And the winner is that famous athlete who has been taking doping substances to enhance his sporting performance didnt he do well
"And the winner is - that famous athlete who has been taking doping substances to enhance his sporting performance - didn't he do well"
The use of drugs in an attempt to improve sporting achievement is often referred to as doping; while the term doping first appeared in an English dictionary in 1879,the use of drugs is evident throughout the history of sport. By 800BC sport was as fundamental a part of Greek life as religious observations of the time. Athletic festivals were common in the Greek calendar, but due to bribing and cheating competitors of this period were reputedly willing to ingest anything, which might improve their performance, including extracts of mushrooms and plant seeds. In addition to political interference, one of the significant reasons for the dissolution of the ancient Olympic games was the use of drugs. The use of drugs during the Roman period has also been recorded. Chariot racers fed their horses a potent mixture to make them run faster, while many gladiators were 'doped-up' to make their fights sufficiently vigorous and bloody for the paying public. This distortion of the aims of sport began in pre-Christian times and has continued to develop in sophistication right through to the twenty first century.
During the twentieth century, sporting activity gradually evolved into a 'big business' providing a significant, worldwide source of entertainment, revenue and employment. Sport has also developed into a significant social institution and success in sport has become highly valued. This has placed pressure on sports people to become not only successful, but the best. This pressure has contributed to the escalation in the incidence of drug taking and the number of drug related deaths within the sporting community. The drug-takers cynical behaviour has corroded sport's essential purity. The improper or illegal use of drugs and substances such as steroids for the temporary enhancement of athletic performance in competitions has been a frequent subject of inquiry since the 1960s, when drug misuse by athletes to gain an unfair advantage began to rise dramatically.
One of the stated values of sport is that it improves one's health. Pursued in moderation, it certainly does develop muscle tone, increases cardiovascular efficiency, and helps to strengthen bones. When sport becomes an obsession, however, it tends ironically to have the opposite effect. The human body is thought of as an instrument, something to be used and abused. The misuse of amphetamines, anabolic steroids, and other drugs has become a central problem in sports. The former allow athletes to draw upon their physical reserves and continue despite the extremes of exhaustion until they collapse and, occasionally, die. In pursuit of the absolute maximum achievement, 19th-century cyclists began to drug themselves with caffeine and strychnine; some died from the effects of the drugs.
While drug use was reportedly rife at the 1952 Helsinki Olympic Games, and to a lesser extent at the 1956 Melbourne Olympics, countries eventually began to speak out against the harm that drugs were causing to the individual and sport. It wasn't until the televised death of cyclist Tommy Simpson in the Tour de France in 1967 that the International Olympic Committee (IOC) became actively involved in international anti- initiatives. The Medical Commission of the IOC was established in 1967 and the first drug tests were conducted at the Mexico Olympic Games in 1968. A schedule of banned ...
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While drug use was reportedly rife at the 1952 Helsinki Olympic Games, and to a lesser extent at the 1956 Melbourne Olympics, countries eventually began to speak out against the harm that drugs were causing to the individual and sport. It wasn't until the televised death of cyclist Tommy Simpson in the Tour de France in 1967 that the International Olympic Committee (IOC) became actively involved in international anti- initiatives. The Medical Commission of the IOC was established in 1967 and the first drug tests were conducted at the Mexico Olympic Games in 1968. A schedule of banned substances was developed by the IOC - a schedule that now includes stimulants, beta-blockers, narcotic analgesics, diuretics, anabolic agents, peptide and glycoprotein hormones, and analogues. Doping practices such as blood doping (in which an athlete receives a blood transfusion just before an event resulting in an increase in red blood cells to increase the oxygen carrying capacity of the blood) and pharmacological, chemical and physical manipulation are also prohibited.
Throughout the late 1960s and 1970s drug testing became a more common feature of high-level sporting competition. Unfortunately, the simple fact that testing programs were in operation did not guarantee their effectiveness. Not only were positive drug tests limited because of inadequate technology, but athletes also learnt quickly how to beat the system. This included attempts to substitute urine samples and to cease using drugs in sufficient time for any trace of the drug to clear from the body prior to the drug test being taken. In 1983, drug-testing strategies took an important step forward this new technology resulted in the now famous scandal of the Pan American Games in Caracas where numerous athletes tested positive to prohibited drugs and many others left the Games without competing rather than being caught. One British Olympic medallist said
"You can't disinvent drugs or the science of cheating, and we should stop spending all this time and money on drug tests and start dealing with the fact that most international athletes take drugs."
Drug testing is now taking place in amateur and professional sports, athletes could unwittingly fail drug testing due to inadvertently taking a non-prescription cold remedy or a decongestant tablet. Did you know that a few cups of coffee, some headache tablets, followed by a can of coke and a bar of chocolate could result in a positive drug test? Caffeine is not only in many medicines, but also in Coke, Pepsi, Red Bull, chocolate, tea, coffee and in some herbal products, such as Guarana. Red Bull contains 75mg of caffeine per 250ml, according to the manufacturer's declaration on the can. The resultant embarrassment of a positive drug test could damage the athletes sporting reputation and cast a doubt over his or her achievements.
