Transcript Drugs in Sport

Performance Enhancing
Drugs in Sport
Drugs in Sport
'Doping' is the word used in sport when
athletes use prohibited substances or
methods to unfairly improve their sporting
performance.
'Anti-doping' is the bid to eliminate doping
from sport.
Drugs and Sport
A drug is any chemical substance
you take that effects the way that
your body works.
Doping means taking drugs to
improve sporting performance.
Performers take drugs for different reasons;
 To improve performance
To stop pain so that they can keep training and
performing.
 To build muscles quicker than merely training
To decrease anxiety prior to sporting events.
Win at all costs:
Gains are even greater today
Endorsements
Sponsorship
Appearance fees
Win Bonuses
World Record Bonuses
Glory and adulation
Banned Substances
There are now over 150 banned substances on the IOC’s list.
 Anabolic steroids help athletes build muscle and to recover faster from
training. Improve body’s capacity to train and compete at the highest
levels
 Peptide hormones are substances that occur naturally in the body, but
which produce similar effects to anabolic steroids.
 Strong analgesic painkillers enable athletes to train whilst injured
 Stimulants amphetamines and cocaine can raise the heart rate and
may improve performance
 Diuretics help body lose fluids – boxer/jockey losing weight to reach
fight weight. Masking agent for other substances.
Nandrolone
Steroid used in the treatment of major burns, malnutrition and
osteoporosis.
Taken by athletes to boost muscle growth and increase strength.
Beta-blockers
These slow down the rate of breathing and heart rate. These are tested
for only in certain sports (like archery, diving, shooting)
because they would severely impair performance in endurance sports.
Human Growth Hormone
Hormone produced in the pituitary gland
Promotes the growth of bones, muscles and tissues.
Drug in vogue at the moment for which there is no test.
EPO - Erythropoietin stimulates the body
to produce red blood cells.
Used in the treatment of anaemia.
Sportsmen realised it could boast red
blood cells in healthy human.
Blood can carry more oxygen, therefore
bodies can work harder for longer.
Used by endurance athletes.
Complications in testing
The strict enforcement of the rules can also throw up problems. Some
athletes who have tested positive for drugs and have been banned
from competing go to court to prove their innocence. They sometimes
claim that some of the urine samples could have been contaminated
before testing.
Andrea Raducan's gold medal for gymnastics at the Sydney Olympics
in 2000 was revoked because she had taken two painkillers for a cold.
Her low body weight meant that these drugs had a stronger effect and
showed up in a testing as being over the legal limit for analgesics.
Doping
This is not a banned drug, but a banned practice.
Blood doping is the removal of red blood then replaced weeks
later to increase the number of cells in the bloodstream and
therefore increase the amount of oxygen the body can carry.
It is of benefit in long distance races.
Doping practices are prohibited in sport
because they:
 endanger the health of athletes
 can artificially enhance sports performance
 ‘violate the spirit of sport’
Performance Enhancing Products
The impact on sport of modern technology
 Modern technology has made an impact on sport:
Playing/track surfaces.
Clothing/footwear.
Swimwear.
Timing/photo-timing.
GPS/player monitoring.
Bicycle frames/helmets.
Sport vehicle design.
Computerisation of results/match stats.
Personal safety gear.
Stadium construction.
Biomechanical analysis.
Gym equipment.