“Where does the power come, from to see the race to its end?”
That is what Eric Liddell asked the runner in the iconic movie “Chariots of Fire”.
The runners answer was “from within”. In today’s commercial world where sport offers huge financial incentives, the lust to win sees todays athletes push the boundaries in performance and physical fitness. Eighty years after Liddell’s question, the answer now may be that the power comes from without, in the form of drugs and masking agents designed to dramatically improve athlete’s performance.
There was doping in sport even before Liddell but testing for the use of performance enhancing drugs only started in 1968 (Barroso et al, 2008). The International Olympic Committee (IOC) and the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) constantly update the list of banned substances, masking agents and Therapeutic Use Exemption drugs (TUEs) World Anti-Doping Agency (2018).
Included on the WADA list are compounds and methods of use of drugs that can give an athlete an unfair advantage. Some of the more interesting and recently listed banned substances are; androgenic steroids (known to increase the male hormone testosterone), glucocorticosteroids (injected can speed up muscle fatigue recovery, is a medical use anti-inflammatory, affects the nervous system resulting in euphoria, improved focus and endurance), peptide hormones also known as HGH (Human Growth Hormones that can greatly increase muscle strength and mass) and CNS stimulants (Central Nervous System) known to artificially increase alertness and reaction speed.
There is universal condemnation for athletes who are found to have used banned substances, performance enhancing drugs, masking agents and recreational drugs (Protecting Sport (2018). Undoubtedly, there is extreme pressure placed on athletes to perform better. Fierce competition, lucrative lifestyles and societal pressure for excellence isolate todays professional athlete leaving both men and women in sport to make the choice whether to use the performance enhancing drug or not. Occasionally whole rafts of the same team use the same banned substance.
In January 2017, Usain Bolt, the greatest sprinter in history was stripped of his 4×100 meter relay gold won in the Beijing Olympics 2008 and the chance of completing the historic ‘triple-triple’ (three world records in three sprint golds), after team mate Nesta Carter was retrospectively banned for using a banned substance International Olympic Committee (2018). The much vaunted and successful Jamaican sprinting team has been decimated by drugs bans for 5 of it’s blue ribbon sprinters including Asafa Powell, Yohan Blake and Jamaica’s most decorated sprinter, Veronica Campbell-Brown. WADA continue to investigate all these athletes who combined have won 11 gold medals Austin (2017).
United Kingdom Anti-Doping (UKAD) aims to instil a culture of clean sport and create a legacy of future generations of clean athletes UKAD Protecting Sport (2018). Agencies like UKAD are supported by the National Governing Bodies for all sport in the UK today. UKAD tries to ensure that athletes and personnel who support athletes understand and practice the values of clean sport. UKAD and its American equivalent USADA publish the WADA prohibited list for all athletes, both amateur and professional. Ultimately, the athlete is responsible for what he or she puts in their body (Mottram and Chester, 2018).
Reference List
Austin, J. (2017) Usain Bolt stripped of 2008 Olympic medal after anti-doping rule violation. [Online] Available from: https://www.independent.co.uk/sport/olympics/athletics/usain-bolt-stripped-of-2008olympic-medal-after-anti-doping-rule-violation-a7545636.html [accessed 12 May 2018].
Barroso et al , H. (2008) Asian Journal of Andrology. Asian Journal of Andrology. Vol. 10, No. 3: 348-519.
International Olympic Committee, G. (2018) The greatest sprinter of all time. [Online] Available from: https://www.olympic.org/usain-bolt [accessed 14 May 2018].
Mottram, D. and Chester, N. (2018) Drugs in sport. (7th ed.) London: Routledge.
UKAD Protecting Sport. (2018) Education and Prevention. [Online] Available from: https://ukad.org.uk/our-organisation/what-we-do/education/ [accessed 11 May 2018].
UKAD Protecting Sport. (2018) Our Prevention Strategy. [Online] Available from: https://ukad.org.uk/education/partners/prevention-strategy/ [accessed 09 May 2018].
World Anti-Doping Agency. (2018) What is Prohibited. [Online] Available from: https://www.wada-ama.org/en/content/what-isprohibited?gclid=EAIaIQobChMIgomaq9iP2wIVBrDtCh0ayAhkEAAYASAAEgJxI_D_ BwE [accessed 11 May 2018].