Doping in Sports
Content
Doping in sports Intro: Trying to get away with cheating is a high return, low risk activity in many complex professional practices.
Athletes can improve their performance, lengthen their careers and return to the top more quickly after injury. Coaches / clubs live by their reputation and the performances of their athletes, in terms of both promotion of a sport and junior athletes. Pharmaceuticals companies and the black market thrive on supply and demand. Governments leverage sport for "proxy wars" in order to enhance their reputations and standing. The public and media enjoy ever more spectacular and entertaining performances. Problems only arise whenever another doping scandal is uncovered. The use of banned performance-enhancing drugs in sport(s) is commonly referred to as doping, particularly by those organizations that regulate competitions. The reasons for the ban are mainly the alleged health risks of performance-enhancing drugs, the equality of opportunity for athletes, and the alleged exemplary effect of "clean" ("dopingfree") sports for the public. Drug abuse (Anti-doping rules do not apply to non-organized popular and leisure sports. The term used in this case is "drug abuse") vs. doping Taken to extremes, the drug-abusing leisure athlete is at greater risk than even top athletes guilty of doping. Most top athletes who use performance-enhancing drugs are generally under constant medical observation. Why doping?
Individual motives
Individual reasons for practicing doping vary from athlete to athlete, depending on the type of sport and their situation. The main reasons include: Performance enhancement - increase chances of success; Reduction in time spent injured or sick - ("advice" by doctors, friends, etc.); Quicker recovery - avoidance of periods of weakness; Aversion of impending (age-related) career end - fear of "social death" after retirement; Lack of professional prospects; Society's ideal of beauty; Curiosity and imitation behavior; Ensure belonging - reduce insecurity - guarantee recognition. Other social reasons: Financial dependence on sport Dependence on media and sponsors: a poor result can impact negatively on media coverage and sponsorship. Frequency of competition and no time to recharge Sports as proxy war From the 1948 Olympics till Seoul 1988, the battle for Olympic glory became a substitute for one-upmanship between the United States (and the western bloc) and the communist/socialist regimes
Federation and club interests
Performance enhancing (ergogenic) drugs: Erythropoietin (EPO) * EPO is a peptide hormone that is produced naturally by the human body. It is released from the kidneys and acts on the bone marrow to stimulate red blood cell production. By injecting EPO, athletes aim to increase the concentration of red blood cells to boost their aerobic capacity. * EPO abuse has serious health risks. By thickening the blood EPO abuse can lead to an increased risk of heart disease stroke and cerebral or pulmonary embolism. The drug has been implicated in the deaths of several athletes. Blood doping * There are two forms of blood doping. Autologous blood doping is the transfusion of an athlete’s own blood which has been stored, refrigerated or frozen until needed. Homologous blood doping is the transfusion of blood taken from another person with the same blood type. * Although the use of transfusions for blood doping dates back several decades, experts say it has seen a recent resurgence probably due to the introduction of more efficient EPO detection methods. Anabolic steroids * Anabolic steroids are drugs that resemble testosterone, a hormone produced in men's testes. Because these drugs affect muscle growth raising their levels in the blood can help athletes to increase muscle size and strength. Athletes who use anabolic steroids also claim they reduce body fat and recovery time after injury. * Examples of anabolic steroids include testosterone, stanozolol, boldenone, nandrolone and clostebol. Abuse of these drugs can make people aggressive and cause high blood pressure, liver problems, impotence and declining sperm production in men, kidney failure and heart disease. Human Growth Hormone * Human growth hormone (hGH)- also called somatotrophin or somatotrophic hormone - is naturally produced by the body and synthesised and secreted by cells in a gland at the base of the brain. * The major role of hGH is to stimulate the liver and other tissues to secrete insulin-like growth factor IGF-1. IGF-1 stimulates production of cartilage cells, resulting in bone growth and also plays a key role in muscle and organ growth. All of these can boost sporting performance. * Commonly reported side effects for hGH abuse are diabetes worsening of heart diseases, muscle, joint and bone pain, high blood pressure, abnormal growth of organs and osteoarthritis. Diuretics * Diuretics can be used in a sport as a masking agent to prevent the detection of another banned substance. Examples of commonly used diuretics include furosemide, bendroflumethiazide and metolazone. * As well as masking other drugs, diuretics can also help athletes lose weight, which they could use to their advantage in sports where they need to qualify in a certain weight category.
Gene Doping A form of gene modification similar to gene therapy, but rather than altering genes to treat or prevent an illness, they are changed to make normal genes perform differently. Altering genes to enhance athletic performance is the most viable reason for gene doping. There are two ways in which gene doping could be used to enhance athletic performance. Doctors could change genes the athlete already possessed in order to make them more competitive or genes could be added to change an athlete's physical makeup.
