Lombard returns home

The athlete who admitted taking the performance-enhancing drug EPO arrived back in Ireland tonight to face officials.

Cathal Lombard, a 28-year-old distance runner, refused to comment on his doping violations as he landed in Cork Airport.

Dressed in black and wearing glasses, he smiled as he was whisked away to the family home in Cork.

His sister Fionnuala was at the airport to greet him.

Lombard flew back from his training camp in northern Italy to face Irish officials who have demanded an explanation after he failed an out-of-competition drugs test in Switzerland on July 11.

The solicitor was one of Ireland’s hottest medal prospects, but will now be disqualified from running in the 10,000m and 5,000m at the Athens Olympic Games.

He faces a two-year suspension from the sport.

In an interview with the Irish Examiner, Lombard said he had been naïve to take the banned substance.

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

“I’m not trying to justify in any way 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 is the first Irish athlete to admit to knowingly taking EPO, which increases an athlete’s endurance by boosting the red blood cell count.

The Irish Sports Council had tested the runner six times this year, following dramatic improvements in his performances.

He ran a time of 27:33:53 in the 10,000m at Stanford University in the US earlier this year, which was 13 seconds faster than the previous Irish record.

It was also three minutes faster than his previous personal best.

Irish Olympic team chief Willie O’Brien said everyone felt let down by the news after all the hard work and training.

“The athletes feel sorry for Cathal and his family for what he has brought on their shoulders, but they don’t want a cheat amongst the team,” he said.

Sports Minister John O’Donoghue has described the incident as “disheartening” for all involved.

But he encouraged the rest of the Olympic team to keep their spirits up, train hard and do their best for their country.

Lombard is expected to give an explanation for his behaviour to the Athletics Association of Ireland tomorrow.