Olympic doping - Fallout could be devastating

THE shockwaves hitting Ireland’s Olympic gold medallist Cian O’Connor reach far beyond the allegation that his horse, Waterford Crystal, was given a banned substance.

For the rider himself, and for the sport generally, the repercussions could be devastating, something the president of the Irish Equestrian Federation, MEP Avril Doyle, openly admits.

Making an already bad situation even worse, the controversy has been exacerbated by the revelation that another of his horses, ABC Landliebe, failed tests in Rome for the same unauthorised drug, a substance yet to be identified.