Cian O’Connor Olympic appeal decision not expected until 2016

Cian O’Connor was tight-lipped last night as he flew out of Lausanne, Switzerland, following his appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) in a bid to secure a place for the Irish show jumping team in next year’s Olympics.

Conscious of the sensitivities of the case, he instead issued a short statement, which said: “We had a full and complete hearing today with CAS in Lausanne. We now have to wait for the panel’s decision and we won’t be making any further comment until then.”

The Olympic bronze medalist had emerged from the day-long hearing in an appeal filed by himself and Horse Sport Ireland against the International Equestrian Federation (FEI) regarding the debacle at the European Championships in Aachen, Germany, last August that saw him impeded in his round by a member of the ground crew.