Irish name tarnished by scandals, says Hickey

PAT HICKEY, Olympic Council of Ireland president, has admitted that Ireland’s name has ‘a bad name’ internationally due the drug scandals that have tainted medals won at two of the last three Games.

Michelle Smith won three gold medals and one bronze in the pool at the 1996 Games in Atlanta. Though she kept her medals, her achievements were sullied when she was handed a four-year ban in 1998 after being found guilty of tampering with a urine sample. Eight years later, Cian O’Connor won show jumping gold in Athens aboard Waterford Crystal before being subsequently stripped of the award after the horse tested positive for a banned substance.

“I would dearly love to see a medal because it lifts the whole thing,” said Hickey at yesterday’s unveiling of the Irish Olympic team’s uniform for the opening ceremony.