Athlete's excuses win little support

2004 OLYMPICS/Cathal Lombard's positive drugs test: Reaction to Cathal Lombard's claim that he used erythropoietin (EPO) to "have an equal chance with everyone else" has been largely condemning and unsympathetic. Lombard will later today offer a formal insight into how and why he used the illegal performance-enhancing drug, but it is now confirmed that Lombard was specifically targeted for testing because of his dramatic improvements in performance over the past two years.

Before arriving back in Cork last night from his recent training base in Tirrenia, Italy, Lombard was asked for further comment on his revelation on Sunday evening that he deliberately used EPO.

"That was a mistake," he said. "There is more I want to say, but I have to do it right. I'll come home and say everything in a statement. And I've nothing more to say until then."

Among the first to respond to Lombard's admission that "this is what I did, and hands up, I did it" was his coach Joe Doonan. In several instances over the past two years Lombard put much of his astonishing improvements over the 5,000 and 10,000 metres down to the more finely-tuned coaching of Doonan.

Doonan, however, said he felt "sick and bewildered at the apparent dishonesty" and also felt "betrayed at the revelations".

Lombard had indicated that the EPO was self-administered, with nobody else involved.

"First of all, I feel that my personal integrity and international reputation as a world-class athletics coach has been marred," added Doonan. "I will let Cathal Lombard speak for himself. But I am neither a physician nor a chemist, or never claimed to be one.

"I never have or never would suggest to an athlete that they use drugs as a way to improve their performances, nor would I condone their use in any way. I was rendered speechless when I heard the news about the positive test for EPO. I felt sick and bewildered at the apparent dishonesty and felt betrayed at the revelations."

The Cavan schoolteacher, who also coached Catherina McKiernan at the height of her career, added that finding his name associated with Lombard's story had left him "cold and utterly disgusted".

And, more significantly, he rejected Lombard's claim that drugs were necessary just to be competitive in modern athletics: "I still believe as a coach that with proper training, hard work and the grace of God you can reach the top without recourse to illegal drugs."

An even stronger rejection of Lombard's claim that doping in sport had reached "near epidemic proportions" came from Mark Carroll, the fellow Cork athlete whose national 10,000-metre record of 27:46.82 was sensationally lowered by Lombard to 27:33.53 in California back on April 30th.

"I don't accept whatsoever Cathal's reasoning that he took EPO to level the playing field," said Carroll, currently finalising his preparations for Athens in Salsburg, Austria.

"We all know that people cheat, but in Cathal's case I don't think it was about levelling the playing field, it was about reaching the playing field."

Carroll didn't hide his suspicions that the 28-year-old Lombard had improved from a 30:35.96 runner at the start of 2003 to a 27:33.53 runner by the start of 2004.

"To me it was blatantly obvious," added Carroll, now 32 and still the Irish record holder over 5,000 metres. "How anybody couldn't see it I don't understand. I mean what he did over the last year just made me realise how good the stuff is. I mean Alistair Cragg would run 12:50 for 5,000 metres right now if he took the stuff.

"So I think the Sports Council did a good job, because in the last two years there's only really been a question mark over two Irish athletes: Cathal Lombard and Geraldine Hendricken. And both have now been caught."

There was, admitted Carroll, a strong question mark hanging over Lombard throughout the Irish team headed to Athens: "That question mark has now been removed. And I know for certain, and I'd bet my house on it, that the rest of the team going to Athens now is clean."

It now seems certain that in light of Lombard's admission, Carroll's record of 27:46.82, set four years ago, will be restored.

As for Lombard's other claims that he would like to make a clean comeback after two years, his agent Ray Flynn, based in Tennessee, said simply, "No, Cathal's career is finished".

Another to speak out in the course of yesterday was former international Jerry Kiernan, the ninth-place finisher in the Los Angeles Olympic marathon and more recently a coach to several Irish cross country teams that included Lombard.

"First of all, I never accepted the times that Cathal ran. Never. You don't just go from 14:23 to 13:19 in one year. That effectively meant that when I was at my best he would have beaten me by the length of the straight. And that made no sense. It proves there are no short-cuts in sport, particularly in distance running."