UCI boss Pat McQuaid revealed to have received IOC ban
International Cycling Union (UCI) president Pat McQuaid received a ban from the IOC in 1976 after breaking the international bans on competing in apartheid South Africa, reveals the British investigative journalist Andrew Jennings.
In his article, Jennings has dug in to a murky part of the international cycling boss’ background. In his research, Jennings found evidence that McQuaid, who in the 1970’s was a top amateur cyclist in Ireland, in 1975 competed in a 14-day Cape Town to Johannesburg race, outlawed for international athletes because of the country’s apartheid policies.
Even though McQuaid raced under the false name of James Burns, a freelance photographer figured out that the rider was more likely the Irish Pat McQuaid and after being exposed in an article in the Daily Mail, the IOC Eligibility Commission in May 1976 banned McQuaid and his fellow riders.
By 2005, McQuaid had risen to the title of president of the UCI, and member of the IOC. In his IOC biography, however, his 1976 Olympic ban is not mentioned, comments Jennings.
Read the full article by Andrew Jennings here