1. Drugs and Sports Performance
SR2002
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2. Outline
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Performance enhancement
The offence of doping
Drugs in sport
Prohibited classes of substances
Prohibited methods
Types of drugs/doping
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3. Performance Enhancement
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diet
training
stress reduction
hypnosis
drugs (pharmacological agents)
hormones
physiological agents
DOPING
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4. Olympic Movement Anti-Doping
Code - THE OFFENCE OF DOPING
• Doping contravenes the fundamental principles
of Olympism and sports and medical ethics.
• Doping is forbidden.
• Recommending, proposing, authorizing,
condoning or facilitating the use of any
substance or method covered by the definition
of doping or trafficking therein is also
forbidden.
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5. Olympic Movement Anti-Doping
Code - THE OFFENCE OF DOPING
Doping is:
1. the use of an expedient (substance or
method) which is potentially harmful to
athletes’ health and/or capable of enhancing
their performance, or
2. the presence in the athlete’s body of a
Prohibited Substance or evidence of the use
thereof or evidence of the use of a
Prohibited Method.
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6. Drugs in Sport
• 1886 - The first recorded death was in 1886
when a cyclist, Linton, died from an overdose
of trimethyl.
• 1904 - The first near death in modern Olympics
where a marathon runner, Thomas Hicks, was
using a mixture of brandy and strychnine.
• Most drugs involved alcohol and strychnine.
Heroin, caffeine and cocaine were also widely
used until heroin and cocaine became available
only on prescription.
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7. Drugs in Sport
• 1930s - Amphetamines were produced and
quickly became the choice over strychnine.
• 1950s - The Soviet team used male hormones to
increase power and strength and the Americans
developed steroids as a response.
• 1952 - One of the first noticeable doping cases
involving amphetamines which occurred at the
Winter Olympics. Several speed skaters
became ill and needed medical attention.
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8. Drugs in Sport
• 1960 - At the Olympics, Danish cyclist, Kurt
Jensen, collapsed and died from an
amphetamine overdose.
• 1963 - Pressure started to mount on the IOC.
The Council of Europe set up a Committee on
drugs but couldn't decide on a definition of
doping.
• 1964 -There was a noticeable increase in the
muscular appearance of the athletes at the
Olympics and drug use was suspected.
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9. Drugs in Sport
• 1967 - The IOC took action after the death of
Tommy Simpson (due to the illegal taking of
amphetamines) in the Tour de France.
• 1968 - The IOC decided on a definition of
doping and developed a banned list of
substances. Testing began at the Olympic
games.
From the Australian Sports Drug Agency (ASDA) 1999
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10. Drugs in Sport
• International Olympic Committee (IOC)
produced first doping list in 1967
• Compulsory drug testing introduced in 1968
– Winter Olympics - Grenoble
– Summer Olympics - Mexico
• List of prohibited classes of substances and
prohibited methods
– defined by IOC (April 2000)
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11. WADA World Anti-Doping Code
Prohibited List 2013
Substances and Methods Prohibited at All Times
(In-and-Out-of-Competition)
S0. Non-approved substances
Prohibited Substances
Any pharmacological substance which is not addressed by
 S0. Non-Approved Substances
 S1. Anabolic agents
any of the subsequent sections of the List and with no
 S2. Peptide hormones, growth factors regulatory health
current approval by any governmental and related substances
 S3. for human therapeutic use (e.g drugs under preauthorityBeta-2 agonists
 S4. Hormone and metabolic modulators
clinical or clinical development or discontinued, designer
 S5. Diuretics and other masking agents
drugs, substances approved only for veterinary use) is
Prohibited Methods
prohibited at all times.
