Martin Fagan has just completed the Zurich Marathon in a time of 2h 16m 09s which is inside the qualifying time of 2:17 required for the Rio Olympics in 2016.
Finishing in 11th place overall, Martin went through the half marathon mark in 1:06:16. Just to give you a better idea of how fast that is, a 1:06:16 half is 5:03 min/mile pace. A 2:16:09 full is 5:12 min/mile pace.
This will be a controversial result considering that he served a 2 year ban for taking EPO and there is likely to be a pretty mixed reaction to this.
More info in this interview with Feidhlim Kelly who writes athletics articles for the Irish Examiner
9 comments:
Great result, great athlete, stunning performance. Well done.
He should never have been allowed run again
Has to picked on irish team. Far and away the best irish distance runner we have at the moment.
How can you call a drug cheat a great athlete?
He only took epo the day he was caught ???
Be terrible to see him represent Ireland in the Olympics.
Just a note. Martin broke every record in this country before he ever took any substance. He found himself in a bad place at a bad time. Depression does that to you. I really wish him all the best and hope to catch up with him soon.
No-one will ever know how much he took or when he started taking it.
That said the punishment should fit the crime, so if the IAA (or whoever) decided 2 years was fair, then so be it. Due to the nature of it, there'll always be a question mark about his times going forward (and indeed backward), part of the price you pay I guess (rightly or wrongly). A real pity if he's shown he can qualify for the Olympics WITHOUT any banned substances.
P.S. to the last post, plenty of people suffer from depression, not sure how many people cheat as a result of it though (in whatever they do, at sport, at work etc). In really , really extreme cases (only) it could lead to bad decisions, but suggesting depression can lead to cheating at sport is a bit harsh (to say the least).
Just to clarify. Under the rules at the time, anyone who was found guilty of doping for the first time was banned for 2 years.
Martin Fagan has served the 2 year ban and is now eligible. Some people may feel it should be longer but they're the rules.
Unless 3 other Irish men run faster times then he is likely to be selected for Rio.
Good to see him back delighted for you Martin feck the nay sayers!!!
You did wrong
you served your time
now go kick ass the clean way we all know you can
Everyone deserves a second chance. I was in America injured and depressed.Your on your own when your out. I never went down the road Fagan went down but he has served his ban. Best of luck to him as long as stays clean.
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