Doping in Sports
Doping in Sports
Name of Learner:
Date:
What is doping?
“Doping” refers to the use of banned substances in competitive sports. Performance enhancing drugs
(PEDs) is another term used to for drugs used by athletes to improve their athletic performance.
According to the World Anti-Doping Code, which was established by WADA in 2008, a substance or
treatment constitutes doping if it meets two of the three following criteria:
• It enhances performance.
• It presents a risk to the athlete’s health.
• It is contrary to the spirit of the sport.
Doping today
Depending on the country's legislation, doping substances can be bought from pharmacies / supplement
stores or, most commonly, from the black market. For a substance or performance improvement method to be
classified as doping, it must meet at least two of the following three criteria: to improve performance, to present
a hazard to the health of the athlete and to violate the spirit of sport. Other methods of improving performance
such as blood transfusions are also included in the doping category.
2. Stimulants
Stimulant drugs are composed of a large and diverse group of drugs, which when used for doping
purposes have the intent to increase an athlete’s stamina, decrease their sensation of fatigue and pain, and
improve their mental function and behavior. There are many well-known agents in this class including cocaine,
amphetamines, and ephedrine. Amphetamines were initially desirable in athletes as they decreased the
sensation of pain and fatigue. Amphetamines have been documented to have been used in many sports such as
cycling, soccer and track and field, and were first noted in the Olympics of 1936. However, despite their
widespread use, amphetamines were quickly found to be associated with many undesirables and sometimes life-
threatening effects. Amphetamines have been linked with increased risk of seizures, heart attacks and sudden
death along with many other effects, and therefore have been banned for use both in sport and are illegal for
personal use as well. Stimulant drugs are the second largest class of banned drugs on the WADA Anti-Doping
Code and are also routinely tested for in elite athletes.
3. Hormones
The endocrine system is the system in the human body that produces and regulates hormones. Hormones
are responsible for almost every bodily function including muscle development and growth. Several hormones
have been discovered which function to increase protein production and therefore are involved in increasing
muscle mass. Hormones such as insulin and human growth hormone (hGH) have been used by athletes to
increase muscle mass and definition. While some of these therapies have been successful previously, they are
also associated with severe health effects such as low blood sugar, fluid overload and limb swelling, overgrowth
of bone and heart attacks. Due to these and many other dangerous health effects, these substances are also
listed on the Anti-Doping Code.
Regulations
Despite the visible improvement in performance noted in countless athletes throughout several
centuries, it was also noted that the athletes would often suffer adverse health effects and even premature death
that seemed to be associated with the doping practices. These adverse outcomes and deaths lead to the first
ban on doping by the International Association of Athletics Federation in 1928. This ban proved to be inadequate
however, as the ability to test for banned substances was quite limited at that time. In 1967 the International
Olympic Committee (IOC) banned doping, and in 1999 the IOC led the initiative to form the World Anti-Doping
Agency (WADA). Today WADA forms the backbone of anti-doping laws and testing worldwide and assists in
setting the standard for other agencies and sports. WADA’s main activities include education of the health risks
of doping, scientific research of doping practices, development of anti-doping capabilities, and development of
testing methods for doping detection.
Instruction: Research for Local or International doping in sports cases. Give only one (1) case and put it on a
short size bond paper with your name on it.
✓ Identify the person guilty of doping
✓ Type of sports competition playing
✓ Type of doping substance used
✓ Penalty for violating the anti-doping rules