THE spectre of doping in athletics has raised its ugly head again over recent weeks following allegations that the IAAF – the sport’s governing body – failed to follow up more than 150 suspect blood samples.

At least one of the athletes supposedly overlooked for follow-up testing was British, according to a report by German TV station ARD, which also recently claimed that doping was rife in Russian athletics.

None of the reports have been verified and while the Russian federation has dismissed them as “lies”, the unnamed "top British athlete" has remained anonymous due to legal reasons.

All organisations and individuals involved remain innocent until proven otherwise.

But history tells us that doping exists, and whether or not these allegations of a cover-up at the highest echelons of the IAAF are proved to be true, many sports fans will assume that they are.

In this country, however, doping has always been considered as a foreign problem.

Even when Dwain Chambers was embroiled in the THG scandal that brought down a number of top American sportsmen and women, he was considered to be a bad apple in an otherwise clean barrel.

If another big name in UK athletics is outed as a drugs cheat, while that is sure to dent the confidence in the sport on these shores, I suspect it would only cause another storm in a tea cup.

There would be a real concern, however, if information started to surface of a systematic abuse on the scale being alleged in Russia.

My, possibly naive, suspicion is that results are not considered so important by the UK’s governing body that such a cover-up could ever exist.

I also don't believe British athletes share the same kind of will to win as competitors in other countries that they would ever countenance cheating as an acceptable means to an end.

But I am not in a position to comment on the mindset of someone whose livelihood is put at risk by the conduct of their competitors.

If you want to put food on the table, then I can fully appreciate the path that would lead someone to think ‘if you can’t beat them, join them’.

But, take away the monetary gains on offer, surely the very basic motivation common to all athletes is the sense of achievement attached to standing on top of a podium knowing you are the best in the world, the Commonwealth, the continent or your country.

No matter how many plaudits come your way, if you have cheated to reach your goal then you will never have that feeling of personal satisfaction that only true champions can experience.

And I imagine all the money or glory in the world could never replace that feeling.