That's the word that the president of the Equestrian Federation of Ireland, Avril Doyle, used to describe Cian O'Connor's Athens gold (& Waterford Crystal's blue ribbon, which will surely have to be returned). Tarnished is putting it mildly. Fraudulent is more accurate.
O'Connor's caught. Ireland's had three gold medal winners since 1960. Two of those were cheats. Michelle Smith in 1996 and now O'Connor. Is Ireland the new East Germany? Obviously not, but I wouldn't be surprised if some people outside Ireland began to think so.
Pat Hickey has been at the helm of the Olympic Council of Ireland for both scandals. Will he now resign? Shouldn't he?
By the way, somebody might want to update the OCI's web site.
