Sergiu Ciobanu ‘robbed’ claim rejected

Athletics Ireland has rejected the suggestion by Irish marathoner Sergiu Ciobanu that his Moldovan background counted against him in the decision to omit him from the Olympic marathon team.

Ciobanu was the third fastest Irish male marathoner during the qualification period, but was only announced as a reserve when the three-man team was named on Monday evening, which left the 32-year-old claiming he felt “robbed”.

Ciobanu, who was born in Moldova but moved to Ireland in 2006, said he believed if he was born in Ireland he would have been selected.