Ciarán Ó Lionáird: Radical action needed to tackle ‘weak’ safeguards

Ciarán Ó Lionáird has called for increased funding for anti-doping agencies around the world in the wake of yesterday’s report from the World Anti-Doping Agency, which shed light on the extent of the doping problem in athletics.

The report alleged that Russia has operated a “state-sponsored doping programme” in recent years and according to Dick Pound, who chaired the independent commission behind the report, high-ranking officials at the IAAF were complicit in taking payments to conceal positive doping tests.

“Things look really bad,” said Ó Lionáird. “It’s a pervasive problem and radical action may be needed all the way to the top. Certain countries have anti-doping systems that are a lot weaker than others. Ireland is one of the strongest, but there are countries who don’t invest in it.