There’s a decidedly golden hue to your sports pages today with updates on three of our Olympic champions – Rhys McClenaghan, Daniel Wiffen and Kellie Harrington. Since his 2024 triumph, McClenaghan’s exploits on the pommel horse have been disrupted by a shoulder injury, Ian O’Riordan talking to him about his recovery from that setback.
Wiffen is on the comeback trail too after surgery on his appendix, the swimmer now based at the University of California. But, he tells Ian, he’s not yet convinced the move is the best path towards defending his Olympic 800m freestyle title.
Harrington, meanwhile, has signalled her intention to represent Ireland again. For now, her focus will remain firmly short-term, but a shot at a third Olympic gold hasn’t been ruled out.
In football, after the gut-wrenching conclusion to the World Cup qualifying campaign, Gavin Cummiskey sat in on a presentation by Heimir Hallgrímsson who outlined his plans for the team as the focus now turns to ensuring they make it to Euro 2028.
In rugby, for Gordon D’Arcy, confidence is everything and he’s seen it in the recent URC form of the likes of Jamie Osborne. Leinster, though, could do with a bit more of it in their ranks. They “have retained the capacity to win ugly, but it is head-scratching as to why things are not clicking often enough”.
But they are at least the only Irish side to advance to the knockout phase of the Champions Cup, Edinburgh their opponents at the Aviva Stadium on Sunday. Gerry Thornley looks at their prospects in the competition, while Johnny Watterson hears from Hugo Keenan, who is available again after his recovery from injury. And Keenan’s comrade Jamison Gibson-Park is one of four Irish players John O’Sullivan picks out in his ‘ones to watch’ in Europe this weekend.
In Gaelic games, Ian talks to the player with the record for the most outfield appearances in the football championship – Mayo’s Aidan O’Shea. Remarkably, he has missed only one championship game for his county since making his debut as an 18-year-old back in 2009. And he’s not done yet.
In sailing, David Branigan reports on Eve McMahon’s progress at the Princess Sofia Regatta in Mallorca, the Howth woman retaining the overall leader’s yellow bib at the halfway stage of the event.
And in his America At Large column, Dave Hannigan marks the 30th anniversary of his wedding – but for his late father, the day was more memorable for Greg Norman’s “worst nightmare”, when he led the Masters by six strokes going in to the final round ... and lost. Worst of all, Dave’s Da had “a few bob” on him. “Bastard let me down.”
TV Watch: Sky Sport Golf’s coverage of the opening round of the Texas Open gets under way at 1.15pm today, and tonight, from 11pm, Sky Sports Mix has the Aramco Championship in Las Vegas where Anna Foster is due to make her LPGA Tour debut alongside Leona Maguire and Lauren Walsh.
