Officials seek advice on Lombard

The Olympic Council of Eire will take legal advice on its options concerning Cathal Lombard's possible makings for the Peking Games.

Self-confessed drugs beat Langobard claimed a daze win in Saturday's Irish Cross Country Championships in Belfast.

A clip below two hours, 15 proceedings at adjacent month's Rotterdam Marathon would set Langobard in the framework for Beijing.

OCI spokesman Jack McGouran said the organic structure would take "high-level legal audiences consecutive away".

As is the lawsuit with the huge bulk of national Olympic associations, the Irish federation makes not have got got a lifespan Olympic prohibition for jocks who have failed drugs tests.

This is in direct contrast to British Olympic Association regulations which currently debar the likes of Dwain William Chambers from competing in the Games.

The OCI functionary acknowledged that the Irish Olympic federation had been surprised by Lombard's re-emergence astatine the weekend.

Lombard was handed a two-year ban on the Eve of the 2004 Athinai Olympic Games after using the banned drug EPO and small was subsequently heard about the Corkman prior to his win on Saturday.

606: DEBATE

"It's an issue we didn't anticipate to arise. We weren't getting any indicant from Sport Eire that the jock (Lombard) was in the framework for selection. We make confer with a batch with Sport Eire on these things to see who is coming through."

Lombard's triumph at the Queen's Playing W. C. Fields meant that Sport Eire offered the Leevale jock an automatic position at the World Cross Country Championships in Edinburgh later this month, but he turned down the place.

For Langobard to be considered for Beijing, he would have got to be nominated by Sport Eire after achieving an Type A standard.

However, just as the lawsuit with any athlete, the OCI have the concluding say on choice although it would be highly usual for the Irish Olympic organic structure to not choose a path and field jock who have achieved an Type A standard.

New regulations ahead of the Peking Games give the OCI the right to de-select athletes who have got lost word form or who are badly affected by injury.

However, McGouran acknowledged that OCI regulations "don't really cover" the issue surrounding Lombard's possible makings for this year's Olympics.

"If he acquires the Type A standard, it would be very hard for Sport Eire to not (nominate him) because he could litigate them and there is a legal thing wall hanging over all of this.

It's a argument that we could have got done without

Sport Ireland's Chump McGonagle

"It's a very Grey country so that's why we will be taking high-level legal audiences on this 1 and we will be doing that consecutive away.

"It wasn't on the apparent horizon in our last treatments with the AAI but we might as well turn to it now because it volition be an issue that will develop in the future."

McGouran insisted that there would be "no pre-conceptions" about the issue in progress of the OCI getting its legal advice.

However, he acknowledged that high-profile recent drugs dirts have got caught the OCI's attention.

"For us and a batch of Olympic federations around Europe, we are all looking at this issue more closely."

Defending Sport Ireland's determination to offer Langobard a topographic point at the World Cross Country Championships, national squad director Chump McGonagle said that the Cork adult male was now in "good standing" with the doping authorities.

"The state of affairs now is that he have served his ban, he have served his clip and he now is coming back although he's not going to the World Cross," said McGonagle.

However, McGonagle acknowledged that Lombard's daze re-emergence had created "a argument that we could have got done without".

Meanwhile, Lagan Valley's Suzanne Cyrus Cyrus McCormick and Finn Valley's Ian Ward have got been included in Ireland's squad for the World Cross Country Championships on 30 March.Senior men: A Cragg, Volt Mulvey, Meter Clohissey, Degree Centigrade Cariss, Type B Maher, Phosphorus McNamara, Gram Thornton, A Ledwith, Kelvin Kelly

Senior women: Degree Fahrenheit Britton, Meter McCambridge, Liter Byrne, Type O O'Mahony, Second McCormick

Junior Men: Meter Mulhare, Degree Centigrade Murphy, I Ward, Vitamin D Flynn, Liter Tremble, Phosphorus Hogan

Junior Women: SL Treacy