By Dean Egan & Kevin Galvin.
Kilkenny native Arthur Lanigan-O'Keefe has pulled out of this summer's Olympic Games.
He confirmed the news on social media, saying he has failed to recover from a hip injury in time to take his place in the modern pentathlon in Tokyo.
"I have decided that the honourable thing to do would be to pass my place onto another athlete who was fit to compete at the highest level,” he wrote.
“This is not a decision I have taken lightly and it’s been one of the most painful things for me to do having fought soo hard to get here."
It's a blow for O'Keeffe, who was due to go to his third Olympic Games and was eyeing up a potential medal in the Modern Pentathlon, to add to a European Championship and World Cup title.
“This is no longer possible with my injury, so to travel and not represent myself or my country to the fullest would be dishonourable and in my opinion against the core values of Olympism which are “excellence, friendship and respect”.
Lanigan-O'Keefe finished in eighth place in Rio 2016, having also competed in London 2012.
His partner Natalya Coyle will represent Ireland in her third Olympics
Paddy Boyd, Pentathlon Ireland CEO, added: “Pentathlon Ireland is very proud of all the athletes who have conducted themselves so well and worked so hard to qualify for the Tokyo Olympics in the face of a great deal of disruption.
“We congratulate Natalya and commiserate with Arthur, and we know that Sive will be part of our sport for many years to come. We now look forward to supporting Natalya from afar and we are certain the whole nation will get behind her.”
