Cuddihy: I should never have been de-selected

Caitriona Cuddihy has said she should never have been de-selected by the Athletics Ireland Appeal Panel (AIAP).

It comes after the Olympic Council of Ireland (OCI) confirmed that Caitriona Cuddihy had been reinstated into Ireland's 4 x 400 metre relay team for the Olympics.

Kilkenny-born Cuddihy, 25, was initially named in a six-strong squad for the Games ahead of Joanna Mills, whose seasonal best was better than Cuddihy’s, leading to Mills successfully appealing the decision.

But Cuddihy’s original selection was based on a number of different criteria, including experience at major championships, and her appeal against Mills’ inclusion at her expense was upheld by an Athletics Ireland Appeal Panel in Dublin.

Mills, 19, could still take the case to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS).

Mills and her coach Ian Neely are due to release a statement in response to the ruling later today.

Cuddihy admits it was an anxious wait for her yesterday.

She said: "About 10 o'clock last night I got a phone call from my solicitor saying that he had got the official document and that we had won the appeal, so it was a very long day yesterday waiting to hear the result."

The Kilkenny athlete said there is no issue with herself and Mills.

Cuddihy said: "She is a really nice girl, I shared a room with her in Helsinki for the week at the RPNs and there is not a personal issue between myself and Joanna.

"My issue is with how Athletics Ireland handled the appeal and that I should never have been de-selected because I met the selection criteria."

A statement from the OCI read: “The Appeal Tribunal found that process for the original selection by the AI High Performance Relay Selectors had been carried out in a fair and proportionate manner.

“The AIAP in reaching its decision differed with the interpretation of the selectors in the application of two of the eight selection criteria for the women’s relay team on the grounds that their application had been too narrowly applied.

“The Tribunal in reviewing the selection criteria and the AIAP decision found that it did not agree with the AIAP conclusions. The Tribunal found that the selectors did follow and apply the selection policy outlined in the Relay Programme and did so with diligence and acumen.

“Based on these findings the Tribunal upheld the appeal of Catriona Cuddihy, and her original nomination to the OCI as an athlete on the Women’s 4 x 400m relay is reinstated.”