ATHLETICS WORLD CROSS COUNTRY CHAMPIONSHIPS NEWSATHLETICS IRELAND may have been spared the indignity of having to select Cathal Lombard for the World Cross Country championships, but his return after a two-year drugs ban has reignited the debate over the way self-confessed drug cheats can walk back into their sport.

That debate could be further inflamed if, as anticipated, Lombard tries to lay claim to Olympic qualification. His victory in Saturday's National Interclubs championships in Belfast had given Lombard an automatic place on the Irish team for the World Cross Country, which takes place in Edinburgh on March 30th, but he subsequently told Athletics Ireland he did not want to be considered.

But Lombard refused to expand on his ambitions, including his plan to run the Rotterdam marathon on April 13th with a view to gaining the qualifying standard for Beijing. "I'm not sure about that," he said after his victory in Belfast. "I have some business interests to look after now as well."

The reception he received on winning Saturday's race may yet influence his decision; he crossed the finish line to not so much as a ripple of applause, with runner-up Alistair Cragg describing Lombard's drug-cheating past as "disgusting", and third-place finisher Vinny Mulvey refusing to shake hands.

The Olympic Council of Ireland (OCI) has the last word on all Irish qualifiers for Beijing, but unlike the British Olympic Committee, who serve a lifetime Olympic ban on all those caught taking drugs, the OCI will look at Lombard's case only if and when it arises.

"We do make the final call on Olympic selection," said an OCI spokesman. "And even if an athlete does reach the qualifying standard, there is no guarantee of selection. First of all, that athlete has to be nominated, in this case by Athletics Ireland, and we'd then consider that in partnership with the Irish Sports Council, to ensure the athlete was in good standing, and so on.

"We don't have an outright ban like the British Olympic Committee, and while there is no precedent for this in Ireland, the point is we will still make the final call on selection, even if the athlete has reached the official qualifying standard."

Part of the dismay at Lombard's victory on Saturday was that it came so entirely unexpected. He tested positive for the endurance-boosting drug erythropoietin (EPO) just before the 2004 Athens Olympics, following a few months of dramatic improvement, then admitted using EPO, resulting in the automatic two-year ban.

Now 32, Lombard hadn't been seen in any races since, with the minor exception of finishing second in the Cork cross country last November.

It also emerged yesterday that shortly after his ban elapsed he contacted Gerard Hartmann's sports-injury clinic in Limerick for treatment on a hamstring injury, only to be told he wasn't welcome.

"I would have zero tolerance for an athlete like Cathal Lombard," said Hartmann yesterday. "I strongly believe that once you cross the line the way he did, and we're not talking about some minor infringement, then you should not be allowed back into the sporting arena again."

Cragg will lead the nine-strong men's team in Edinburgh and Fionnuala Britton, who had a sensational 66-second winning margin in Belfast on Saturday, will lead the senior women's team.

Ireland Team

SENIOR MEN: Alistair Cragg (Clonliffe Harriers), Vinny Mulvey (Raheny Shamrocks), Mick Clohissey (Raheny Shamrocks), Chris Cariss (Cloniffe Harriers), Brian Maher (Kilkenny City Harriers), Paul McNamara (Athenry AC), Gary Thornton (Galway City Harriers), Andrew Ledwith (Fr Murphy AC), Keith Kelly (Drogheda & District AC).

SENIOR WOMEN: Fionnuala Britton (Slí Chulainn), Maria McCambridge (Dundrum South Dublin), Linda Byrne (Dundrum South Dublin), Orla O'Mahoney (Raheny Shamrocks), Deirdre Byrne (Slí Chulainn) Suzanne McCormack (Lagan Valley AC).

JUNIOR MEN: Michael Mulhare (North Laois AC), Craig Murphy (Togher AC), Ian Ward (Finn Valley AC), David Flynn (Clonliffe Harriers), Liam Tremble (Metro/St Brigid's AC), Patrick Hogan (Ferrybank AC).

JUNIOR WOMEN: Sarah Louise Treacy (Moynalvey/Kilcoon AC).