Denis Lynch
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Denis Lynch (born May 3, 1976) is an Irish show jumper who represented Ireland at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing.[1] Early on 21 August it emerged that he had withdrawn from the equestrian individual final which was due to have been held later that day. [2] It was later confirmed that Lynch was banned from entering the show jumping final due to his horse, Lantinus, being found to have been in contact with illegal substances. Latinus was found to have capsaicin in his system due to the use of a cream similar to Deep-heat called Equiblock. Lynch had been using the banned substance for some time but maintained that he did not know it was illegal. He described himself as "shattered" due to missing out on his chance for an Olympic medal. [3] Lantinus was one of four horses banned on doping offences; the others were from Brazil, Germany and Norway. [4] Lantinus and Lynch had been described prior to the scandal as "Ireland's best chance of an Olympic medal in Beijing". [5]
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[edit] 2008 scandal
[edit] Build-up
Denis Lynch had qualified for the final on Thursday 21 August by posting his worst result of the equestrian event the previous Monday. He recorded six penalty points in his third outing of the competition. Four of the points had been for jumping errors, whilst two came about due to him exceeding the 88 second time limit. Lynch had had only two points going into the Monday's event. [6]
[edit] Aftermath
In the hours that followed the revelations, Horse Sport Ireland made a statement on Lynch's Olympic shame, saying it was "informed by the world equestrian governing body, the FEI, at 2.15pm Hong Kong time on Thursday (21 August), that Irish Olympic rider Denis Lynch's horse, Lantinus had tested positive for a banned substance and that as a result he would be suspended from taking part in tonight's show jumping final." A urine sample from the horse's bladder was subjected to a voluntary screening testing process made available by the FEI on the horse's arrival in Hong Kong, the results of which proved negative. [7]
The head of the Irish Olympic team, Dermot Henihan, refused to speak to Lynch, calling it "a bitter pill to swallow". [8] A row is currently escalating after the President of the Olympic Council of Ireland threatened to ban the equestrian team from particpating in future Olympic Games. [9] In an interview with the Irish Independent Pat Hickey accused the show-jumping industry of dragging Irish sport "through the mud" and said the embarrassment caused by Lynch could have "very serious repercussions for the entire equine industry in our country". Damien McDonald, the chief executive of Horse Sport Ireland, called it a "nightmare" and expressed his disappointment at Hickey for commenting publicly instead of first meeting with him in Ireland. He says he believes show-jumping could be removed from the Olympics altogether, with the International Olympic Committee scheduled to meet in Copenhagen in October to consider applications from five new sports to be included in future Olympic Games.
[edit] Political reaction
Minister for Sport Martin Cullen, who had been expected to fly from Beijing to Hong Kong if Lynch and Lantinus had won a medal in the final, was said to be "staying silent" as the controversy unfolded. The sports spokesperson for Fine Gael, Ireland's opposition party, Olivia Mitchell called it an understatement to say it was disappointing because "we knew we (Ireland) were going to be in the spotlight". She said there was no other option other than for it to have been an act of cheating or "incredible stupidity" and called for "swift condemnation and appropriate sanctions" to be handed out to Lynch. Mitchell did not accept Lynch's excuse of ignorance saying that "it is well known that capsaicin is a banned substance". She said the scandal would lead to "dismay among the public". [10]
[edit] Perspective
Doubt has been cast on the future of equestrianism as part of the Olympics. [11] The doping scandal follows previous incidents at past Olympics, most notably the Cian O'Connor incident at Athens in 2004. O'Connor won an individual showjumping gold medal with his horse Waterford Crystal but was later stripped of it because of drug offences. Also in Athens, a doping scandal cost team Germany a jumping gold after the horse ridden by Ludger Beerbaum was disqualified when it tested positive for drugs. World number one, Meredith Michaels-Beerbaum, was left off the German team for Athens after her horse tested positive, though she was later cleared.
[edit] References
- ^ http://www.horseandhound.co.uk/olympics/7285/262806.html
- ^ "Showjumper Lynch withdraws from Olympic final". Irish Independent (2008-08-21). Retrieved on 2008-08-22.
- ^ http://www.breakingnews.ie/sport/mhqleyeygbmh/
- ^ "Showjumper Lynch withdraws after positive drug test". Irish Independent (2008-08-21). Retrieved on 2008-08-22.
- ^ "Lynch and Lantinus bookies' favourite to join elite group of Irish medal winners". Irish Independent (2008-08-06). Retrieved on 2008-08-22.
- ^ "Lynch qualifies for final". RTÉ (2008-08-19). Retrieved on 2008-08-22.
- ^ "Horse Sport Ireland make Lynch statement". RTÉ (2008-08-22). Retrieved on 2008-08-22.
- ^ "Olympic chief devastated by horse doping scandal". Irish Independent (2008-08-21). Retrieved on 2008-08-22.
- ^ "Doping row escalates over team ban threat". Irish Independent (2008-08-23). Retrieved on 2008-08-22.
- ^ "TD condemns 'incredible stupidity'". Irish Independent (2008-08-22). Retrieved on 2008-08-22.
- ^ "Lynch banned from Olympic Jumping". RTÉ (2008-08-22). Retrieved on 2008-08-22.