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M1. Manipulation of blood and blood components
M2. Chemical and physical manipulation
M3. Gene doping
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12. WADA World Anti-Doping Code
Prohibited List 2013
Substances and Methods Prohibited In-Competition
Prohibited Substances
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S6. Stimulants
S7. Narcotics
S8. Cannabinoids
S9. Glucocorticosteroids
Substances Prohibited In Particular Sports
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P1. Alcohol (ethanol)
P2. β-Blockers
http://www.wada-ama.org
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13. Prohibited Substances
• S1. Anabolic agents
– 1. Anabolic Androgenic Steroids (AAS)
• a. Exogenous AAS
eg..nandrolone, 19-norandrostenedione, oxandrolone,
stanozolol, and other substances with a similar chemical
structure or similar biological effect(s)
• b. Endogenous AAS
eg. androstenediol, dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA),
dihydrotestosterone, testosterone
– 2. Other Anabolic Agents
• eg. clenbuterol
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14. Prohibited Substances
• S2. Peptide hormones, growth factors and related
substances
– Includes
1.erythropoiesis-stimulating agents [eg.erythropoietin (EPO)]
2.chorionic gonadotrophins and luteinizing hormone (LH) (males only)
3.corticotrophins (ACTH, tetracosactide)
4.growth hormone (hGH), insulin-like growth factor (IGF-1)…….
and other substances with similar chemical structure or similar biological effect
• S3. Beta-2 agonists
– All are prohibited except salbutamol (max 1600ug over 24h),
formoterol (max delivered dose 54ug over 24 h) and salmeterol
by inhalation
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15. Drugs and Sport
• May of these drugs are illegal in both the eyes of the
law and sport governing bodies
• Potentially serious medical risks
– drugs are often taken at very high doses, considerably more
than is recommended
– drug dependency
• Many of the drugs are expensive
• Many are bought on the black market
– risk of drugs being mixed with other products
– not purchasing the intended drug
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16. Drugs and Sport - Why?
• Person
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desire to be successful
lack of confidence
dissatisfaction with performance and progress
belief that others are using drugs
think they can get away with it
influenced by others
psychological dependence
lack of knowledge about side effects
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17. Drugs and Sport - Why?
• Environment
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culture of the sport
friends or other athletes using drugs
pressure to win (eg. from coach, friends, media)
influence of role models
financial reward
prestige and fame
• Pressure can appear from many directions
– from self, coach, peers, family, spectators/crowd,
media, administrators/promoters, social, financial
and material rewards, national/political/ideological
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18. Drugs in Sport
• Do they work?
– difficult to assess
• difficult to recreate competitive situation in lab
• fractions of a second or millimetres in length
-difficult to detect significant changes in laboratory
experiments
• most evidence anecdotal
• placebo effect
• environmental conditions
– effects may vary between individuals
• males vs females
• age of athlete
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19. Drugs in Sport
• Do they work?
– requirements of different sports will vary
• American footballer vs weightlifter
• sprinter vs marathon runner
– needs controlled scientific studies
• limited number available
• conflicting results
• ethical problems
– doses
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20. Problems with drug testing
• Inconsistencies between countries
– out of competition testing
– length of ban
• Inconsistencies between sports federations
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rules for testing
sanctions
status of doping agents
threshold levels
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21. Difficulties with Testing
• Endogenous substances
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what concentration is normal?
testosterone
human growth hormone (hGH)
erythropoietin (EPO)
athletes v general population
• Normal dietary intake
– if people normally eat it can it be banned?
• caffeine, creatine
– does diet/exercise influence endogenous levels
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22. Testing
• Methods of testing
– urine, blood
• Blood testing issues
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legal
ethical
procedural
medical
• Need for improved
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rules?,
education
research
co-operation
between
• governments
• sports federations
• governing bodies
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23. Summary
• Use of drugs in sport banned by IOC,
International and National Sport Federations/
Governing Bodies
• Drugs are potentially harmful to health and are
considered to be ethically wrong
• Scientific evidence to support suggested
beneficial performance effects of drugs is limited
• Further study required to assess both the
suggested beneficial effects and the potential
harmful effects
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