Pasted from <http://www.hindustantimes.com/sports-news/OtherSports/Factbox-performance-enhancing-drugs-used-insports/Article1-992661.aspx>
Dangers of doping(Click here)
Doping in Sports: Personal, Cultural and Athletic Impact(video)
How is doping dealt with? Official anti-doping tests began in 1960's.
disqualification of Canadian sprinter Ben Johnson in the 1988 Summer Olympics for a positive anabolic steroid test, after he won the 100-m sprint final. 1999: WADA, established with the full support of both the IOC and numerous national governmental and sport-governing bodies. The international anti-doping work follows two strategies: repression in the form of a modern doping control system, and prevention, encompassing the provision of information, education and raising awareness. WADA is responsible for the World Anti-Doping Code, adopted by more than 600 sports organizations, including international sports federations, national anti-doping organizations, the IOC, and the International Paralympic Committee. Initially funded by the International Olympic Committee, WADA now receives half of its budgetary requirements from them, with the other half coming from various governments throughout the world. Its governing bodies are also composed in equal parts by representatives from the sporting movement (including athletes) and governments of the world. The agency's key activities include scientific research, education, development of antidoping capacities and monitoring of the World Anti-Doping Code – the document harmonizing regulations regarding anti-doping in all sports and countries. It also produces an annual list of prohibited substances and methods that sportspersons are not allowed to take or use. Given that many governments cannot be legally bound by a non-governmental document such as the World Anti-Doping Code, they are implementing it by individually ratifying the
UNESCO International Convention against Doping in Sport
The UNESCO Convention is a practical and legally binding tool enabling governments to align domestic policy with the World Anti-Doping Code, thus harmonizing the rules governing antidoping in sport. It formalizes governments' commitment to the fight against doping in sport, including by facilitating doping controls and supporting national testing programs;
The influence of WADA and the efforts of its constituency to create a drug-free sport have resulted in an international sport climate where the failure of a sport to properly administer transparent anti-doping practices will ensure that the sport will not be included in the Olympic Games. Ex: Baseball was excluded from 2012 Olympics NADA: Coordinates of national doping testing among all of the national sports federations in a particular country. In virtually all sporting nations, both the ability to participate in international competition as well as the receipt of government or private sponsor funding will be dependent on the athletes' compliance with all doping testing as mandated by the national anti-doping agency. The sanctions imposed by WADA are generally significant: a two-year ban from all competition for a first offense positive doping test is common. In many cases, the athlete advances a defense that centers on either his or her personal ignorance of the substance or was advised by a coach or trainer that the substance was legal for use. But WADA says responsibility rests with the athletes. Control: The antidoping rules contained in the World Anti-Doping Program are required to be incorporated in the rules of the sports organizations that participate in the Olympic and Paralympic Games. The athletes agree to the antidoping rules as a condition of competing in the sport. To be placed on the List, a substance must fulfill 2 of the following 3 criteria: (a) poses a potential risk to the athlete’s health, (b) has the potential to enhance performance, and (c) violates the spirit of sport.
Pasted from <http://www.clinchem.org/content/55/8/1456.full> Pasted from <http://www.nada.at/en/menu_2/prevention/basic-knowledge/marketshow-why-practice-doping>
Operación Puerto doping case
code name of a Spanish Police operation against the doping network of Doctor Eufemiano Fuentes, started in May 2006, which resulted in a scandal that involved several of the world's most famous cyclists at the time. Approximately 200 sportspersons were implicated in blood doping. Of these, approximately 50 were cyclists and 150 were other sportspersons, including several "high profile soccer and tennis players". The cyclists were pursued but not a single football player was named let alone punished. Why Armstrong was not caught earlier? The World Anti-Doping Agency describe Armstrong as having developed a sophisticated programme of doping. Not really. If he is proven guilty, all he did was use things for which there are not tests. Not sophisticated at all.
Doping is commonplace within cycling. There is a culture of doping within the Tour and many athletes feel inclined to maintain this circle of secrecy because those are the values of their sport. 1. Athletes are smarter than anti-doping authorities. Actually, athletes have an unfair advantage over anti-doping authorities. An athlete can study what is being developed in the world of science, new designer steroids for example, pursue access to those that were never commercialized -- even work with a lab to bring them to product stage. Anti-dopers will never know that the substance exists and so never seek to test for it. 2. the claims about Armstrong are that he used substances and methods that were known, but for which they could not test. Autologous blood transfusions is one of the most challenging. 3. athletes are turning to substances that mimic natural substances in your body 4. Administering microdoses of enhancers that quickly clear the body 5. the Lance Armstrong techniques of avoiding testing when possible, and timing the use of banned substances to appear clean.
