Should doping be permitted in sports?

Sports Science

By Tariq Ahmed
27/06/2024
Contents:
Introduction
What is doping?
What are some examples of doping and how do they
work?
How does this impact sports?
What are the regulations currently set in sport?
Should doping be allowed?
Conclusion:
What is being done to help prevent athletes from
doping?
Introduction
Throughout the history of sports, the presence of doping has been evident. From the earliest
Olympians to the present day, athletes have resorted to various methods of doping to enhance their
performance and gain a competitive edge (Jenkins 2007). However, the perception and acceptance of
doping have evolved over time. In ancient times, athletes openly engaged in doping practices (Jenkins
2007), whereas today, athletes face penalties for such actions. Considering both perspectives and
reaching a well-justified conclusion, this article will delve into the question of whether doping should
be allowed.

What is Doping?
Doping means to administer drugs to inhibit or enhance sporting performance. This gave performance
boosts for athletes’ body to compete in sporting events such as the Olympics. However, it could have
been dated even further back to the Ancient Egyptians who used a drink made from the hooves of
asses, which had been grounded and boiled in oil, then flavoured with rose petals and rose hips,
to improve their performance. (Donohoe and Johnson, 1986). The foods and drinks that an
athlete took used to be what doping was. For example, the Greeks consumed opium juices
(Bowers, 1998) and herbal medications in their diets (Jenkins, 2007). Doping has been apparent
for thousands of years but only in the most recent years has become a significant issue in sports.
Doping is a controversial as it gives an unnatural advantage to athletes which can be seen as
unfair.

What are some examples of doping and how do they work?

Athletes can dope in the form of drugs. Some examples include beta blockers, anabolic steroids,
human growth hormones and erythropoietin (BBC.co.uk). One example is human growth hormone
(HGH) It is important for growth, cell regeneration, and cell reproduction (Charles 2021). HGH helps
to maintain, build, and repair healthy tissue in the brain and other organs. This hormone can help to
speed up healing after an injury and repair muscle tissue after exercise. This helps to build muscle
mass, boost metabolism, and burn fat. (Kronkelton 2023). However, like all drugs peds can have side
effects for example anabolic steroids can lead to heart attacks, hypertension, and fluid retentions.
(NHS.uk). These substances are quite easy to buy for example you can buy steroids at
steroidstore.co.uk.

How does this impact sports?

Lance Armstrong and Justin Gatlin are two examples athletes who have used steroids. Justin Gatlin
took testosterone which helped him achieve multiple medals. He was caught in 2007 and had to serve
a 4-year ban from professional running. Lance Armstrong took corticosteroid which let him breeze to
seven tour de France wins. He was banned for life and stripped of his medals. These two examples
clearly show that Performance Enhancing Drugs work and have a significant impact on athletes.

What are the regulations currently set in sport?

Some drugs are permitted at certain times where others are not. The WADA states that beta blockers
are permitted anytime except in some sports, stimulants are only not allowed in all competitions and
anabolic steroids are banned all the time. (WADA prohibited list 2024). However, some athletes
bypass regulations by using drugs for therapeutic reasons but can take advantage of this and take more
than they need to. Currently, there are accurate tests which can determine whether an athlete has taken
substances including a urine sample test (WADA testing 2024).

Should doping be allowed?

One argument to suggest that doping should be allowed is that it is so prevalent that stopping it would
be unfair on the clean athletes. This penalizes those who have the moral character or fortitude to not
cheat, while rewarding others who did cheat (Glover fair sporting world 2022). If some athletes
manage to bypass the regulations and not get caught, then they will have a significant advantage to
other athletes. If doping is allowed, then all athletes will have that unnatural advantage and it would
be fair for all athletes to dope. This will also help athletes become the best version of themselves and
reach new heights making the sport even more exciting to play and watch.

However, this argument can be countered. If all athletes dope, then it would be more of a competition
of who takes more PEDs. If one athlete takes five tablets of steroids and another athlete takes ten
tablets, then there would be unfairness for the athlete who takes less. This would mean that athletes
would have to take as many substances as possible which can lead to huge health problems to athletes
that would be life threatening. There should not be a health risk for athletes as that takes the moral
values away from sports. We are designing people for sport. We are treating human beings like pieces
of meat. We create them for this activity. (Filipp Is science killing sport? 2022). If the ban continues it
brings out honesty, fair play, health, ethics, and respect from athletes. (WADA 2017)

Another argument in favour to lift the ban of doping is that it can reduce the rigors of sport and help
athletes recover from injuries. (Procon 2014) German footballer Schuster said “If a player can reach
his full fitness level two to three weeks faster, then PED use makes sense. It is about getting players to
their usual level as soon as possible” (Huynh 2023). A small, regulated amount of PEDs can help
athletes be back to where they were before faster without having to use difficult methods. If sports
officials can measure how much substances are taken, then it could stop unfairness in the sport.

