I will be back and just as fast, vows Geraldine

THE supplement which caused Geraldine Hendricken to test positive was not contaminated by nandrolone but a nandrolone-related substance — 19-norandrosterne, and she said last night that this was very important for her.

At the weekend, the Athletic Association of Ireland (AAI) announced the findings of the oral hearing held on September 4 and confirmed a two-year ban.

The Carlow athlete, who became the second-fastest 1,500m runner on the Irish all-time list, behind Sonia O’Sullivan, just over a year earlier, vowed that she will be back.

"I may be 33 but my legs don’t feel 33,” she said. “What it means is that I have 18 months to get ready for my next competition and I feel now that I have something to prove. I know I have to go out there and run at least as fast as I have ever run before and I am determined to do that.”

She tested positive for what was then said to be nandrolone in an out of competition test on February 10. Six days later she was tested again at the All-Ireland indoor championships in the Odyssey Arena in Belfast but, this time, the test was returned negative.

In another twist, it was discovered that the substance in question was 19-norandrosterne, which is a metabolite of a banned substance.

The AAI had commissioned the German Sports Institute in Cologne to conduct an analysis of her supplements, and traces of what was described as an anabolic androgenic steroid were found.

“It was not nandrolone and that was very important for me,” she said. “She warned that there was a lesson in there for every other Irish athlete and particularly those who might be taking dietary supplements.

She admitted last evening that she was relieved it was all over now. It had dragged on for six and a half months. But she was critical of the AAI for their lack of support.

“They sought a two-year ban,” she said. “They said I attended a seminar last October at which the dangers of taking supplements were highlighted. As far as I can recall, just a couple of minutes were devoted to this.

“But what annoyed me most was the fact that I had attended that particular seminar was used against me. I have a degree in biology and a masters in exercise physiology and this, too, was used against me. As I see it, I would have been better off if I had dropped out of high school.”

She was speaking in Edinburgh, where she is training for her post with the Elite Sports Organisation. She will be their representative in Ireland.

“I’m not sitting here crying or feeling sorry for myself,” she said. “I’ll be back with something to prove and the people who think my career is over can think again. This makes me more determined.”

Meanwhile, Mark Carroll has been forced to withdraw from the upcoming New York City Marathon, scuppering hopes of a triumphant return to the Big Apple, where he finished sixth last year in a spectacular if not sensational 2:10.54.

The 31-year-old Corkman has again been troubled by a hip injury which caused him to miss the Boston Marathon last spring and all of the track season, including the world championships.

He had made a return to competitive running in New York during those world championships and had been hoping to improve on his time and his placing in New York City on November three.

But, at the weekend, he had to inform the organisers that a recent MRI scan on his troublesome left hip showed a bruised bone and accompanying inflammation of the soft tissue in the same area.

An Olympian in Sydney, he is one of eight track and field athletes with the A standard for next year’s Olympic Games in Athens and that was from his New York performance last year.

He also has his sights on a qualifying standard for 10,000m and had been hoping to achieve that during the summer.

Those hopes were dashed, however, when he picked up the hip bone injury while training at altitude in Albuquerque in preparation for the Boston Marathon.

He currently holds every Irish record from 3,000m up to 10,000m and had been hoping to break John Treacy’s marathon record this year.