Moldova-born marathon runner Sergiu Ciobanu urged Athletics Ireland to have greater transparency in their qualification requirements after his appeal against his omission from the Ireland Olympic team was rejected by CAS.
Ciobanu ran a faster qualifying time than Belfast-based athlete Paul Pollock but was not selected for Rio, with Pollock joining Mick Clohisey and Kevin Seaward on the three-man squad.
This led to an appeal from Ciobanu who, back in May, when describing the decision to omit him from the squad, said: "It’s disgusting to see that rules were not respected".
However he learned on Friday that he was unsuccessful in his attempt to have it overturned and vowed to focus his energies on making Tokyo 2020.
“I am very disappointed not to have the opportunity to represent Ireland at the 2016 Olympics, a country I have called home since 2006," he said in a statement.
"Having run for Ireland in the past, I was hopeful that my recent performances as per the Athletics Ireland qualification guidelines, together with my track record, would enable me to run for my country.
"That said, I fully respect the decision of CAS and certainly wish each and every member of the Irish marathon team every success at Rio and have no doubt that they will represent Ireland with pride.
"I also look forward to continuing my close relationship with Athletics Ireland over the next four years as I set my sights on Tokyo 2020."
"I took this necessary action to highlight the lack of clarity that I believe currently exists for many Irish athletes."
The qualification process for Rio consisted of three performance windows in which marathon athletes could attempt to achieve the required standard qualifying time for nomination by Athletics Ireland to be selected by the Olympic Council of Ireland for the team.
As part of this process, Ciobanu ran the Berlin Marathon in September 2015, finishing as the second fastest Irish male and achieving the required Olympic qualification time.
At the end of the overall qualification process, he was ranked as the third fastest Irish male marathon runner. However, he was not selected.
"I took this necessary action to highlight the lack of clarity that I believe currently exists for many Irish athletes, all of whom make great sacrifices to represent their country," he added.
"I will continue to seek to represent Ireland and I would call on Athletics Ireland to ensure greater transparency and clarity in their qualification requirements to safeguard athletes in the future.
"I would also like to take this opportunity to thank my family and all those who have supported me in my appeal.”
