Michael O'Reilly ruled out of Rio 2016 after not contesting positive drugs test

09 August 2016 08:53

Ireland boxer Michael O'Reilly has been ruled out of the Rio Olympics after electing not to contest a provisional suspension imposed upon him for a positive drugs test.

The Olympic Council of Ireland announced the 23-year-old, who had been due to begin his campaign in the middleweight division, will not compete.

In a statement the OCI said: "The OCI can today confirm that Michael O'Reilly is no longer contesting the provisional suspension imposed on him on the 4 August 2016 and will not compete for Team Ireland at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games."

O'Reilly underwent a random test conducted by Sport Ireland prior to flying out to Brazil with the rest of the boxing team, and was informed of the test results on August 4.

Since then he was forced to stay outside the Olympic Village and have no contact with his team-mates as he considered whether to appeal the results and request a 'B' sample.

O'Reilly was considered one of Ireland's strongest hopes for a boxing medal after winning gold at the inaugural European Games in Baku last year.

But he had had discipline problems in the past and was one of two Irish boxers fined and sent home from the European Olympic qualifying tournament in May for breaking team rules.

It is the latest blow for the Irish team in Rio after the shock defeat of their captain and two-time Olympic bronze medallist Paddy Barnes in his opening light-flyweight bout on Monday.

Source: PA