Rob: Lack of faith in Irish ability

A lack of faith in the natural ability of Irish athletes is one of the reasons Rob Heffernan thinks he is being tested more frequently since his World Championship win last year.

The latest intrusion came during an altitude training camp in South Africa where Heffernan made a tester and nurse wait until he had got the sleep he needs before one of his gruelling training sessions.

“Obviously the mentality is that, you know ‘Irish people can’t do well unless they take something’. And it’s a bad mentality because I know from being around the Spanish and Poles and being away and watching all the different systems, it’s a development thing, especially in my event.