LAURA Weightman achieved the 'A' qualifying standard for this summer's World Championships 1,500m as she finished 11th in her first Diamond League outing of the year.

The Morpeth Harrier posted a time of 4:05.36 in the Prefontaine Classic in Eugene, two seconds adrift of compatriot Hannah England and almost seven seconds slower than race winner Hellen Obiri.

Weightman, who made the 1,500m final at last year's Olympics in London, has been in fine form this season and posted a new personal best for the 3,000m last month.

Achieving the A standard does not guarantee her a place at the World Championships in Moscow, but it leaves her in a strong position ahead of next month's trials.

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LOFTUS' Paul Drinkhall has been celebrating one of the biggest successes of his table tennis career after his club side, Werder Bremen, won the German Bundesliga.

The German league is widely regarded as the strongest in European table tennis, and after finishing third in the regular-season standings, Werder Bremen triumphed in the end-of-season play-offs, with Drinkhall to the fore.

The British number one, who impressed at last summer's Olympics, has already re-signed for Bremen next season.

"Paul is still a young player with an incredible potential," said Bremen manager Sascha Greber. "That's why we are happy to have him for one more year. In the last season, we could see Paul's skills, so we want to help him to improve."

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NEWCASTLE boxer Lawrence Osueke crashed out at the first hurdle as he lost to Holland's Peter Mullenberg in the last 32 of the European Championships in Belarus.

Light heavyweight Osueke, who fights out of Rye Hill ABC, dominated the opening skirmishes and edged the first round, but Mullenberg controlled the final two rounds and won on a majority decision.

Sunderland super heavyweight Warren Baister went straight through to the last 16 and will take on Russian Aleksei Egorov.

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OLYMPIC silver medallist Nicola Wilson will be one of the star attractions at the Bramham International Horse Trials that start tomorrow.

Having failed to finish in the top 20 at Badminton on board Opposition Buzz, Wilson, who is based at Morton-on-Swale, near Northallerton, will be keen to impress in her home event.

As ever, Bramham has attracted some of the world's leading three-day eventers, with Saturday's cross-country sure to be one of the highlights of the region's equestrian year.

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FRESH from winning two medals at the Youth Olympics, Tees Rowing Club's Beth Bryan continued her rich vein of form by winning three golds at the Metropolitan Regatta held at Dorney Lake, the venue for the 2012 Games.