O'Connor stripped of Olympic gold
Monday, 28 March 2005 22:39
The President of the Irish Equestrian Federation, Avril Doyle, has said it is up to Cian O'Connor to decide whether to appeal the decision to strip him of his Olympic gold medal.
Speaking on RTÉ Radio, she also criticised the International Equestrian Federation for what she called the unprofessional way it dealt with the case.
She said she would be happy to see Cian O'Connor try out for Irish showjumping teams in the future.
The International Equestrian Federation found that his horse, Waterford Crystal, had two banned substances in its system during the games.
The judicial committee - based in Zurich - last night disqualified the 25-year-old Co Kildare rider from all competitions relating to the games and banned him for three months.
Mr O'Connor has again said he did done nothing wrong.
He said he was delighted that the sports body had accepted that neither he nor his vet were involved in any deliberate attempt to affect the performance of his horse.
O'Connor and his legal team are considering whether to lodge an appeal against the decision.
- News At One: Avril Doyle MEP, President of the Irish Equestrian Federation, agrees that the medal is tarnished, no matter what happens next
- News At One: Gareth O'Connor, who was at the hearing in Zurich yesterday, describes what Cian O'Connor said to him immediately after the ruling which took away his Olympic gold medal
- Morning Ireland: Grania Willis, Equestrian Correspondent for the Irish Times, discusses the implications of the ruling for Cian O'Connor
- Morning Ireland: Rodrigo Passoa, the Olympic silver medallist spoke to Brendan Fitzpatrick last night after the decision was announced
- Morning Ireland: Gareth O'Connor has the details of the findings of the FEI hearing in Zurich in Switzerland
- Nine News: Gareth O'Connor reports on the decision by showjumping's governing body to strip Cian O'Connor of his Olympic Gold Medal
- Six One News: Will Goodbody speaks to locals in O'Connor's home town of Ratoath and to Avril Doyle MEP, President of the Irish Equestrian Federation
- Six One News: Gareth O'Connor explains what happened at the IEF meeting in Zurich last night and speaks to Cian O'Connor and his solicitor Andrew Coonan
