Whitaker joins family affair
Equestrianism: Ellen Whitaker, 19, Great Britain’s leading woman rider, has been selected alongside her uncles, John and Michael Whitaker, for the Britain team for the European Show Jumping Championships, which take place in San Patrignano, Italy, from July 21 to 24. William Funnell — whose wife, Pippa, heads the three-day event team — and Nick Skelton complete the squad of five from which the final four will be chosen.
Ellen Whitaker, one of the youngest British riders to have been selected for a senior championships, had “never dreamt” at the beginning of the year that she and AK Locarno would be in the squad, but a superb spring season, which included a double clear round in the La Baule Nations Cup and third place in the Rome Grand Prix, has lifted her to the forefront of the sport.
GREAT BRITAIN SQUAD: Cortaflex Mondriaan (W Funnell), Arko III (N Skelton), AK Locarno (E Whitaker), Exploit du Roulard (J Whitaker), Portofino (M Whitaker).
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Seuseu in clear
Rugby league: Although found guilty by the RFL disciplinary committee last night of striking an opponent during Wigan Warriors’ 70-0 drubbing by Leeds Rhinos on Saturday, no further action was taken against Jerry Seuseu, the Wigan prop, who is clear to play in Sunday’s Powergen Challenge Cup quarter-final against St Helens. Ian Millward, the Wigan coach, joked that he hoped to get inspiration from the Bangladesh cricket team after they upset Australia. “I believe St Helens are better than Leeds, which just sums up the magnitude of our task,” he said.
Wary Millward
Rugby league: Ian Millward has described his Wigan Warriors side as huge underdogs for Sunday’s Powergen Challenge Cup quarter-final against St Helens and joked that he hoped to get some words of inspiration from the Bangladesh cricket team after their upset of Australia. “I believe St Helens are better than Leeds (who beat Wigan 70-0 on Saturday), which sums up our task,” Millward, the former St Helens coach, said. “All their players were handpicked by me. But there is no point worrying about what they can do, that will not fix the deficiencies in our own game.”
Maduaka hits out
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Athletics: Joice Maduaka, one of Great Britain’s highest points-scorers in the European Cup last weekend, has accused the national selectors of age discrimination. Maduaka was third in the 100 and 200 metres but was omitted from the 4 x 100 metres relay squad and has claimed that she has been told that she is too old. Aged 31, Maduaka had declared herself unavailable for the relay but reconsidered before the European Cup team was selected.
Mantell returns
Hockey: Richard Mantell, the England defender and penalty corner specialist, will make his international comeback against Wales this weekend after recovering from surgery to reconstruct a knee.
ENGLAND: A West, B Middleton (both Cannock), N Brothers (Schwarz Weiss Neuss), G Kirkham, J Goudie, A Wilson (all Loughborough Students), R Alexander, J Steadman (Old Loughtonians), M Daly, R Moore, J Ebsworth (Surbiton), P Riley (Guildford), B Garrard (Klein Zwitserland, captain), J Clarke, R Mantell (both Reading), B Hawes (Amsterdam), J Tindall (Old Georgians).
Arthur must wait
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Boxing: Alex Arthur’s attempt to win the European super-featherweight title has been postponed from July 9 because it clashed with the G8 summit. The bout against Boris Sinitsin, the champion from Russia, at Meadowbank Stadium, Edinburgh, has been put back to July 23.
Warren’s title
Shooting: Alan Warren, an instructor at the National Clay Shooting Centre in Bisley, Surrey, won the English Open “English Skeet” title at Southern Counties Shooting Ground, near Dorchester, Dorset, in a shoot-off against Peter Cook, from Cambridge.