6. Cheating the tests Athletes seeking to avoid testing positive for doping use various methods to cheat on the drug tests. The most common methods include: Urine replacement, which involves replacing dirty urine with clean urine from someone who is not taking banned substances. Urine replacement can be done by catheterization or with a prosthetic penis such as The Original Whizzinator. Diuretics, used to cleanse the system before having to provide a sample.
Pasted from <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doping_in_sport#cite_note-1> Pasted from <http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2013-01-27/science/36577015_1_growth-hormone-epo-enhancers> Pasted from <http://www.nytimes.com/2013/01/20/sunday-review/so-long-lance-here-comes-21st-century-doping.html?_r=0> Pasted from <http://www.huffingtonpost.com/andy-miah/lance-armstrong-doping_b_1956976.html>
Latest
Athlete Biological Passport The typical doping control approach based on the detection of prohibited substance or their metabolites in an athlete’s sample remains an effective approach; however it has limitations when an athlete may be using substances on an intermittent and/or low-dose basis. Furthermore, new substances or modifications of prohibited substances (e.g. designer drugs) may be difficult to detect by conventional analytical means. In recent years, doping regimes have become much more scientifically planned and have taken advantage of the weaknesses in traditional protocols. This underscores the need for a more sophisticated and complementary strategy to effectively fight doping, namely, the Athlete Biological Passport. The fundamental principle of the Athlete Biological Passport is based on the monitoring of selected parameters over time that indirectly reveal the effect of doping, as opposed to the traditional direct detection of doping by analytical means.
Pasted from <http://www.wada-ama.org/en/Resources/Q-and-A/Athlete-Biological-Passport/>
Importance While a new drug test must be developed and validated for each new drug, the main advantage of the athlete passport is that it is based on the stability of the physiology of the human being. New drugs are produced at an unprecedented pace today and there is often a lag of several years between the availability of a new drug and the application of an effective detection method. On the contrary, the physiology of the human being remains the same through several generations and all biomarkers developed today in the athlete passport will remain valid for at least several decades. For example, the blood module of the passport is already sensitive today to any new future form of recombinant erythropoietin, as well as to any form of gene doping that will enhance oxygen transfer to the muscles. Also, while a negative drug test does not necessarily mean that the athlete did not dope, the athlete can present his/her passport at the beginning of a competition to attest that he/she will compete in his/her natural, unaltered condition. The athlete passport has received a lot of attention when its blood module was established at the beginning of the 2008 racing season by the Union Cycliste Internationale.[4] In May 2008 the UCI revealed that 23 riders were under suspicion of doping following the first phase of blood tests conducted under the new biological passport.[5] In 2010, the athlete's passport took a new meaning when designer drugs such as recombinant erythropoietin[6] and anabolic steroids having the same molecular structure as those naturally produced by the body became available. The blood module of the athlete passport aims to detect any form of blood doping, the steroid module any form of doping with anabolic steroid and the endocrine module any modification of the growth hormone/IGF-1 axis. Each of these modules are however at different steps of development, validation and application in sports.
Pasted from <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Biological_passport>
The future of doping
Noninvasive technologies that augment brain activity by bathing targeted regions in low levels of electricity or a magnetic field to enhance cortical excitability and cognitive performance. artificial limbs and exoskeletons that one day may be better than real limbs. embedded nano-devices to stimulate muscles to a sustained peak of performance
Challenges: In an era in which the highest paid athletes in numerous sports receive salaries of tens of millions of dollars per year, the support provided for antidoping research, education, and testing is embarrassingly inadequate. The development of detection methods for several erythropoiesis-stimulating drugs (e.g., Darbepoetin, Mircera) before their introduction, and the detection of athletes using them show the increased cooperation between the pharmaceutical industry and the antidoping movement.
Pasted from <http://www.clinchem.org/content/55/8/1456.full> Pasted from <http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2013-01-27/science/36577015_1_growth-hormone-epo-enhancers>
Who failed us? Sportsman or the sport system? In my view, it is the sport system that is failing us.
Indian cases:
1. BCCI - NADA
Even though the International Cricket Council (ICC) is a signatory to the WADA Code, BCCI is spearheading an opposition to the vexed "whereabouts clause" which requires a player to inform, three months in advance, their availability for dope tests. Whereabouts are information provided by a limited number of top elite athletes about their location to the International Sport Federation (IF) or National Anti-Doping Organization (NADO)for out-of-competition doping controls. The BCCI never sought the assistance of NADA to conduct dope tests. They have engaged a company -- International Doping and Test Management ( Sweden) -- at a heavy cost to conduct dope samples, which NADA could have done at much lesser cost or free of cost.
