AN IRISH ATHLETE will tomorrow face an Irish Sport Anti-Doping Disciplinary Panel hearing, having reportedly failed a doping test in December.
Martin Fagan has admitted to Ian O’Riordan of the Irish Times that he bought EPO on the internet and administered it himself ahead of a planned appearance at yesterday’s Houston marathon.
The Mullingar man explained that a combination of depression, financial pressures and injury contributed to his fateful decision.
Athletics Ireland confirmed on Saturday that an Irish athlete had indeed failed a drug test, though they would not go into details.
Under anti-doping guidelines, an athlete can choose to appear before a disciplinary panel to explain the findings or have a B sample tested. Having chosen the latter, the 28-year-old will now likely be handed a two-year ban, meaning his top-level career is probably now over.
The news came on the day, fellow marathon runner Ava Hutchinson claimed her spot in London next summer with a time nearly 90 seconds inside the Olympic A qualification standard of 2:37:00 at the Houston event.
