Ireland's equestrian team miss out on Rio Games following CAS ruling
By Reuters
Last Updated: 04/01/16 2:58pm
Ireland will miss the Olympic team showjumping event after the Court of Arbitration for Sport rejected their complaint over a bizarre incident at the European Championships last August.
Irish rider Cian O'Connor was on course for a clear round until he appeared to be distracted by a member of the ground staff running across the arena during the event in Aachen which doubled as the Olympic qualifying contest.
Television pictures showed a staff member, wearing a yellow shirt, running across O'Connor's path and jumping into a flower bed. The London 2012 individual bronze medallist's horse knocked down the next fence.
The incident cost Ireland a place at the Rio de Janeiro Games as they finished one place below Spain and out of the Olympic qualifying spots. If O'Connor had gone clear, the positions would have been reversed.
Ireland had already had an appeal against the result rejected by the International Equestrian Federation (FEI).
"Disappointing News," O'Connor posted on his Facebook page.
"I have no regrets. I tried everything possible and left no stone unturned in trying to seek fairness for what I feel was an unsporting decision made by the ground jury in Aachen.
"It's time to move on and refocus on the sport rather than getting caught up further in bureaucracy and even more angry with officialdom."
O'Connor will nevertheless attempt to qualify individually for Rio.
He won the showjumping title at Athens in 2004 but his horse, Waterford Crystal, failed a drugs test and the following year the Irish rider was stripped of his gold medal.
CAS did not give any reasons for its decision.
"The CAS Panel has issued only its decision today, without the grounds, which will follow in the coming weeks," CAS said in a statement.
