59101.4 Doping in Sport

% of Olympic athletes that would take illegal drugs

* 99% if guaranteed would win and not get caught
* 50% if it would give them the top spot for 5 years and then kill them

Ancient evidence of doping in sport?

In 300 BC Greeks ate' ‘substances’ to improve their athletic performance e.g. hallucinogenic mushrooms, sesame seeds and animal protein

Historical doping timeline? 7 stages

* 1890 - concoctions of strychnine and wine used in sport
* 1935 - testosterone synthesised
* 1960s - amphetamines used in cycling (caused many deaths)
* 1970s - systematic drug problem by GDR (many athletes given drugs without knowledge or consent)
* 1980s - blood doping heavily used
* 1984 - many olympians tested positive for anabolic steroids at LA olympics
* 1990s onwards - EPO, HGH and beta blockers common, steroids still prevalent

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Why athletes dope? 5

* compete at top
* need edge to perform well
* not genetically gifted
* dissatisfied with size or weight
* peer/team pressure

Example of effectiveness of doping?

Erythropoietin (EPO) can increase VO2max by 20% - difference between club runner and world class

Philosophical outlook of doping?

If a 50 year old man can take HGH to remain in his job at a construction site, why can’t a 25 year old professional football player do the same if he is injured?

What percentage of professional bodybuilders use anabolic steroids?

Almost 100%

IOC drug code from 1999

The use of an expedient (substance or method) which is potentially harmful to the athlete’s health and/or capable of enhancing their performance OR the presence in athlete’s body of prohibited substance/method or evidence of the use thereof

What are the 8 categories of banned substances?

* stimulants
* narcotic analgesics
* anabolic agents
* diuretics
* beta blockers
* blood doping
* peptide hormones, mimetics and analogues
* nicotine/alcohol

What are the effects of stimulants?

Wide awake and alert, competitive, very fast and increased heart rate

Examples of stimulants

Amphetamines (speed) or cocaine

What are the effects of narcotic analgesics?

Hide pain

Examples of narcotic analgesics

Morphine, methadone, heroin

What are the effects of anabolic agents?

Big muscles, aggressive, powerful (weightlifting, swimming)

Examples of anabolic agents

Nandrolone, THG

Detection times of different steroids?

* nandrolone - 18 months
* depo-testosterone - 3 months
* parabolan - 5 weeks
* andriol - 1 week
* clenbuterol - 4 days

Effects of diuretics?

Increased urine production to get rid of excess fluid to lose weight and mask presence of other drugs

What sports would you use diuretics in?

Boxing and horse racing - need to make a certain weight to compete

Effects of beta blockers?

Calm and steady, heart and breathing rate slow down, improved concentration (archery, snooker)

What is the main beta blocker used?

Propanolol

Method of blood doping?

Transfusion of blood with lots of RBCs so you have greater oxygen carrying capacity to improve performance in endurance events

Examples of peptide hormones, mimetics and analogues

* analogues = synthetic hormones
* EPO increased number of RBCs
* HGH encourages muscle growth and prevents fatigue

Why are nicotine and alcohol included?

* nicotine raises heart rate and blood pressure
* alcohol acts on part of brain responsible for balance, speech and coordination

Stimulants negative side effects

Increased anxiety

Narcotic analgesics negative side effects

Masks injuries so can’t feel if they are getting worse, highly addictive

Anabolic agents negative side effects

Increased aggression, females develop ‘male’ features, kidney damage

Diuretics negative side effects

Dehydration, headache, nausea, dizziness, cramps

Beta blockers negative side effects

Dizziness, headache, tiredness, upset stomach

Blood doping negative side effects

Overloading circulatory system causing high BP, kidney failure

Hormones/analogues negative side effects

* EPO = high risk of stroke, hypertension, development of autoantibodies
* HGH = abnormal growth, high BP, diabetes, arthritis

Being caught doping leads to a minimum ban - how long is it?

2 years

Example of loss of sponsorship and other earnings

Maria Sharapova lost $50 million after meldonium use

When is dope testing performed?

* in competition
* out of competition
* biological passport
* athlete whereabouts
* specific targeting

Chinese swim team example

In 1994, China won 12 of 48 women’s titles at the world championships and then 11 swimmers tested positive at 1994 Asian games; more than 40 Chinese swimmers failed drug tests since 1990

German cheating example

In the 70s and 80s, many German athletes started receiving enhancement injections when they were 13

Russian Olympic team example

State-sponsored doping in operation 2011-2015 and as a result lots of sports including athletics and weightlifting were banned