THE ULTIMATE TEST
Anti-doping officials in Ireland are steadfast in face of Covid crisis
“WE HAVE AN INVESTIGATIONS AND INTELLIGENCE OFFICER WHO IS A RETIRED GARDA AND WHO WOULD HAVE CONTACTS”
IRELAND’S leading anti-doping official has said the authorities will act against anyone trying to take advantage of the current crisis to use performance-enhancing drugs. The fight against drug cheats is not immune to the extraordinary circumstances under which normal life is being lived in the country at present.
Advice on social distancing and other measures introduced by the Government to try and combat the spread of Covid-19 affect how testers can do their jobs.
But Dr Una May, Director of Ethics and Participation with Sport Ireland, said despite the difficulties in carrying out routine testing, other measures will be used to detect cheats.
‘There is the potential opportunity there for athletes, but unfortunately there are always potential opportunities and some athletes will look for those,’ she said.
‘But we will keep a very close eye and if we receive information we will act on it.
‘And we will also be ready to be very quick to return to routine testing at the end of this whole situation.’
The practical difficulties presented by the current restrictions make testing along usual lines impossible, while the cancellation of all sporting activity means there is no in-competition testing, either.
However, Dr May has confidence in the robustness of the Irish testing system, citing measures including the use of intelligence in cases where there is a suspicion around the specific behaviour of an individual.
‘If an athlete wants to attempt to take some form of performanceenhancing substance, they’ll find a way.
‘That’s no different now than it would be any other time. There would be other mechanisms by which we would be monitoring and we work very closely around our intelligence and investigations.
‘We have an investigations and intelligence officer now, who is a retired garda and who would have contacts (to call upon).
‘We work very closely and have a memorandum of understanding with the Health Products Regulatory Authority (the body in charge of regulating medicines, medical devices and health products), who share information from Customs.
‘If an athlete is trying to obtain doping substances, then we believe we have the appropriate links and connections through our intelligence network, to Customs and the HPRA and the Garda Síochána, to manage if someone is trying to import something.’
There are particular scientific methods that can also be pursued. Specifically, the advent of biological passports allows comparisons to be made between periods in an athlete’s life, with any irregularities detectable through that method.
‘Measures around things like the athletes’ biological passport, they’ll pick up activity. Even if they’re not very specific on what the activity is, they’ll be able to pick up activity and we’ll be able to look back at patterns over previous months to compare.
‘There are ways in which we will be able to monitor athletes very closely.’
The Irish testing system has a strong reputation globally, and its record for thoroughness is an asset in a time when established protocols and methods are secondary to the demands made by the State in a global health crisis.
‘We do feel that athletes have a recognition of that, and we’ve always had very good support from the athletes,’ said Dr May.
‘Last year the focus of our annual report was around the voice of the athlete. We’re involved in research projects around the voice of the athlete, so we’re very cognisant of the importance of the athletes’ views on what we’re doing, and their support and trust of the system.
‘We’re doing a lot of work around making sure that that trust is there. ‘That trust includes trusting us not to use our powers inappropriately, which would mean going into a situation to test an athlete where it’s not necessary or appropriate in the current circumstances, for example.’
However, that does not equate to no testing, she stressed.
‘We’re not going out carrying out routine, standard day-to-day testing. But we will, if we feel it’s appropriate or necessary, or there was an athlete we had a concern about, or we received information, we’re allowing ourselves the option to continue to test if we need to, or in some cases with some of our overseas athletes depending on where they are based.’
That would present significant challenges both for the testers and the athletes involved, given the requirements of social distancing, and adhering to other measures introduced in recent weeks.
‘There is no question about it, it would be tricky, and there would have to be a lot of careful consideration taken to the kind of environment in which you’re testing the person,’ she said.
‘If people are in a small apartment it will be a lot harder than if they are in a house.
‘It’s just a matter of working together with an athlete to try and find a solution and make sure that everyone is fully cognisant of the situation in the house, that the collection personnel are properly prepared, that they have the appropriate equipment, that they have the appropriate procedures in place.
‘It’s one of those things, no two situations will be the same so we’ll have to just allow an amount of discretion to the collection personnel to find the best way to do it within the rules.
‘It’s very important to state that the sample collection personnel will never go near a situation if they are not following the basic principles of social distancing, and the protective measures aligned by the government.’
In 2018, 1,112 tests were carried out by Sport Ireland testers, with one adverse result. Of those tests, 899 took place out of competition, with 213 in-competition tests.
One of the most arresting details in the report for 2018 saw rugby feature as the second-most tested sport in Ireland, with 178. This was just one less than cycling, the most tested sport.
The 2019 results will be published in the near future.
One adjustment that the Sport Ireland anti-doping programme will have to make is in response to the decision to postpone the Olympic Games for 12 months.
‘Our anti-doping programme would have paid attention particularly to Olympic and Paralympic preparation, and all we need to say is that will now shift to next year,’ said Dr May.
‘In the same way we would have plans around timing of events and timing of qualifications and all that sort of thing, that will all now shift to next year. We don’t have that same priority for this year, but it will now just shift to next year.
‘We work with an international pre-Games testing taskforce which looks at priority testing, that sort of thing, and that will just shift its focus.’