Wade Exum, head of doping control at the American Olympic Committee, says:
"It's very sad that when someone performs outstandingly these days, the first reaction is to wonder: "What were they on?" Unfortunately people are sometimes right to wonder that."
Unpalatable as it may sound, the truth is that many athletes pop pills, inject illegal substances and down dubious 'health products' and they do so with the aid of coaches, nutritionists and specialist sports doctors. The extent of drug taking is well concealed in many sports. Rugby, for example, had avoided any major scandal until the recent allegations of recreational drug use surrounding fallen England captain Lawrence Dallaglio. Yet substance abuse is so endemic in sport that many athletes now resemble the Incredible Hulk. Why do they do it? Because the rewards of being a record-breaking top athlete these days are massive. A successful athlete is often associated with a successful coach. As a result, the coach may place direct pressure on an athlete to perform and may be the source of further internal pressure. The media plays an important role in shaping the opinions and attitudes of the general public. How the media portrays an athlete, and how they report on an athlete's performance, cannot only influence the public but the athlete as well. When athletes do test positive, they emphatically deny drug taking and produce explanations for the findings. Frequently their reasons are accepted because champions are needed by their sport.
In this hidden world, taking drugs is not seen as cheating. Everybody takes something, whether it's a drug or a 'health additive'. But 95 per cent of them do it mainly so they can get through training, recover from injury quickly, and only 5 per cent actually get an advantage over their fellow competitors.
"For many athletes, taking a mild steroid is like clubbers taking Ecstasy at the weekend - all just part of the experience."
Explains one athletics insider.
Professional sportspeople must train and tour continually but only a few can win. Most admit they would happily lose 10 years from their lifespan to secure medals and glory now. The age-old Corinthian values of sport's golden age - of fair play, and taking part being more important than winning - have long since disappeared.
The easiest way to obtain sports drugs is over the Internet, where dozens of sites offer a wide range of products. All are breaking the law in Britain but cannot be prosecuted as they operate from abroad. Utah-based Pharma Group, for example, offers human growth hormone (HGH) a banned but undetectable substance in no fewer than 36 different forms from its websites. $429 buys two nasal sprays, $374 some injectable HGH and 'maximum discretion' is promised in the shipping of your purchases. Few are intercepted by Customs. Pat Lenehan, of the Drugs and Sport Information Service in Liverpool, says
"The profits from trafficking sports drugs are now comparable to those from supplying harder drugs - but, crucially, that the risks are tiny."
In recent years a number of traditional drug dealers who sell cocaine, amphetamines and the rest have either switched into selling steroids and similar products or have added those substances to the list of what they sell. Doctors and pharmacists are also involved in the sports drugs trade. Manchester GP Dr Surendra Saxena was given a three-year jail sentence in 1995 for obtaining HGH by deception. He acquired HGH by continuing to prescribe it to a patient even after his treatment had ended. A Welsh GP, Dr Michael Thear-Graham, got six months in prison in 1997 when he was convicted of illegally selling steroids and painkillers to bodybuilders. A pharmacist was also found guilty of unlawfully importing the steroid oxymetholone, in 1995. All three men were banned from practising ever again.
No athlete risks his career by buying or collecting his own supplies. It is coaches, officials or trusted middlemen who do that. Charlie 'The Chemist' Francis, the coach who oversaw Ben Johnson's pre-Seoul drug regime, underlined that point when he confessed all after the sprinter won gold in the 100m but then failed a drug test, lost his medal and created what remains the biggest Olympic doping scandal ever. Unfortunately it is the athlete who is subjected to the scandal and the middlemen go free.
Successful athletes at the highest level are sometimes elevated to the position of hero and carry the pressures of national honour and pride with them. Countries also use their athletes as political weapons. In international competition, one country's sporting successes over another country are often viewed as proof of ideological or national superiority. Such is the case in the Olympic games, where enormous emphasis is placed on the number of gold medals won by a country, with even greater pressure being placed on the host country. Factors such as an athlete's desire to win, the desire to please their coach and family, the glory of victory and the social and economic reward of sporting success often send the athlete in search of a competitive edge. Sometimes this search leads to the use of drugs. The International Olympic Committee began its fight against performance-enhancing drugs nearly four decades ago. Testing has become increasingly more sophisticated, but unfortunately the problem is far from being eliminated.
BIBLIOGRAPHY:
Microsoft Encarta 2001
www.eirpharm.com
www.guardian.com-archive
www.asda.org.au
FHS magazine-coaching magazine
Fiona Collins 11a Ms McCusker English functional writing 1