Fionnuala McCormack vents frustration after Kenyan athlete wins 10,000m at European Championships

In the womens 10,000m race at the European Athletic Championships in Amsterdam on Wednesday, Fionnuala McCormack (née Britton) finished in fourth place just outside the medals. The race was won by a Kenyan athlete running for Turkey. Yasemin Can (born Vivian Jemutai) competed for Kenya until May 25, 2015 and on March 13, 2016, she became officially eligible to represent Turkey at international competitions.

In an interview just after the race, Fionnuala McCormack said.......'It’s a joke. People shouldn’t be allowed to hop countries just because they feel like it. They’re taking such a soft approach? Once you’ve represented one country past a certain age, that should be your country for life. I don’t just want to go on like I’m bitter for coming fourth, because I’m not, but there’s a reason it’s called the European Championships.

I’m sick of it, It’s the exact same thing every f**king time. It’s more than frustrating at this stage. I am kind of sick of it really,"

Sonia O'Sullivan & Jerry Kiernan discuss Yasemin Can, the Kenyan-born athlete who won 10,000m European C'ship goldhttps://t.co/71EWF7RYgY

— RTÉ Sport (@RTEsport) July 6, 2016