I am deeply saddened by the decision of the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) and in particular their decision to prefer circumstantial evidence concerning the manipulation charge as distinct from the direct evidence given by me at the hearing of my appeal.

I today stand accused of having used banned substances over the course of my career and that that was the motive found by the court as to why I would have attempted to manipulate the sample in question.

I re-affirm what I have always told you that I have never used any banned substance in the course of my career nor have I ever been charged by FINA of ever having used any banned substance in the course of my career.

I am proud of what I have achieved and assure those who have supported me and believe in me that my victories at Atlanta and in Seville are not hollow and were achieved without the use of any illegal performance-enhancing substance.

Both I and my husband have been publicly attacked and vilified by various sections of the media and public since I won first my gold medal at the Atlanta Olympics and that makes me deeply unhappy.

I still believe that I have been targeted by FINA since my Olympic successes and believe that I am, even today, correct in that view having regard to the disclosures made for the first time by The Irish Times of the background to the out-of-competition doping control missions that were carried out on me in 1997 and 1998.

I will forever cherish the moments of victory and hope that those who still believe in me will also cherish their memories of those times.

I hope that you will not believe that I have brought this country into disrepute or that I have let you down. I am saddened that my career has ended in this way but now, Erik and I must look to the future and decide where we go from here.

I know that in the dark days ahead there will be moments when it will seem all too much to have to deal with, however I am strong in the knowledge that I have not committed the offence with which I was charged or any other offence and that to date no one has proven on a direct factual basis how the whiskey entered the sample which was tested by the laboratory in Barcelona.

I would like to thank all those who have supported me through these long days and in particular would like to thank Peter Lennon, my solicitor, for all of his work and for the support that he gave me. He has become a close friend and trusted adviser during these last two years and I know that he did everything within his power to try and ensure that I received a fair hearing.

I would ask you in this difficult time to allow me some privacy to try and come to grips with this decision and to make the necessary plans for my future.