There are multiple ways to enforce WADA’s Anti Doping Regulation. The WADA regulations may be formally incorporated, either by reference or by express inclusion, into the national laws of a country (National Sports Bill). Alternately, regulations for individual sports may also be incorporated as part of the rules or bye-laws of the governing sports federation of the region, say, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), or the Indian Olympic Federation, etc. which can be found at http://www.bcci.tv/bcci/bccitv/index/antidoping
However, once a sports bill is enacted into law, a sports body for any sport which gains popularity, including the BCCI, may not be able to express reservations to WADA, because it will run the risk of de-recognition by the appropriate central or State Government, for failing to comply with the regulations. 2. Indian athletes There are only two Indians in the infamous list of 99 Olympic dope offenders, both weightlifters, both female. Sanamacha Chanu and Pratima Kumari were the ones to fall into the anti-doping net in the Athens Olympics in 2004. Weightlifting dominated the Indian doping scene to such an extent that the International Federation (IWF) suspended the country twice between 2004 and 2006 for having too many Indian competitors testing positive in internationals. But Athletics, in the meantime, has pushed forward to the No. 1 slot in Indian doping among frontline sports. In 2011, when the top six woman quarter-milers of the country — Mandeep Kaur, Ashwini A.C., Jauna Murmu, Sini Jose, Priyanka Panwar and Tiana Mary Thomas — tested positive for steroids, the nation was shocked. The six Indian women athletes, lost their case in the Court of Arbitration for Sports in Lausanne, Switzerland as it upheld the IAAF's appeal to impose two-year ban on them. 32 ‘positive’ cases from 1246 tests up to Jan-March 2012 in testing done by the NADA. Large numbers that show how rampant doping has been in the country. NADA’s drive to cleanse the system will, however, fail if it and the disciplinary and appeal panels continue to remain in the control of the government. (Union minister is the chairman, secy as vicechairman etc + only two independent experts)
Pasted from <http://www.thehindu.com/sport/other-sports/article3613989.ece>
Comments on Armstrong The world lost a hero and the dream that despite the harshness of circumstances, human beings can achieve the extraordinary. Yet, therein lies the problem: the desire to "win" all the time and at all costs over-emphasises the end while obscuring the means to that end. It creates a culture that defines success in limited, outwardly terms while ignoring deeper questions of truth, virtue and justice. Pasted from <http://www.indianexpress.com/news/how-icons-crumble/1064413/0> Qn.s 1. Doping should be allowed and regulated? For the ban is actually bad for the health of the athletes. They currently use undetectable substances and methods with no medical supervision or responsibility. Honest athletes don’t have access to safe enhancement methods. Cheaters have the competitive advantage. Against Sports are about pursuing excellence through competition, demonstrating one's innate talent and skills achieved through practice and hard work Most of these drugs are not innocuous; they have side effects, many of them serious and irreversible. Not only would virtually all elite athletes be using performance-enhancing drugs, but some would push the envelope and take high doses, damaging and possibly ending their lives. They should be safe enough. We have the athletes, as a whole, wish to compete clean. The science to enhance athletic performance safely; reality is that too often peer pressure wins out. We should use it. Travel, frequent participation takes a toll on A puritan who doesn’t want to dope is deprived one’s body. Allow them to play longer and of a level playing field. stronger
Ultimately, the solution is threefold: educate athletes and the public that athletic prowess can be accomplished through competing clean; understand that “bigger, faster, stronger” contributes to injuries, shorter careers and debilitating retirement; and expand comprehensive, aggressive state-of-the-art testing.
2. If you are the sports secy, how do you prevent doping in sports? 3. Do you still love sports in spite of rampant doping? Why? 4. Drug abuse vs. doping? Miscellany - Some Psychological principles: Reasons for drug abuse: 1. Cognitive: Faulty attributions, external locus of control false beliefs that doping is directly proportional to performance enhancement or reduction of stress and ignorance of ill-effects perceived cost of failure is more than the fear of being caught
2. Social factors: Peer group pressure Coaches Impunity to proven and alleged athletes (Bad role models) accordingly, the treatment can be Cognitive restructuring, anxiety reduction techniques, behavioural (rewards for fair play and strict punishments) Prevention: a formation of negative attitude towards drugs right from school/zonal level (cognitive dissonance thy) Assertiveness training to say "no" to drugs Role of coaches variable ratio of dope-test schedules Using periodic psychological tests to find out athlete's attitude towards drug abuse, perceived self-efficacy etc (Thurstone's scale) and take a proactive corrective action if found in suspicion levels Value inculcation and keeping an eye on his life-style.
