The controversy surrounding the Irish women’s 4x400m relay team may yet run through until next Monday – four days before the Olympic Games Opening Ceremony – after confirmation yesterday of the details surrounding Catriona Cuddihy’s appeal.

THE first thing that hits you whenever Ger Hartmann is in the room is the energy.

LEADING sports injury therapist Gerard Hartmann will open a new clinic at one of the most famous high altitude training camps in Kenya next week.

Tipperary enjoyed an edge in determination yesterday, sweeping onto breaking ball with relish, and they confined Kilkenny to rare moments of freedom.

EILEEN O’KEEFFE has eased fears over her knee injury, throwing 5kg and 7kg hammers at the Irish training camp in Matsue, according to Irish team manager, Patsy McGonagle.

“DON’T write Derval O’Rourke off,” was the clear message from world renowned sports injury therapist, Gerard Hartmann, as the former world indoor hurdles champion packed her bags for the Olympic Games in Beijing.

ALISTAIR CRAGG is Ireland’s latest Olympic injury concern.

DERVAL O’ROURKE is resting the groin injury that has cut short her Olympic preparations and is being treated by the Athletics Ireland medical staff under Dr Bill Cuddihy.

IRISH paralympian Jason Smyth has the talent to compete in the London Olympics, his coach, Stephen Maguire, claimed last night.

THOMAS CHAMNEY went to within 0.66 seconds of the Olympic ‘A’ standard for 800m in Lignano, Italy, at the weekend, when he finished fourth in a quality race in 1:44.66, and now the Clonmel man will take his quest for a place in Beijing to Lucerne tomorrow night.

DERVAL O’ROURKE will launch a belated build-up to the world championships at tomorrow night’s international indoor meeting in Athens.

DERVAL O’ROURKE is back on track for the world indoor championships in Valencia after an injury lay-off.

PETER COGHLAN is hoping to take his return to top class athletics to another level tonight in Gothenburg where he will line up for the 60m hurdles against a string of international athletes.

WORLD champion Derval O’Rourke is confident of defending her 60m indoor hurdles title in Valencia in March despite being sidelined with a foot injury.

LAST summer Gary Murray was told by the renowned Munich sports injury specialist, Dr Hans Mueller, that his back was in such bad shape that he should not be running at all.

WITH the Olympic Games just around the corner, the world championships, which get under way in Osaka today, has been described as a ‘dress rehearsal’ for Beijing by Patsy McGonagle, Athletics Ireland’s first full-time senior team manager.

DERVAL O’ROURKE admitted yesterday she faces one of the most difficult assignments of the year when she lines up for the 100m hurdles at Cork City Sports at The Mardyke on June 30.

INTERNATIONAL athletics star Mark Carroll is to have a road near his family home named after him.

DERVAL O’ROURKE will kick off her outdoor season at The Mardyke on Saturday, where she claims star billing at the BUPA Cork City Sports.

THE basket girls and boys are the envy of other youngsters at all major athletics meetings. They are the privileged ones who get to carry the athletes’ gear. For years, Derval O’Rourke was one at the Mardyke.

FRESH from another national record at Virginia Tech, where he jumped eight metres for the first time indoors to equal his outdoor mark, Ciaran McDonagh will be a top attraction at the national indoor championships at the Odyssey Arena in Belfast over the weekend.

DERVAL O’ROURKE is all set to take her place in the line-up for the 100m hurdles at the BUPA Cork City Sports this afternoon relieved to be finally able to get her outdoor season under way after an injury scare.

KELLY HOLMES choked back the tears as she revealed the tragedy behind her decision to retire from athletics.

Swimming, cycling and running — all in the same event. Little wonder the sense of achievement for a triathlete is so immense. Simon Lewis spoke to seven-time national champion Ger Hartmann about a special event in Cork next week.

CIARAN MCDONAGH justified coach Paul Doyle’s confidence when breaking his own national long jump record with a leap of 8.07m at the Resisprint International in La Chaux-de-Fonds, Switzerland, on Sunday.

GERARD HARTMANN will anxiously watch tonight’s final of the women’s 10,000m at a Sports Bar in Limerick along with the double Olympic champion, Kelly Holmes.

SONIA O’SULLIVAN misses the Woodies DIY National senior track and field championships at Morton Stadium at the weekend.

Sonia O'Sullivan has been forced to pull out of this weekend's Irish Track and Field Championships in Dublin with a foot injury.

SONIA O’SULLIVAN could miss next weekend’s Woodies DIY national senior track and field championships with a foot problem that has been bothering her for some weeks now.

In the concluding interview with ex-winners ahead of tomorrow night’s Irish Examiner/TV3 National Junior Sports star awards, Tony Leen delves into the driven world of hurler of the year Sean Óg Ó hAilpín.

Gillian O’Sullivan was heartbroken before the Olympics. She shares some of the steps on the journey back to fitness with Brendan Mooney.

Clare star Brian Lohan has enlisted the help of world renowned surgeon Dr Gerard Hartmann to boost his chances of making the Munster semi-final clash with Cork.

SONIA O’SULLIVAN took her first steps towards the world track and field championships in Paris in the form of a 20-minute jog.

SONIA O’SULLIVAN is confident she will be back on track in time for the new season and that she will be competitive come the world championships in Paris in August.

As the final meeting of the Flat season gets underway at Doncaster today, Kieren Fallon has finally admitted that the 2002 jockeys’ championship is in the bag. Mathematically, he cannot be caught.

Race favourite Paula Radcliffe has shrugged off the fact the weather is unlikely to be helpful when she bids for the LaSalle Bank Chicago Marathon title on Sunday.

A fully fit Paula Radcliffe will compete for the first time since her unforgettable Flora London Marathon success in April when she competes in theMonaco IAAF Golden League Meeting on July19.