Lombard’s race is run

CATHAL LOMBARD has admitted to taking the performance enhancing drug Erythropoietin (EPO).

The 28-year-old Corkman will not contest the findings.

“I didn’t set out to try and win medals or to make money. I just wanted to be as competitive as I could and have an equal chance with everyone else.

“I am not trying to justify what I did in any way; I am just saying this was the case, this is what I did and, hands up, I did it.”

Lombard, whose honesty is a historic first, expressed his sorrow and apologised to everyone in advance of the pending statement from the Athletics Association of Ireland.

“I got a letter faxed to me on Friday from the Irish Sports Council informing me of a possible breach of the Irish anti-doping rules,” he said.

“That concerned an out of competition test conducted on July 11 in Switzerland where traces of EPO were detected.

“That was my sixth out of competition test this year. I had five others in 2004 and all were clear.

“I still have to receive further information; all I have received so far is the faxed cover letter from the Irish Sports Council.

“At the moment, subject to looking at all the information, it’s unlikely I will contest the findings.”

On his own admission he is guilty and, in stating this, has made history as the first athlete to admit taking a banned substance.

“I know,” he said. “Nobody has ever admitted their guilt. Nobody is ever guilty.”

Speaking from northern Italy, where he has been training for the Olympics, he said he did not condone drugs in sport or to try and justify what he did; but he insisted doping in sport had reached near epidemic proportions.

“I don’t want doping in sport,” he said, “but it has certainly reached epidemic proportions.

“My eyes were really opened from conversations I had with people on the professional scene. I looked at some of the times being consistently run and I asked myself if this was possible naturally: the only logical conclusion I could reach was that, in a lot of cases, the answer was definitely ‘no’. I didn’t set out to try and win medals or to make money. I just wanted to be as competitive as I could and have an equal chance with everyone else.”

“I realise now that most of the people I’m speaking about on the professional scene are operating on a very sophisticated basis, with proper medical back-up and advice on how not to get caught.

“In comparison I was merely dabbling and made no attempt to cover it up. There was nobody else involved at all,” he said. “I am not trying to justify what I did in any way; I am just saying this was the case and this is what I did and hands up, I did it.“It is happening across all professional sports in the world, I think. But I acted independently. There was nobody else involved and that’s what caught me out at the end of the day.

“I would not say those who are doing it at the top level would be going about it the same way. They would be going through medical people. I don’t know who you would go to or who you would approach. I just know it goes on. I am sure if I went looking I could have found out the names of people.

“Looking back it was naïve on my part to do what I did, but it just happened.

“Of course I feel remorse. I am in a bad situation now and I regret doing it. But I can’t change things now. I have to accept it and get on with things.”

Ironically, he was an outstanding athlete en route to the top flight.

Last year he ran 13:19.22 for 5,000m to put him seventh on the all-time list and qualify him for the Olympic Games.

This year he went to Stanford, California, for a shot at the qualifying standard for 10,000m and not only did he qualify, but he set a new Irish record at 27:33.53. In recent months, however, his form has plummeted, dropping out of races in Gateshead and Crystal Palace. He was looking for some of the old sparkle when he went to St. Moritz for a stint at altitude, but he tested positive there.

“I would hate to think that my career is over,” he said. “I love running and I will continue to run. And I would hope that I will have an opportunity to show or to prove to myself how far I could take it by being 100% clear.

“I know that in the past couple of years I made great advances in training and in the things that I was doing.

“I know all that brought about quite good improvements in my running so I’d like to see how far I could take it. I still think that I could run quite quick without anything. I have done that in the past.

“There is no point taking something unless you are in really good shape; it will only give you the extra edge. I still think I can achieve quite a bit and we’ll see in a couple of years what will happen. Maybe I’ll change my mind, but I’d like to think I will hang in there and come back and stay in the sport.”

Paula Radcliffe has been campaigning against athletes who have been using the blood boosting performance enhancer for years and highlighted her protest at the world championships in Canada three years ago; since then she has worn emblem saying she is willing to put herself forward for a blood test.

Mark Carroll, whose national 10,000m record was broken by his Leevale clubmate, Lombard, has also been outspoken in his condemnation of drug abuse in sport. He once turned down a lucrative offer to pace in a world record attempt, because he suspected an athlete involved was not clean.

The naming of Lombard is again a concern to the Athletics Association of Ireland as it is a breach of confidentiality. Geraldine Hendricken, serving a two-year ban at present, was one of the last people to know that she had tested positive.