Coach defends Hendricken

Coach defends Hendricken

Hendricken has denied taking any banned substance

A respected athletics coach has warned against rushing to condemn Irish 1500m runner Geraldine Hendricken as a drugs cheat.

Hendricken has been confirmed as the Irish athlete to have failed a random drugs test.

Sean Kyle, who helped guide the careers of several top Irish athletes including James McIlroy, has said that he will be "very surprised" if Hendricken is guilty.

The Athletics Association of Ireland (AAI) announced on Monday that an out-of-competition test on an unnamed athlete had revealed traces of the banned steroid nandrolone.

Hendricken, who made a huge breakthrough in 2002 cutting her 1500m personal best by more than 14 seconds to 4:02.58, has denied taking any banned substance.

Kyle told BBC Sport Online that he had the "utmost sympathy" for the Carlow athlete.

"I'll have to be convinced of her guilt," said the Ballymena & Antrim coach.

"I know Geraldine Hendricken and I will find it most peculiar if she is totally guilty in all this.

She was quite open about the various legal creatine-type supplements which she was taking

Sean Kyle

"The system of justice we work under in the civilised world is 'innocent until proven guilty' and that's how we should regard Geraldine's case".

Kyle pointed to research undertaken by Aberdeen University which found that dietary supplements combined with increased levels of exercise could produce a positive nandrolone test.

"I know this research has been pooh-poohed by the International Olympic Committee and other influential bodies but I believe that the Aberdeen evidence casts huge doubt on the official line".

Kyle revealed that Hendricken spoke about her training methods and health regime in a talk which she gave to the Irish Milers Club last September.

"Even at that stage, she was fully aware that questions marks against her were being raised in certain quarters.

"But she spoke very articulately about the new training methods which she had adopted last year and how she was eating in a healthier way than previously.

Fitzgerald improvement

"She was quite open about the various legal creatine-type supplements which she was taking.

"In all, she spoke for about 25 minutes and then was grilled very intensely for about an hour by the people present".

Kyle said he believed that it was possible for middle-distance athletes to make dramatic improvements in performance.

"One of the athletes I coached, Elaine Fitzgerald, brought down her 1500m personal best from 4:21.2 to 4:07.8 during her time with me.

"She had been around the American University scene and US circuit for several years but made the breakthrough when she linked up with myself at the age of 29.

"I actually regarded what Elaine achieved as a greater coaching performance on my part than what James McIlroy did in 1998".