MARK ENGLISH BELIEVES drug-testing in team sports has improved in recent times and says fellow athlete should not compete again, in order to protect the integrity of the sport of athletics.
Irish athlete Fagan received a two-year ban for EPO use but returned following the culmination of his punishment to post an Olympic qualifying time last month.
Yet English admits he would still be reluctant to compete on the same Irish team as Fagan.
“To be honest, I don’t think he should be picked,” he says. “That’s my personal opinion. I believe if you’re tested positive, you shouldn’t be let back in — the sport just needs that.
“If I were him, I would just not compete in the sport again for the sake of it. If Martin Fagan really loves the sport, he shouldn’t compete again.”
Recent reports that a Monaghan GAA player tested positive for steroids have brought the issue of drugs in sport to the fore again, but English — a former Gaelic footballer himself — feels that doping is far more prevalent in other sports.
“I don’t think it is going to be as pervasive in amateur sport — I don’t think there’s the same motivation for people to cheat [as opposed to] guys in athletics who are still chasing the dollars. I still think it’s vital that they are tested though, because there will always be a few that will try to cheat their way to the top.
“People need to believe in the sport they’re watching. If people are hearing that GAA players are being tested all the time, that gives more credibility to the sport. I think in athletics, things are improving in that regard. Especially in Ireland, people know that the test procedures are really strict and that’s good for people believing in Irish athletes.
The 22-year-old, who won a silver medal at the European Athletics Championships back in March (see video below) cites rugby and soccer as two sports where athletes are conceivably more prone to the pressures that prompt the use of performance-enhancing drugs.
“I know a few GAA lads and I wouldn’t think they’re doing anything dodgy. I don’t think there’s that motivation there to do it. I don’t think GAA’s the sport you need to look to — rugby and soccer are the big ones. They’re the ones with the money in it — the reasons that people would do it in the first place. So GAA wouldn’t be top of my list for doping investigations. I’d look to other sports — it’s pervasive in soccer.”
Source: urbsintacta/YouTube
English also describes the dangers of unwittingly taking illegal substances, but feels that even in such unfortunate circumstances, athletes ultimately have themselves to blame.
“Of course it’s unfortunate for those that don’t know what they’re taking… Okay, you might be innocent, but you’ve failed the stupidity test, so I don’t think you should really be in the sport.
“The sport has been too tainted by drugs that you can’t give second chances. A few years ago, I might have been of the belief that people deserve a second chance, because I didn’t really realise how much drugs were tainting our sport — the amount of people that aren’t believing in it because of [the level of suspicion]. It just means that you can’t give these people a second chance.”