Athletes can improve their performance, lengthen their careers and return to the top more quickly after injury. Coaches / clubs live by their reputation and the performances of their athletes, in terms of both promotion of a sport and junior athletes. Pharmaceuticals companies and the black market thrive on supply and demand. Governments leverage sport for "proxy wars" in order to enhance their reputations and standing. The public and media enjoy ever more spectacular and entertaining performances. Problems only arise whenever another doping scandal is uncovered. The use of banned performance-enhancing drugs in sport(s) is commonly referred to as doping, particularly by those organizations that regulate competitions. The reasons for the ban are mainly the alleged health risks of performance-enhancing drugs, the equality of opportunity for athletes, and the alleged exemplary effect of "clean" ("dopingfree") sports for the public. Drug abuse (Anti-doping rules do not apply to non-organized popular and leisure sports. The term used in this case is "drug abuse") vs. doping Taken to extremes, the drug-abusing leisure athlete is at greater risk than even top athletes guilty of doping. Most top athletes who use performance-enhancing drugs are generally under constant medical observation. Why doping?
Individual motives
Individual reasons for practicing doping vary from athlete to athlete, depending on the type of sport and their situation. The main reasons include: Performance enhancement - increase chances of success; Reduction in time spent injured or sick - ("advice" by doctors, friends, etc.); Quicker recovery - avoidance of periods of weakness; Aversion of impending (age-related) career end - fear of "social death" after retirement; Lack of professional prospects; Society's ideal of beauty; Curiosity and imitation behavior; Ensure belonging - reduce insecurity - guarantee recognition. Other social reasons: Financial dependence on sport Dependence on media and sponsors: a poor result can impact negatively on media coverage and sponsorship. Frequency of competition and no time to recharge Sports as proxy war From the 1948 Olympics till Seoul 1988, the battle for Olympic glory became a substitute for one-upmanship between the United States (and the western bloc) and the communist/socialist regimes
Federation and club interests
Performance enhancing (ergogenic) drugs: Erythropoietin (EPO) * EPO is a peptide hormone that is produced naturally by the human body. It is released from the kidneys and acts on the bone marrow to stimulate red blood cell production. By injecting EPO, athletes aim to increase the concentration of red blood cells to boost their aerobic capacity. * EPO abuse has serious health risks. By thickening the blood EPO abuse can lead to an increased risk of heart disease stroke and cerebral or pulmonary embolism. The drug has been implicated in the deaths of several athletes. Blood doping * There are two forms of blood doping. Autologous blood doping is the transfusion of an athlete’s own blood which has been stored, refrigerated or frozen until needed. Homologous blood doping is the transfusion of blood taken from another person with the same blood type. * Although the use of transfusions for blood doping dates back several decades, experts say it has seen a recent resurgence probably due to the introduction of more efficient EPO detection methods. Anabolic steroids * Anabolic steroids are drugs that resemble testosterone, a hormone produced in men's testes. Because these drugs affect muscle growth raising their levels in the blood can help athletes to increase muscle size and strength. Athletes who use anabolic steroids also claim they reduce body fat and recovery time after injury. * Examples of anabolic steroids include testosterone, stanozolol, boldenone, nandrolone and clostebol. Abuse of these drugs can make people aggressive and cause high blood pressure, liver problems, impotence and declining sperm production in men, kidney failure and heart disease. Human Growth Hormone * Human growth hormone (hGH)- also called somatotrophin or somatotrophic hormone - is naturally produced by the body and synthesised and secreted by cells in a gland at the base of the brain. * The major role of hGH is to stimulate the liver and other tissues to secrete insulin-like growth factor IGF-1. IGF-1 stimulates production of cartilage cells, resulting in bone growth and also plays a key role in muscle and organ growth. All of these can boost sporting performance. * Commonly reported side effects for hGH abuse are diabetes worsening of heart diseases, muscle, joint and bone pain, high blood pressure, abnormal growth of organs and osteoarthritis. Diuretics * Diuretics can be used in a sport as a masking agent to prevent the detection of another banned substance. Examples of commonly used diuretics include furosemide, bendroflumethiazide and metolazone. * As well as masking other drugs, diuretics can also help athletes lose weight, which they could use to their advantage in sports where they need to qualify in a certain weight category.
Gene Doping A form of gene modification similar to gene therapy, but rather than altering genes to treat or prevent an illness, they are changed to make normal genes perform differently. Altering genes to enhance athletic performance is the most viable reason for gene doping. There are two ways in which gene doping could be used to enhance athletic performance. Doctors could change genes the athlete already possessed in order to make them more competitive or genes could be added to change an athlete's physical makeup.
