DERVAL O'ROURKE: In Ireland, the drug testers call as often as neighbours or friends

Drug testing has been a big part of my life as an athlete. The Irish Sports Council takes a strong stance on testing and I have been consistently drug tested for the past 12 years.

Let me shed some light on drug testing both here and abroad. Any athlete who is awarded an Irish Sports Council grant of €12,000 or more is automatically part of the anti-doping registered testing pool. Athletes who are dropped from funding often remain in the pool and athletes who are on the fringes of funding may also be added.

Internationally, different countries have vastly different testing standards. Athletics is considered a high-risk sport for performance enhancing drugs. In recent months Asafa Powell and Tyson Gay, two of the sport’s biggest stars, have both tested positive.