“My reaction was, first of all, I was thinking ‘Thank God it wasn’t an athlete’”.
Unfortunately from an Irish perspective, the main talking point about the Rio Olympics so far has been the news that Irish boxer Michael O’Reilly failed a drug test prior to the competition.
The latest reports, as per the Irish Independent, suggest that O’Reilly will have an appeal heard by the Irish Sports Anti-Doping Disciplinary Panel in Dublin, but that he will not request the testing of a ‘B’ sample.
O’Reilly has been suspended and segregated from the rest of the Irish athletes in the Olympic Village as a result of the test.
The episode has been the subject of much discussion and it was brought up during RTE’s coverage of the opening ceremony on Friday night.
This is what Bernard Dunne had to say about the effect it might have on the other Irish boxers at the Olympics…
Bernard Dunne believes Ireland's boxers will not let the Michael O'Reilly doping allegations affect them #rterio2016 https://t.co/xVPP8mQl01
— RTÉ Sport (@RTEsport) August 5, 2016
When asked about his reaction to the news, athletics analyst Jerry Kiernan responded by saying: “My reaction was, first of all, I was thinking ‘Thank God it wasn’t an athlete’ because we’re in the news all the time but that was only a fleeting reaction.”
Kiernan elaborated further and later said: “I hope his excuse is a good one, I hope it’s valid… but at this stage, without knowing all the facts, I would be pessimistic as to the outcome.”
You can see the RTE’s panels views in full here. Kiernan’s comments start at 2:50.
Kiernan’s point of view, or more specifically, his line about the test not involving an athlete, did not go down well with many of the watching audience. Former Olympic silver medallist Kenneth Egan was particularly unimpressed.
"Thank god it wasn't an athlete" what kind of SHIT talk is that from a former sports person, the Olympic team are made up of athletes #gimp
— Kenneth Egan OLY (@kenegan30) August 6, 2016
#rterio2016 jerry Kiernan initial reaction to Michael o reilly testing +ive 'thank god it wasn't an athlete ' WTF!!
— Derek Stenson (@StensonDerek) August 5, 2016
#rterio2016 Jerry Kiernan "thank god it wasn't an athlete" ?! 😠
— Derek Kelly (@teamharp) August 5, 2016
@RTEsport Jerry Kiernan excels again (not), "my first reaction was thank god he's not an athlete" #clown
— Declan Woods (@woods_declan) August 5, 2016
#rterio2016, jerry kiernan is a Muppet, a boxer is an athlete, just the same as any other sports person is
— hugo (@hugob35) August 5, 2016
https://twitter.com/dazmanOnline/status/761692678434217986
"Thank God it wasn't an athlete…" Get off the stage Jerry Kiernan. #Rio2016
— Pat Nolan (@pat_nolan) August 5, 2016
Kiernan, meanwhile, was later asked about his hopes for Rio 2016 and his standout moment from the London Olympics and had the following response.
Jerry Kiernan on his hopes for #Rio2016 and his stand-out moment from London 2012 #rterio2016 https://t.co/Fu2oSlmbAu
— RTÉ Sport (@RTEsport) August 5, 2016
