Cork middleweight Christina Desmond bids to become the first Irishwoman since Katie Taylor to reach a European Elite final in Sofia, Bulgaria today. 

The President is leading tributes for Ailish Sheehan - the young Limerick woman who died in Poland where she was competing in the World University Championships for Rowing.

THE awesome presence of Olympic 400m champion, Christine Ohuruogu, will add an air of excitement to this weekend’s Woodies DIY Irish Indoor Championships at The Odyssey in Belfast, where she will begin the build-up to the defence of her world title in Berlin next August.

EILEEN O’KEEFFE faces the most exciting assignment of her athletics career to date when she contests the final of the women’s hammer competition at the world championships in Osaka today (1.30pm Irish time).

MARK CHRISTIE is looking for a big performance at this year’s European cross-country championships in Tilburg, Holland, and has taken his preparations to a new level by travelling to Kenya to train at altitude.