More dope tests carried out on Irish cyclists than in any other sports

Cyclists were tested for doping more often that any other sports men or women in Ireland last year, according to the latest data from Sport Ireland. It reported just one positive test in 2021, which was for cocaine.

Cycling topped the list of most-tested sport ahead of athletics, rugby and GAA. Athletes in some of the Olympic sports - despite last year being Olympic year - were subjected to fewer than 10 tests, across their sport. And though swimming was one of the most tested Olympic sports, only half the number of dope tests were carried out in swimming compared to cycling.

According to the Sport Ireland anti-doping review for 2021 - which was only published today - some 221 tests were carried out on cyclists. These included in-competition testing, out of competition and blood testing.

Athletics was the next most tested sport, with 202 tests, followed by rugby union, on 163 tests, and GAA, with 140 tests. Soccer players, despite the size of the sport and the number of pro players in the League of Ireland, saw 73 tests carried out in 2021.

And though rowing and boxing have been Ireland's most successful sports at the Olympics, rowers and boxers were tested perhaps less frequently than one would expect in Olympic year. Some 127 tests were performed on rowers and 56 tests on boxers under the Irish anti-doping programme.

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The Anti Doping Unit last year took 319 samples from athletes across sports to be added to athlete biological passports. Some 78 samples were taken from sports men and women in athletics, followed by 62 from cyclists, 60 from rowers, 39 from swimmers, 38 from Paralympic cyclists while nine were taken from those involved in Paralympic athletics.

Of the 1,354 anti doping tests by Sport Ireland in 2021 across all sports, the single positive test - motor sport's Harry McGovern positive for cocaine - was sanctioned with a three-month ban. The ingestion of the drug was unrelated to sport and was not regarded as performance enhancing.

Sport Ireland noted the following highlights in its report for 2021:

• Sport Ireland collected 1,354 blood and urine samples in 2021
• The samples collected were from 28 different sports
• 30 per cent increase in samples collected
• In competition samples accounted for 16.4% as a number of competitions were cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic
• Out of competition samples accounted for 83.6 per cent of the samples collected
• Whereabouts failures decreased from 7 in 2020 to 5 in 2021

"This review provides comprehensive details of the activities of the Irish Anti-Doping Programme in 2021,
including the financial cost of the programme," said Sport Ireland chief executive Una May in the report. "In 2021, the programme cost €1,856,151, with a total of 1,354 blood and urine tests conducted in Ireland and overseas.

"In 2021, Sport Ireland continues its close collaboration with colleagues in the HPRA, Customs and An Garda Síochána and the Pharmaceutical Society of Ireland from a monitoring and intelligence perspective. The strong working relationships developed with these agencies is having a tangible impact on our testing and surveillance and we look forward to continuing this relationship."

Most Vs least tested sports in 2021