Cheats never win. But they’re hard to beat in a story
Writer pens book after stories of dope testing
Olympic athlete Eilidh Doyle inspired her sister to write a novel about doping in sport.
Eilidh, who won bronze with Team GB in the women’s 4x400m relay in Rio in 2016, was out with sister Catriona Child for a last wild night before the author’s wedding.
And the other guests were amazed when the track star revealed what was involved in an elite athlete’s drug test.
Catriona, 42, said: “Eilidh was talking about the whole process she had to go through while she was competing. My friends were really fascinated but also shocked by what an invasive process it was.
“She had to give her location wherever she was, nominate certain times of the day for drugs testing and then pee into a pot in front of a stranger.
“It was only when she was talking to other people and I could see their reactions that I realised it is quite a weird thing to do. I never really appreciated it before.”
Cat r iona, who had already written two novels, realised this was a great subject. She started thinking about who carries out these urine tests and what happens when they are positive. She said: “What’s the fallout for someone who gets on the wrong side of that? Not just for them but also for their family and their teammates.”
It led to her latest book, Us Vs The World, which looks at what happens to a family when the athlete father is a drugs cheat.
And, to make it extra dramatic, the wife is a DCO – doping control officer. They go from living in a fancy house with a trophy cabinet in the hall to a smaller bungalow where their teenage son’s friends all know about his father’s disgrace.
Then the author added a zombie twist meaning that it is, literally, the end of the world for the former champion.
Catriona said: “I wanted to write an end-of-the-world novel but it’s been done so well by so many better writers than me – Stephen King, Emily St John Mandel, and Cormac McCarthy’s The Road. So I flipped it on its head and wrote an end-of-the-world story but just for that family.”
Eilidh, 34, who has now retired from athletics, helped research the practicalities of drug testing. Catriona said: “She sent me the videos athletes get to show them the process.”
But when it came to the practicalities of using performance- enhancing drugs, Eilidh was no use.
I’m amazed by the way some athletes try to get around rules
Catriona said: “When I was trying to get into that mindset of someone taking illegal substances and abusing the system, Eilidh didn’t have a lot of knowledge because she’s never entertained the notion.” Eilidh has competed against drugs cheats in the past.
Last year her bronze medal from the 4x400m relay in the 2013 World Championships was upgraded to silver after one of the Russian team, who came second, was found to have used drugs.
Catriona added: “I was amazed by the way some of the athletes will try to get around the rules.”