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Understanding Doping in Sports

Doping refers to the use of illegal substances to enhance athletic performance, defined by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) as the administration of agents not normally present in the body. The IOC established a Medical Commission in 1967 to combat doping, leading to an expanding Prohibited List of substances and methods, which are categorized based on their timing and context of use. Positive doping tests generally imply culpability for the athlete, although exceptions exist for cases of ignorance regarding the administration of prohibited substances.

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10 views2 pages

Understanding Doping in Sports

Doping refers to the use of illegal substances to enhance athletic performance, defined by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) as the administration of agents not normally present in the body. The IOC established a Medical Commission in 1967 to combat doping, leading to an expanding Prohibited List of substances and methods, which are categorized based on their timing and context of use. Positive doping tests generally imply culpability for the athlete, although exceptions exist for cases of ignorance regarding the administration of prohibited substances.

Uploaded by

Mani Yadav
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© All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Doping

Doping is using of illegal substances to make performance better. Doping in sport is defined
as “the administration to or use by a healthy individual … of any agent or substance nor
normally present in the body … and/or of any physiological agent or substance … when
introduced in abnormal additional quantities and/or by an abnormal route and/or in an
abnormal manner, … with the purpose and effect of increasing artificially and in an unfair
manner the performance of that individual during the period of competition”1

In 1967 the International Olympic Committee (IOC) for the very first time set up the Medical
Commission which aimed to plan and look after the fight against doping in sports. At that
time the Medical Commission published its first list of prohibited substances in sport
containing stimulants and narcotics only. Since then the list has been expanding. Seven years
later synthetic anabolic androgenic steroids were added and one decade later testosterone and
caffeine, too. In 1988 blood doping was banned and the Prohibited List was supplemented
with diuretics and beta-blockers. In 1989 peptide hormones were added. Since 1993 beta-2
agonists have been considered as doping agents. However, not only the Prohibited List of the
IOC Medical Commission was binding but different sport federations created their own lists
of prohibited methods and substances.

Currently, substances and methods on the Prohibited List are classified by categories and
divided into four groups viz. substances and methods prohibited at all times which contain
anabolic agents, hormones and related substances, substances and methods prohibited in-
competition such as stimulants, narcotics and cannabinoids, substances prohibited in
particular sports which contains alcohol and beta-blockers and specific substances.2
In principle, the positive result of a doping control may normally allow the conclusion to be
drawn that the athlete tested has applied the prohibited substance to himself and has
committed a culpable act.3 Only in particular exceptional situations of ignorance as to the
administration of unknown substances (e.g. the forced administration of medicaments, loss of
consciousness by the player), the occurrence of which is proved, does the fault of the player
disappear. In Katrin Zimmerman Krabbe vs. Deutscher Leichtathletik Verband (DLV)4 and
International Amateur Athletic Federation (IAAF) Krabbe a German athlete and member of

1
(first definition of doping adopted in 1963 by the Council of Europe Committee for Out-of-School Education)
2
For full list check; [Link]

3
Case Z. v. DFB (German Football Federation), DFB sports tribunal, 1999
4
Munich Court of Appeal, Germany, 28 March 1996
the German Athletics Federation(DLV) in her urine sample she gave in a drug test revealed
the presence of clenbuterol. The Court ruled that the DLV was obliged to apply the IAAF
sanction because it was bound by the decisions of the International Federation under threat of
sanctions. The German Federation could not, therefore, be accused of acting improperly by
enforcing the IAAF sanction. It is interesting to note that there is no quantitative information
available regarding the prohibited substances on the Prohibited List. For example, there are
no allowed threshold concentrations for few substances (e.g.: morphine and
carboxytetrahydrocannabinol), below which they may not be considered as positive anti-
doping result.

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