Michael O'Reilly has been named as the Irish boxer who has tested positive for a banned substance ahead of the Rio Olympics, in the first doping violation of the Games.
The Irish Examiner reported today that O'Reilly had failed a pre-competition test on an 'A' sample from a test conducted in Ireland before flying over to Brazil, news which Balls.ie have now confirmed elsewhere.
The Irish Athletic Boxing Association, whose President Pat Ryan is O'Reilly's coach, has released a statement in the aftermath of the shocking revelations although they have not mentioned any names in the statement.
The Irish Athletic Boxing Association (IABA) has been notified by Sport Ireland today of an alleged violation of the Irish Anti-doping Rules committed by one of the boxers in our High Performance Unit.
In following the strict procedures applying to an adverse analytical finding, the athlete in question has been informed and is provisionally suspended. The boxer can request to have a “B” sample tested but cannot participate in any competition or activity prior to the completion of an investigation under Article 8 of the Irish Anti-doping Rules.
The Irish Athletic Boxing Association has always maintained a zero tolerance approach to doping and Irish Boxing has been one of the most widely tested sports by the National Anti-Doping Programme over the last number of years.
And the Olympic Council of Ireland followed that shortly after with their own response to the findings:
The Olympic Council of Ireland can confirm that the Sport Ireland Anti-Doping Agency has returned an adverse analytical finding in an A-sample provided to anti-doping officers.
The finding relates to a test not conducted at the Rio Olympic Games. The athlete has been provisionally suspended from competition and can take part in no sports activity, including training, in accordance with the WADA code.
The athlete will now decide whether to accept a sanction for a doping violation, to request that a B-sample be tested, or to appeal the provisional suspension.
O'Reilly now has the right to appeal and ask for a B sample to be tested, though will be unable to compete while the appeal process is ongoing.
The Portlaoise boxer had been tipped as a medal prospect, having won bronze at the World Championships in Doha last year and gold at the European Games in Baku.
