OCI unlikely to change deadline
However, they could ratify the nomination of discus thrower Nick Sweeney, who threw the qualifying distance at a meet in the US on Sunday, hours after the deadline expired.
Last night, representatives of the Athletic Association of Ireland met with OCI representatives, including Hon General Secretary, Dermot Sherlock, and the Chef de Mission for Athens, Willie O’Brien, and it is understood they made cases for athletes who are close to the required A standards. Those include sprinter Gary Ryan, high hurdler Peter Coghlan, and 1,500m runner Gareth Turnbull, who are likely to achieve the standard between now and August.
Today they will submit the necessary documentation on Nick Sweeney’s performance.
They already have the details from the meet at Allston, Massachusetts, where the Dubliner, an economic analyst on Wall St, threw 64.12 metres to qualify.
And the vibes from OCI headquarters on Mespil Road were good yesterday as they awaited the official documentation.
But with the OCI set to name the team at a function in the National Concert Hall tomorrow morning, it appeared they would go no further than Sunday’s performance in naming the team which, with Sweeney’s inclusion, will number 49.
“There will be no change in the Olympic Council’s stance. There will be no extension. The cut off has been done,” OCI Press Officer Jack McGouran said.
“The case of Nick Sweeney is different and will be considered.”
Liam Hennessy, AAI International Secretary, admitted the battle was probably lost last year when the proposed deadline was put forward.
“We made a submission to the OCI for additional people and the Executive will now look at this in the near future,” he said.
“They will announce the team as intended tomorrow and that team will include the 13 athletes who qualified before the deadline expired. We made a separate submission for Nick Sweeney. There is no guarantee he will be approved by the OCI as it has to go before the Executive.”
He said there was a delay in getting the official documentation from the USA Track and Field due to the July 4 holiday, but that he would forward it immediately to the OCI.
He added they spent a lot of time going through the various athletes’ claims and scenarios and the paperwork for those people was accepted as a formal presentation last night.
“The OCI Executive will look at it over the coming days and will respond to us. That’s officially where it stands. We got a good hearing and they took on board what we said, but they were not in a position last night to make any official comment on it. It now rests with the Executive but they are quite happy that any clarification that they needed was before them.
“It was a cordial and business-like meeting and hopefully they will have taken everything on board. We can only keep pushing for what we can get. Every one would be a bonus.”
All the athletes concerned will continue to chase standards in the coming weeks and Gary Ryan spoke for all of them when he said it was a matter of pride and personal achievement.
“I can make the standard. I have put a lot of time, effort and expense into this but at least I will have the personal satisfaction of knowing I did what I had to do and Olympic selection was out of my hands. But I did my part.”
Last night’s AAI delegation also included Athens Team Manager, Cork man Michael Quinlan, and the Performance Manager, Elaine Fitzgerald, a former athlete who competed in the 1999 world championships in Seville.
CONNECT WITH US TODAY
Be the first to know the latest news and updates
