Athletics: Vili happy to endure drug tests

Valerie Vili has to tell the drugs testers where she is, 24/7. As world No 2 and Commonwealth record-holder in a sport where drugs are famously entwined, they want to know where the shot-putter is so she can be tested at any time.

She also operates her own anti-drink spiking system when in public - she drinks from a bottle which never leaves her sight.

Vili is taking no chances. And the ever-present attention of the testers certainly doesn't irritate the 21-year-old. She speaks with barely veiled contempt of the drug-takers and welcomes the intrusion of the testers as a way of proving she is clean.

She is off to Europe for the World Cup of athletics in Greece and Germany and, as usual, the testers will be waiting.

With Tour de France champion Floyd Landis and world 100m champion Justin Gatlin recently exposed as drug cheats, Vili doesn't understand why any elite athlete would take such a huge risk and has zero tolerance for sportspeople who do.

She is tested as often as every two weeks and has already gone through the process 12 times this year.

"They are everywhere, all the time. I don't have the luxury of being able to relax as I can come home on any given night and they will be waiting on the doorstep to test me," said Vili, who recorded 19.66m in Melbourne for gold and the 20-year old Commonwealth record.

"I don't moan and groan, though. It is just part and parcel of being an elite athlete and hopefully the process catches the cheats."

Vili has little sympathy for those who protest their innocence in the face of positive A and B tests.

"What other proof do you need? He [Landis] wants to prove his innocence. Well, good on him but the tests don't come up positive without reason. If it's positive, you are done, end of story."

That's part of the reason why she never leaves herself open for a spiked drink. No chances taken, full responsibility taken.

Shot put, with its emphasis on explosive power and strength, is notorious for drug cheats. Vili, with her commanding 120kg, 1.96m frame, comes across some cynical of the strength that has led to many record-breaking puts, like her 20.20m effort in Christchurch this year to set a new record.

Vili said she is conscious all the time of what she is putting into her body. "I only drink protein shakes and that keeps it very simple," she said.

Vili is so aware of how much she has to lose that she is constantly on her guard.

"I don't put anything into my body I am unsure about. If you take the risk, you'll get caught one way or the other, it is inevitable."

In her time as a professional athlete, Vili is sure there has been an improvement in the number of drug cheats being caught.

"I know by my own experience that if you are an athlete at the top, you are thinking about it all the time - it's hard not to."

She resigns herself to the fact that there will be athletes out there who could potentially beat her by using drugs. "What can you do? That is why I don't complain about the process because it's in the interests of cleaning up the sport.