What is drug testing in sports?
Each sport has a prohibited list of substances and methods. The main focus of drug testing is to test for performance enhancing drugs and drugs used to marks other substances. WADA and ASADA do not test for substances that do not affect performance or mask other substances that could affect performance.
What is the most used drug in sport?
Among the most popular PEDs are anabolic steroids, human growth hormone, erythropoietin (EPO), beta-blockers, stimulants and diuretics to name just a few. While drugs such as these get a lot of publicity, they are perhaps not well understood.
Why are athletes drug tested?
The biggest reason to test student athletes for drug use is to prevent the use of steroids, hormones, and other performance-enhancing drugs, all of which are forms of cheating.
How does the Olympics drug test?
Both urine and blood testing was used in a coordinated effort to detect banned substances and recent blood transfusions. While several athletes were barred from competition by their National Olympic Committees prior to the Games, six athletes failed drug tests while in competition in Beijing.
How are athletes tested for drugs?
The athlete always has control of their own sample. Blood testing generally follows the same procedures as urine testing except that the sample is taken by a Blood Collection Officer. Blood samples are stored and transported at controlled temperatures between 2 to 12°C.
When did drug testing start sports?
1960
During the 1960 Olympic Games in Rome pressure mounted for sports authorities to introduce drug testing.
When did drug testing start in the Olympics?
1968
The International Olympic Committee Medical Commission (IOC-MC) conducted its first doping tests at the 1968 Olympics in Grenoble.
Is drug testing in sports effective?
Five hundred athletes who underwent testing were contrasted with a comparison group of 124 athletes not tested. Results show that some drug-using athletes avoided detection. Although many reduced their drug usage, some continued in the same pattern as before; a few actually increased drug usage.
How often are athletes drug tested?
The World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) tests blood and urine samples from several hundred thousand Olympic athletes every year. About 1 to 2 percent of these samples test positive for prohibited substances, but actual instances of doping are estimated to be significantly more widespread.