Olympic Federation of Ireland President Sarah Keane is “surprised” Pat Hickey received an invitation to attend next month’s European Games in Belarus. Hickey was invited as a guest of the European Olympic Committees (EOC) despite being self- suspended from the International Olympic Committee (IOC) in the wake of his arrest in Rio in 2016. Keane was told informally about Hickey’s invitation and last week she and OFI honorary general secretary Sarah O’Shea held talks with EOC president Janez Kocijancic to address the decision. “He would have been heavily involved in the creation of the European Games so there is an affinity which [the EOC] value very highly,” said Keane. A bronze medallist at the last edition of the European Games in Baku, Azerbaijan, the Donegal woman will compete alongside brother Sam in the badminton mixed doubles.

Source: Irish Examiner June 08, 2019 05:26 UTC