Fears bet scandal may scupper O’Rourke’s Olympic hopes

One of Ireland’s top athletics chiefs admits to having concerns about Derval O’Rourke’s readiness for the Olympic Games following a betting scandal involving boyfriend Peter O’Leary.

Kevin Ankrom, high performance director of Athletics Ireland, said he has not spoken to the Cork hurdler since news broke last Saturday that Mr O’Leary had allegedly bet on sailing events in the Beijing Games four years ago, a contravention of Olympic rules.

Mr O’Leary is currently competing in the Men’s Star Class along with David Burrows in Weymouth, while Ms O’Rourke is due to begin her Olympic campaign in the 100m hurdles on Monday morning.