Introduction:
Performance enhancing drugs in sport play a big role in today’s society. Many different athletes who compete in a wide range of different sports insist on taking the drugs to improve their performance at events such as the olympics or other top competitions around the world. Although different PED’S have been banned in different countries based on the laws, athletes continue to take the drugs to cheat their way to the top of competitions to become well liked by the public. As the years have gone by, more drugs are being used in sport and “are also becoming more sophisticated and less easily detected.”[7]
History:
Performance enhancing drugs in sport began in 776 BC. “This was when the gladiators used them for the fights in the Roman times. During this time, the chariot racers mixed performance enhancing drugs into their horses feeds to make them perform faster. The gladiators would also dope themselves to make their fights more aggressive and bloody for the public who viewed the fights. They also did their to make them more powerful and stronger and their opponent and crowds.”[3] Drugs in sport to enhance the athlete’s performance still exist to this current day in a variety of different sports.
“A number of deaths and allegations of drug taking encouraged the International Olympic Committee to set up a Medical Commission in 1967 which banned the use of drugs and other performance enhancing substances.”
“For as long as people have been engaging in athletic competition, they have been seeking ways to gain an edge on their opponents. There is evidence that doping took place in the ancient Olympics, which lasted from 776 BC until AD 393. The first known case of an athlete dying as a result of doping occurred in 1886, when the Welsh cyclist Andrew Linton died during a race from Paris to Bordeaux. The substance he ingested was thought to be trimethyl, an alcohol-based product used by distance racers to ease pain and increase stamina.”[8]
The history of drugs being used in the olympics is…..
Sport events involving players being caught for using drugs:
Athletes will use different drugs for different purposes in their sport. An example of this is Nadzeya Ostapchuk. Nadzeya is a Belarusian shot putter. Back in 2012, she briefly became the Olympic Champion, but was later stripped from the title for failing a drug test and the gold medal was re-awarded to New Zealand shot putter Valerie Adams. “Nadzeya Ostapchuk failed her drug test for using the banned substance Metenolone. She then had a four year ban put on her, which didn’t end until August 14 2016, two days after the Rio competition.”[5] “Metenolone is an anabolic steroid. It is a substance that mimics the effects of testosterone and dihydrotestosterone in the body. It is commonly used for the maintenance of both muscular strength and mass.”[6] The impact on the society that this had was huge because
During the time of the 2016 Rio olympics, athletes competing from all over the globe in various sports ended up testing positive for competing under the influence of drugs. The impact that this has on the society was……. Not only did it impact on the society , but it also impacted on the olympic games itself.
Number of NZ and other nationality sport players caught out for using PED
“New Zealand statistically has one of the smallest numbers of athletes using performance enhancing drugs in the world. A database to show widespread use of performance enhancing drugs in the sport of athletics is reported to list New Zealand as one of the countries with the fewest athletes who recorded abnormal blood test results. The leaked blood tests from 5,000 athletes between 2001 and 2012 are said to show 800 had suspicious results. This equates to about a third. The AAP news agency reports New Zealand, Ireland, Canada, and Serbia had the fewest competitors with such test results.”
The amount of people who got caught out in the 2016 Rio olympics for doping were….
Are performance enhancing drugs a form of heating and do they create a fair game? When sports players play under the influence of drugs it is a way of cheating. This is due to the harm the drug had on the body. Whether the drug may be used to increase the players strength or ability towards the specified sport, the outcome will never be as accurate as it would have been without the impact of the used drugs. When sports players compete or player under the influence of drugs the game isn’t fair. The players that have used drugs to help the improve or win their game will have a greater advantage of winning or placing higher than they normally do without drugs.