Pasted from <http://www.hindustantimes.com/sports-news/OtherSports/Factbox-performance-enhancing-drugs-used-insports/Article1-992661.aspx>
Dangers of doping(Click here)
Doping in Sports: Personal, Cultural and Athletic Impact(video)
How is doping dealt with? Official anti-doping tests began in 1960's.
disqualification of Canadian sprinter Ben Johnson in the 1988 Summer Olympics for a positive anabolic steroid test, after he won the 100-m sprint final. 1999: WADA, established with the full support of both the IOC and numerous national governmental and sport-governing bodies. The international anti-doping work follows two strategies: repression in the form of a modern doping control system, and prevention, encompassing the provision of information, education and raising awareness. WADA is responsible for the World Anti-Doping Code, adopted by more than 600 sports organizations, including international sports federations, national anti-doping organizations, the IOC, and the International Paralympic Committee. Initially funded by the International Olympic Committee, WADA now receives half of its budgetary requirements from them, with the other half coming from various governments throughout the world. Its governing bodies are also composed in equal parts by representatives from the sporting movement (including athletes) and governments of the world. The agency's key activities include scientific research, education, development of antidoping capacities and monitoring of the World Anti-Doping Code – the document harmonizing regulations regarding anti-doping in all sports and countries. It also produces an annual list of prohibited substances and methods that sportspersons are not allowed to take or use. Given that many governments cannot be legally bound by a non-governmental document such as the World Anti-Doping Code, they are implementing it by individually ratifying the
UNESCO International Convention against Doping in Sport
The UNESCO Convention is a practical and legally binding tool enabling governments to align domestic policy with the World Anti-Doping Code, thus harmonizing the rules governing antidoping in sport. It formalizes governments' commitment to the fight against doping in sport, including by facilitating doping controls and supporting national testing programs;
The influence of WADA and the efforts of its constituency to create a drug-free sport have resulted in an international sport climate where the failure of a sport to properly administer transparent anti-doping practices will ensure that the sport will not be included in the Olympic Games. Ex: Baseball was excluded from 2012 Olympics NADA: Coordinates of national doping testing among all of the national sports federations in a particular country. In virtually all sporting nations, both the ability to participate in international competition as well as the receipt of government or private sponsor funding will be dependent on the athletes' compliance with all doping testing as mandated by the national anti-doping agency. The sanctions imposed by WADA are generally significant: a two-year ban from all competition for a first offense positive doping test is common. In many cases, the athlete advances a defense that centers on either his or her personal ignorance of the substance or was advised by a coach or trainer that the substance was legal for use. But WADA says responsibility rests with the athletes. Control: The antidoping rules contained in the World Anti-Doping Program are required to be incorporated in the rules of the sports organizations that participate in the Olympic and Paralympic Games. The athletes agree to the antidoping rules as a condition of competing in the sport. To be placed on the List, a substance must fulfill 2 of the following 3 criteria: (a) poses a potential risk to the athlete’s health, (b) has the potential to enhance performance, and (c) violates the spirit of sport.
Pasted from <http://www.clinchem.org/content/55/8/1456.full> Pasted from <http://www.nada.at/en/menu_2/prevention/basic-knowledge/marketshow-why-practice-doping>
Operación Puerto doping case
code name of a Spanish Police operation against the doping network of Doctor Eufemiano Fuentes, started in May 2006, which resulted in a scandal that involved several of the world's most famous cyclists at the time. Approximately 200 sportspersons were implicated in blood doping. Of these, approximately 50 were cyclists and 150 were other sportspersons, including several "high profile soccer and tennis players". The cyclists were pursued but not a single football player was named let alone punished. Why Armstrong was not caught earlier? The World Anti-Doping Agency describe Armstrong as having developed a sophisticated programme of doping. Not really. If he is proven guilty, all he did was use things for which there are not tests. Not sophisticated at all.
Doping is commonplace within cycling. There is a culture of doping within the Tour and many athletes feel inclined to maintain this circle of secrecy because those are the values of their sport. 1. Athletes are smarter than anti-doping authorities. Actually, athletes have an unfair advantage over anti-doping authorities. An athlete can study what is being developed in the world of science, new designer steroids for example, pursue access to those that were never commercialized -- even work with a lab to bring them to product stage. Anti-dopers will never know that the substance exists and so never seek to test for it. 2. the claims about Armstrong are that he used substances and methods that were known, but for which they could not test. Autologous blood transfusions is one of the most challenging. 3. athletes are turning to substances that mimic natural substances in your body 4. Administering microdoses of enhancers that quickly clear the body 5. the Lance Armstrong techniques of avoiding testing when possible, and timing the use of banned substances to appear clean.
