Skip to main content

What does 'doping' mean in athletics and why do athletes take banned substances?

 


Athletics has been hit by more allegations of cheating.

The Sunday Times and a German broadcaster say a massive leaked database shows "the extraordinary extent of cheating by athletes at the world's most prestigious events".

The information is based on 12,000 tests of more than 5,000 athletes between 2001 and 2012.

It's been called the "biggest leak of blood-test data in sporting history".

The data reveals that more than a third of medals - including 55 golds - have been won at the Olympics and world championships by athletes who've recorded suspicious tests.

Russia accounted for 415 abnormal tests, followed by Ukraine, Morocco, Spain, Kenya, Turkey and others


Doping basically means athletes taking illegal substances to make their performance better.

There are five types of banned drugs, called doping classes.

The most common are stimulants and hormones.

Although they enhance performance, they are health risks involved in taking them and they're banned by sports' governing bodies.

What are the different kinds of doping?

The most common are androgenic agents like anabolic steroids. These allow athletes to train harder and build more muscle. But they can lead to increased aggression and kidney damage.

Other side-effects include baldness and low sperm count for men and increased facial hair and deepened voice for women.

Anabolic steroids are usually either taken in tablet form or injected into muscles. Some are applied to the skin creams or gels.


Then there are stimulants which make athletes more alert and can hide fatigue by increasing heart rate and blood flow. But these are addictive and in extreme cases can lead to heart failure.

Diuretics and masking agents are also used to remove fluid from the body, which can hide other drug use or in sports like boxing and horse racing, can help competitors "make the weight".


There are also things called narcotic analgesics and cannabinoids. These are used to mask pain caused by injury or fatigue but can make injuries worse. They're also addictive. Products such as Morphine and Oxycodone are banned but codeine is allowed.

And then there are peptide hormones. These are substances like EPO (Erythropoietin) which increase bulk, strength and red blood cells giving athletes more energy and HGH (Human Growth Hormone) which builds muscle.

Less common is blood doping, where blood is removed from the body and injected back in to boost oxygen levels. This practice is banned and it can lead to kidney and heart failure.

Glucocorticoids mask serious injury because they're anti-inflammatories and affect the metabolism of carbohydrates, fat, and proteins and regulate glycogen and blood pressure levels.

And finally things like beta blockers are banned in sports like archery and shooting because they keep the heart rate low and reduce tremble in the hands.


The most famous case of doping was at the Olympics in 1988 when Canadian sprinter Ben Johnson cruised to victory in the 100m in a world-record time of 9.79 seconds.

But after the race he failed a drug test when stanozolol, a synthetic anabolic steroid, was found in his urine.

The title was handed to Carl Lewis who'd finished second in Seoul.


Other famous athletes to have been banned include British athletes Dwain Chambers and Linford Christie plus US sprinters Justin Gatlin and Marion Jones.

More recently cyclist Lance Armstrong admitted to doping in an interview with Oprah Winfrey in January 2013.

He was stripped of his seven Tour de France wins and banned from sport for life.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Cristiano Ronaldo was the world’s highest-paid athletes in 2024 ahead of NBA superstar Steph Curry, heavyweight boxing champion Tyson Fury and eternal rival Lionel Messi.

 Cristiano Ronaldo was the world’s highest-paid athletes in 2024 ahead of NBA superstar Steph Curry, heavyweight boxing champion Tyson Fury and eternal rival Lionel Messi. Evergreen frontman Ronaldo, who is still going strong with his Saudi Pro League side Al-Nassr at 40 years of age, he earned 260 million euros across the last calendar year – with 215million euros coming from his record-breaking contract in the Middle East. NBA superstar Curry, of the Golden State Warriors, fills second spot on the Sportico top-earners list on 153.8million euros. Former world heavyweight boxing champion Fury is third of 118million euros, while Ronaldo’s eternal rival Messi, who is now in MLS with Inter Miami is sitting in fourth position with 108million euros, and LA Lakers icon LeBron James with 107million Euros completing the top five. Overall, the top 100 highest-paid athletes on the planet pulled in an estimated 6.2 billion dollars between them. Prominent figures from eight different sports, ...

Bruno Fernandes defends Ruben Amorim's criticism of Manchester United

United were trailing by two goals as they headed to the dressing room after the break. It took Fernandes' spectacular free-kick to bring the club into the game before Manuel Ugarte's maiden strike for the Red Devils earned a hard-fought point in their final fixture at Goodison Park against Everton. Manager Amorim did not mince his words after the game, as he brutally slammed his players for a nightmare first-half performance. At full-time, captain Fernandes was quizzed on the club scoring two set-piece goals to which he told BBC Match of the Day: "We need to score more from these situations. We need to be more aggressive and understand our positions when we attack. We scored from two set pieces today and obviously, it is really good but we need to improve a lot if we are going to get out of this situation. We need to be aware that the situation we are in is very, very bad."

Manchester United head coach Ruben Amorim has explained why the club are being really careful with Christian Eriksen

Despite being expected to come into the starting line-up, Eriksen was ruled out of Sunday's game against Spurs due to illness. With a depleted squad and eight academy players making up the most of the bench, United would go on to lose 1-0 and slip to 15th in the table. After the game, Amorim explained that they could not take a risk on the midfielder's health. According to report, Eriksen collapsed on the pitch in the European Championships in 2021 against Finland and has been playing with a heart starting device since. He returned to the Premier League with Brentford and his performances were good enough to persuade United to take a chance on him as a free agent. While Eriksen has played without trouble at Old Trafford, the club do not want to risk his health when he is not well.