Nonetheless some athletes can bypass the Therapeutic Use Exemption. For example, four-time Tour
de France winner Chris Froome had elevated levels of salbutamol for his treatment of asthma which
poses the question of whether it is unfair he gets to use drugs to improve his performance. Their body
can repair naturally without drugs and help the athlete understand their own body more with their
injury. However, if an athlete has a non-fixable health problem like asthma, then there should be an
exemption but with regulations.

In addition, one reason to continue doping regulations is to prevent the rest of society especially youth
and those with existing health problems from having the impulse to dope. Society can feel left out
from taking drugs and would then want to follow their favourite athletes who take PEDS (Bridgewater
2022). Society may not have the knowledge as professionals of what to take and how much to take
which can lead to grave consequences as previously discussed including mental problems and
physical problems on people.

Conclusion:

It is crucial to maintain regulations on doping and impose penalties on athletes who engage in
cheating. This stance is justified by the challenges associated with monitoring the quantity of
substances athletes consume, as well as the potential for unequal advantages if one athlete dopes more
than another. Additionally, permitting doping would pose significant health risks to those who involve
themselves in it. By implementing a ban on doping, athletes would demonstrate their commitment to
sporting values and provide society, particularly the younger generation, with an incentive to follow
their role model’s actions.

What is being done to help prevent athletes from doping?

Some organisations like the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency, World Anti-Doping Agency and International
Olympic Committee are trying their best to prevent athletes from doping and penalise those who do to
keep fairness in sport. There are also ways to find out whether athletes are doping including: urine,
blood, and saliva tests (USADA The WADA's table lists the sports with the most dopers;

This clearly shows that athletics, weightlifting, and cycling are the primary sports which need to be
regulated the heaviest. This gives a clear idea of where to target athletes for doping. Ways to prevent
athletes from doping could be imposing more severe penalties, doing regular random testing,
(WADA) educating and raising awareness to the public (USADA) and creating a culture of a clean
sport (IOC).
 References:
Larry D. Bowers, "Athletic Drug Testing," Clinics in Sports Medicine, Apr. 1, 1998

Sally Jenkins, “Winning, Cheating Have Ancient Roots,” washingtonpost.com, Aug. 3, 2007

Performance-enhancing drugs and their impacts - Health and safety in sport - Edexcel - GCSE
Physical Education Revision - Edexcel - BBC Bitesize

Shamard Charles Very well health What is HGH? February 4, 2021

Emily Kronkelton Side Effects of Synthetic Human Growth Hormone (HGH) Healthline May 5, 2023

Nhs.uk Anabolic steroid misuse 13 April 2022

WORLD ANTI-DOPING CODE INTERNATIONAL STANDARD PROHIBITED LIST 2024

World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA). "World Anti-Doping Code International Standard: Testing and
Investigations." WADA Testing.

Matt Glover, “The Case for PEDs, and a Fairer Sporting World,” themacweekly.com, Feb. 10, 2022

Fabian Filipp, “Is Science Killing Sport? Gene Therapy and Its Possible Abuse in Doping,”
ncbi.nlm.nih.gov, EMBO Reports, May 2007

World Anti-Doping Agency, “WADA Ethics Panel: Guiding Values in Sport and Anti-Doping,” wada-
ama.org, Oct. 2017

Sports Doping - Pros & Cons - ProCon.org

Phillip Huynh, “Speeding Up the Injury Recovery Process,” clmr.unsw.edu.au, Oct. 4, 2023

Teddy Bridgewater, instagram.com, July 18, 2022

U.S. Anti-Doping Agency (USADA). "How Testing Works." USADA Testing.

World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA). "World Anti-Doping Code."

U.S. Anti-Doping Agency (USADA). "Education." USADA Education

International Olympic Committee (IOC). "IOC’s initiatives to prevent doping." IOC Doping Prevention.