A sense of grave disappointment that the use of a banned substance may cost Ireland its sole medal from the Athens Olympic Games will be shared by thousands of people who took pride in the showjumping triumph of Cian O'Connor and Waterford Crystal.
That their victory came near the end of an Olympic Games that had yielded so little for Ireland, and in a sport that has accounted for so many of our international successes, made it all the sweeter. Now, Mr O'Connor faces the prospect of being stripped of his gold medal after the disclosure that the A sample taken from the horse at the Games had tested positive for a prohibited substance.
Mr O'Connor is exercising his right to have the B sample tested and, in a statement issued by the Equestrian Federation of Ireland (EFI), he said he absolutely believed that no performance-enhancing drugs were given to the horse. He was, he said, utterly devastated. He acknowledged, however, that following what was described as a mild fetlock injury before the Olympic Games on July 22nd, Waterford Crystal underwent hydrotherapy treatment on the recommendation of veterinarian, Mr James Sheeran. During the course of this, the horse was administered a mild sedative to prevent him injuring himself.
Mr Sheeran told the EFI that he could not understand how the medication prescribed by him - which was found in the A sample - could still be present in the horse's system over a month later. He said the medication he administered, which was not identified in the EFI statement, was not a performance enhancer and any residue that may have existed in Waterford Crystal's system at the Games would have had no therapeutic influence.
Mr O'Connor says he must await the result of the B test before he can make a detailed case to the authorities. Whatever the merits of that case, there is a predictable sequence of events ahead. If the B sample confirms the initial result, the detail of his explanation is likely to be lost as the story of one of the greatest episodes in Irish sporting history is subsumed into a growing catalogue of inglorious Olympic moments.
Many of these have involved the use of illicit substances in the inexorable quest for faster times and improved performance irrespective of the fact that such practices amount to a betrayal of the sports involved.
Mr O'Connor has stated unequivocally that he is not a cheat. He is entitled to due process in making his case. In the days ahead, he will face a new test of the determination and resolve which were credited with contributing so much to his performance in Athens.