Six positive tests in 2003, reports ISC

THERE were six positive tests last year, according to anti-doping figures released by the Irish Sports Council yesterday.

There were 957 tests carried out and positive cases were recorded in five sports. The positives included the high-profile Geraldine Hendricken case and that of Shamrock Rovers goalkeeper, Barry Ryan.

An overseas athlete and an overseas swimmer tested positive and a member of a tug-of-war team tested positive for pseudoephedrine, which is no longer banned.

There is an ongoing investigation concerning a judo exponent who allegedly refused to take an out-of- competition test.

The Sports Council last year spent more than e1 million on the drug- testing campaign. A leading Irish expert yesterday warned of the devastating threats posed by experiments in genetic engineering.

Dr Conor O’Brien, who heads up the Irish Sports Council’s Anti-Doping Committee, warned that genetic tampering could have catastrophic consequences.

“Sportsmen, by their very nature, are risk-takers,” he said. “They drive faster, they drink more and in general they take more risks.”

He said the authorities are already addressing the issue of genetic therapy, though admitted that testing would be extremely difficult.

“We just don’t want to make sport fair. We want to make it safe,” he said, adding they would continue their relentless pursuit of cheats.

“Recent high-profile cases highlight the risks and show even the world’s best are not immune. When the band stops playing and the crowd has left, they seek solace elsewhere and some find it in alcohol and drugs.

“Ireland took up this fight a long time ago and we are not just in the vanguard, we are leading that fight,” he said, adding their programme was an international template.

“We endeavour to ensure that the Irish Sport Anti-Doping Programme has the administrative and technical capabilities to deliver a world-class service to Irish sport,” he said.

He was presenting the annual report of the Anti-Doping Unit for 2003, showing that last year 957 tests were conducted in and out of competition.

Sports Minister John O’Donoghue said he shared the Sports Council’s determination to rid an abuse that counters all that is good in sport.

“It destroys fair play, damages the health of the athlete, casts unfair doubts on the achievements of the non-cheater, ruins sport for fans and says to children that you have to cheat so that you can win,” he said.

“The Irish public and wider sports community should be aware that the campaign against doping is relentless and the battle for clean and ethical sport is being won,” he added.

To coincide with yesterday’s launch, explanatory handbooks for athletes and anti-doping officers were also published and a series of education workshops began on Monday and continue tonight at the Blarney Park Hotel in Cork (7.30pm) and tomorrow at the SportHQ, Park West, Nangor Road in Dublin.