O'Sullivan blasts eligibility rules

Olympic silver medallist Sonia O'Sullivan has added her voice to the growing criticism of the loose rules surrounding international eligibility for athletes that has seen a flood of Kenyan runners compete in European competition for Turkey recently.

Her comments come following the European cross-country championship in Sardina at the weekend where Ireland’s Fionnuala McCormack missed out on a medal after Kenyan-born pair Yasemin Can and Meryem Akda finished first and second for Turkey.

Norway's Karoline Grovdal came home third, with Romania's Ancuta Bobocel taking fourth ahead of McCormack.

The Wicklow native has expressed her dissatisfaction with the lax rules before and has been supported by O’Sullivan and former distance runner Jerry Kiernan who labelled the system “a joke”.

"It's a shame really that there are Kenyans so easily allowed to represent European countries because it takes away from the race," O'Sullivan told RTÉ Sport.

"I don't think they are legitimately running for the country. They don't live there. They haven't grown up there. There is no connection there.

"They are basically being paid to run for Turkey.

“Whoever made that decision, allowed that to happen in the IAAF when they made it, they’re not brave enough to distinguish between cases that are legitimate, where there’s reasons forpeople moving countries for refugee status or reasons other than going to be a part of a team.

“When you run for your country, you shouldn’t really be buying people from other countries."

Kiernan didn’t mince his words on the matter.

"The whole thing is a joke," he added. "For years the IAAF was very, very badly led. Lamine Diack was at the head of the association and there was all kinds of stuff going on.

"There was corruption, there was drugs, there was this easy ability to be able to switch from one country to the next.

"Those two Kenyans don't live in Turkey. They've probably never been to Turkey.

"They have no connection whatsoever with Turkey other than when they pitch up to these competitions wearing the Turkish singlet.

"They are not the only country doing it but they are the most blatant. They’re shameless.”

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