6. Cheating the tests Athletes seeking to avoid testing positive for doping use various methods to cheat on the drug tests. The most common methods include: Urine replacement, which involves replacing dirty urine with clean urine from someone who is not taking banned substances. Urine replacement can be done by catheterization or with a prosthetic penis such as The Original Whizzinator. Diuretics, used to cleanse the system before having to provide a sample.
Pasted from <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doping_in_sport#cite_note-1> Pasted from <http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2013-01-27/science/36577015_1_growth-hormone-epo-enhancers> Pasted from <http://www.nytimes.com/2013/01/20/sunday-review/so-long-lance-here-comes-21st-century-doping.html?_r=0> Pasted from <http://www.huffingtonpost.com/andy-miah/lance-armstrong-doping_b_1956976.html>
Latest
Athlete Biological Passport The typical doping control approach based on the detection of prohibited substance or their metabolites in an athlete’s sample remains an effective approach; however it has limitations when an athlete may be using substances on an intermittent and/or low-dose basis. Furthermore, new substances or modifications of prohibited substances (e.g. designer drugs) may be difficult to detect by conventional analytical means. In recent years, doping regimes have become much more scientifically planned and have taken advantage of the weaknesses in traditional protocols. This underscores the need for a more sophisticated and complementary strategy to effectively fight doping, namely, the Athlete Biological Passport. The fundamental principle of the Athlete Biological Passport is based on the monitoring of selected parameters over time that indirectly reveal the effect of doping, as opposed to the traditional direct detection of doping by analytical means.
Pasted from <http://www.wada-ama.org/en/Resources/Q-and-A/Athlete-Biological-Passport/>
Importance While a new drug test must be developed and validated for each new drug, the main advantage of the athlete passport is that it is based on the stability of the physiology of the human being. New drugs are produced at an unprecedented pace today and there is often a lag of several years between the availability of a new drug and the application of an effective detection method. On the contrary, the physiology of the human being remains the same through several generations and all biomarkers developed today in the athlete passport will remain valid for at least several decades. For example, the blood module of the passport is already sensitive today to any new future form of recombinant erythropoietin, as well as to any form of gene doping that will enhance oxygen transfer to the muscles. Also, while a negative drug test does not necessarily mean that the athlete did not dope, the athlete can present his/her passport at the beginning of a competition to attest that he/she will compete in his/her natural, unaltered condition. The athlete passport has received a lot of attention when its blood module was established at the beginning of the 2008 racing season by the Union Cycliste Internationale.[4] In May 2008 the UCI revealed that 23 riders were under suspicion of doping following the first phase of blood tests conducted under the new biological passport.[5] In 2010, the athlete's passport took a new meaning when designer drugs such as recombinant erythropoietin[6] and anabolic steroids having the same molecular structure as those naturally produced by the body became available. The blood module of the athlete passport aims to detect any form of blood doping, the steroid module any form of doping with anabolic steroid and the endocrine module any modification of the growth hormone/IGF-1 axis. Each of these modules are however at different steps of development, validation and application in sports.
Pasted from <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Biological_passport>
The future of doping
Noninvasive technologies that augment brain activity by bathing targeted regions in low levels of electricity or a magnetic field to enhance cortical excitability and cognitive performance. artificial limbs and exoskeletons that one day may be better than real limbs. embedded nano-devices to stimulate muscles to a sustained peak of performance
Challenges: In an era in which the highest paid athletes in numerous sports receive salaries of tens of millions of dollars per year, the support provided for antidoping research, education, and testing is embarrassingly inadequate. The development of detection methods for several erythropoiesis-stimulating drugs (e.g., Darbepoetin, Mircera) before their introduction, and the detection of athletes using them show the increased cooperation between the pharmaceutical industry and the antidoping movement.
Pasted from <http://www.clinchem.org/content/55/8/1456.full> Pasted from <http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2013-01-27/science/36577015_1_growth-hormone-epo-enhancers>
Who failed us? Sportsman or the sport system? In my view, it is the sport system that is failing us.
Indian cases:
1. BCCI - NADA
Even though the International Cricket Council (ICC) is a signatory to the WADA Code, BCCI is spearheading an opposition to the vexed "whereabouts clause" which requires a player to inform, three months in advance, their availability for dope tests. Whereabouts are information provided by a limited number of top elite athletes about their location to the International Sport Federation (IF) or National Anti-Doping Organization (NADO)for out-of-competition doping controls. The BCCI never sought the assistance of NADA to conduct dope tests. They have engaged a company -- International Doping and Test Management ( Sweden) -- at a heavy cost to conduct dope samples, which NADA could have done at much lesser cost or free of cost.
