get under way.

Athletics Ireland has announced a 30-strong team for the 20th European Athletics Championships in Barcelona from July 27 to August 1.

ROBERT Heffernan put weeks of frustration behind him when he retained his 10,000m walk title at the Woodies DIY National track and field championships at Morton Stadium yesterday where he beat his Olympic team mate, Jamie Costin, who claimed his 3,000m record in Cork a week earlier and, to cap it all, picked up the Athlete of the Meet Award and the €1,000 that went with it.

PAUL HESSION will defend his Cork City Sports 200m title at the CIT on Saturday but is unlikely to double up at 100m.

KIM COLLINS will provide a formidable challenge for Paul Hession in the sprints when Cork City Sports relocates to the plush surroundings of the CIT Track in Bishopstown on Saturday week.

THE stars turned up and performed and the others all exceeded what was expected of them as Ireland not only retained First League status but reinforced their position in the table at the European Team Championships in Budapest over the weekend.

IRELAND’S top athletes will join forces this weekend in Budapest in an bid to retain First Division status at the European Team Championships.

SPEEDSTERS Derval O’Rourke and Paul Hession head up a strong Irish side to travel to Budapest for the second European Team Championships on June 19-20.

PAUL HESSION bids to keep his unbeaten four-year record at the Mardyke intact when he competes in tomorrow’s Cork City Sports (2pm).

DERVAL O’ROURKE has withdrawn from Saturday’s Cork City Sports because of a groin injury picked up at the European Team Championships in Slovakia two weeks ago.

ALAN O’BRIEN (Crusaders) was relatively unknown when he won the IMC 800m at Cork City Sports last year.

SPRINTERS Paul Hession (Athenry AC) and Derval O’Rourke (Leevale AC) will captain the Irish team to compete in the European Team championships in Slovakia this weekend.

Ireland's pony riders took a bronze medal in the European Team Championships at Freudenberg in Germany today finishing on a total of 22 penalties.

Carlow’s Tara Delaney sets out to capture an unprecedented third consecutive title at the Irish Open Strokeplay Championship in Rosses Point this weekend.

Tricia Mangan (Ennis), fresh from her seventh-place finish at the Welsh Open Strokeplay, defends her Lancome Irish Ladies’ Close Championship at The European Club, Co Wicklow, May 13 to 17.

THE Irish challenge in the British Boys’ Open Amateur Championship over the sundrenched Royal Liverpool links at Hoylake petered out disappointingly yesterday, as the last three survivors from the country fell by the wayside in the fourth round.