LATE last night, before Sonia O'Sullivan's 5,000 metre final, it was alleged that the Cobh athlete was forced to take off her running gear before her heat on Friday because of an ongoing argument over kit sponsorship.
O'Sullivan later claimed she was humiliated by being forced to strip before the 5,000 metre heat.
According to reports on RTE, O'Sullivan was told by Olympic officials she would not be allowed to run in the heat if she wore her Reebok strip. The reports went on to allege that the Irish athlete was forced to strip naked in the stadium tunnel entrance before a number of officials and to change her running gear.
A senior Atlanta official, Mr Warren T. Ring, told RTE the organisers were alerted to the situation by Mr Nick Davis, the BLE's representative in Atlanta and the manager of the Irish Track & Field team at the Games. However, Mr Davis denied the allegation.
"I have no idea who made the protest. I pointed out to her manager, Kim McDonald, a few hours before the race that any athlete that turned up wearing unregistered gear ran the risk of being asked to change late in the day."
This is the latest development in an ongoing row between the Olympic Council of Ireland and the national athletics federation, BLE. The athletics federation has a sponsorship agreement with Asics. Reebok has a personal contract with the Irish star.
Mr Davis confirmed last night that BLE had registered the Asics strip as the official Irish team strip three days before the competition began. "The competition is being run under IAAF rules which requires teams to wear the registered strip of their association," he said.
The long standing impasse between BLE and OCI turned to open squabbling earlier this month. The OCI advised that Reebok was to be worn at all times in the Olympic village and on team business but that Reebok gear was optional for competition. BLE advised, at the same time, that Asics gear was compulsory on the track and for medal ceremonies.
It was reported early today that the president of the Olympic Council of Ireland, Mr Pat Hickey, will hold a press conference this afternoon on the controversial issue of running gear.