There are multiple ways to enforce WADA’s Anti Doping Regulation. The WADA regulations may be formally incorporated, either by reference or by express inclusion, into the national laws of a country (National Sports Bill). Alternately, regulations for individual sports may also be incorporated as part of the rules or bye-laws of the governing sports federation of the region, say, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), or the Indian Olympic Federation, etc. which can be found at http://www.bcci.tv/bcci/bccitv/index/antidoping
However, once a sports bill is enacted into law, a sports body for any sport which gains popularity, including the BCCI, may not be able to express reservations to WADA, because it will run the risk of de-recognition by the appropriate central or State Government, for failing to comply with the regulations. 2. Indian athletes There are only two Indians in the infamous list of 99 Olympic dope offenders, both weightlifters, both female. Sanamacha Chanu and Pratima Kumari were the ones to fall into the anti-doping net in the Athens Olympics in 2004. Weightlifting dominated the Indian doping scene to such an extent that the International Federation (IWF) suspended the country twice between 2004 and 2006 for having too many Indian competitors testing positive in internationals. But Athletics, in the meantime, has pushed forward to the No. 1 slot in Indian doping among frontline sports. In 2011, when the top six woman quarter-milers of the country — Mandeep Kaur, Ashwini A.C., Jauna Murmu, Sini Jose, Priyanka Panwar and Tiana Mary Thomas — tested positive for steroids, the nation was shocked. The six Indian women athletes, lost their case in the Court of Arbitration for Sports in Lausanne, Switzerland as it upheld the IAAF's appeal to impose two-year ban on them. 32 ‘positive’ cases from 1246 tests up to Jan-March 2012 in testing done by the NADA. Large numbers that show how rampant doping has been in the country. NADA’s drive to cleanse the system will, however, fail if it and the disciplinary and appeal panels continue to remain in the control of the government. (Union minister is the chairman, secy as vicechairman etc + only two independent experts)
Pasted from <http://www.thehindu.com/sport/other-sports/article3613989.ece>
Comments on Armstrong The world lost a hero and the dream that despite the harshness of circumstances, human beings can achieve the extraordinary. Yet, therein lies the problem: the desire to "win" all the time and at all costs over-emphasises the end while obscuring the means to that end. It creates a culture that defines success in limited, outwardly terms while ignoring deeper questions of truth, virtue and justice. Pasted from <http://www.indianexpress.com/news/how-icons-crumble/1064413/0> Qn.s 1. Doping should be allowed and regulated? For the ban is actually bad for the health of the athletes. They currently use undetectable substances and methods with no medical supervision or responsibility. Honest athletes don’t have access to safe enhancement methods. Cheaters have the competitive advantage. Against Sports are about pursuing excellence through competition, demonstrating one's innate talent and skills achieved through practice and hard work Most of these drugs are not innocuous; they have side effects, many of them serious and irreversible. Not only would virtually all elite athletes be using performance-enhancing drugs, but some would push the envelope and take high doses, damaging and possibly ending their lives. They should be safe enough. We have the athletes, as a whole, wish to compete clean. The science to enhance athletic performance safely; reality is that too often peer pressure wins out. We should use it. Travel, frequent participation takes a toll on A puritan who doesn’t want to dope is deprived one’s body. Allow them to play longer and of a level playing field. stronger
Ultimately, the solution is threefold: educate athletes and the public that athletic prowess can be accomplished through competing clean; understand that “bigger, faster, stronger” contributes to injuries, shorter careers and debilitating retirement; and expand comprehensive, aggressive state-of-the-art testing.
2. If you are the sports secy, how do you prevent doping in sports? 3. Do you still love sports in spite of rampant doping? Why? 4. Drug abuse vs. doping? Miscellany - Some Psychological principles: Reasons for drug abuse: 1. Cognitive: Faulty attributions, external locus of control false beliefs that doping is directly proportional to performance enhancement or reduction of stress and ignorance of ill-effects perceived cost of failure is more than the fear of being caught
2. Social factors: Peer group pressure Coaches Impunity to proven and alleged athletes (Bad role models) accordingly, the treatment can be Cognitive restructuring, anxiety reduction techniques, behavioural (rewards for fair play and strict punishments) Prevention: a formation of negative attitude towards drugs right from school/zonal level (cognitive dissonance thy) Assertiveness training to say "no" to drugs Role of coaches variable ratio of dope-test schedules Using periodic psychological tests to find out athlete's attitude towards drug abuse, perceived self-efficacy etc (Thurstone's scale) and take a proactive corrective action if found in suspicion levels Value inculcation and keeping an eye on his life-style.
