To what extent is winning the motivation for athletes to take performance enhancing drugs despite the risks involved?

Abstract Drugs in sport is an ongoing problem which I believe will never be completely abolished from the sporting world. We have definitely come a long way since the early days of drug use with the introduction of governing bodies such ad WADA to help control the testing of athletes and the detection of illegal substances, however I do not think we will be able to completely remove this ’drug culture’ from the sporting world. Therefore having experienced first-hand the drug testing practices involved in detection after competing in the world youth championships this year I was interested to look into the motivation behind athletes who choose to cheat and risk their future career both athletically and their career after retirement having been branded as a 'cheat’ within their sport. I will do this by looking into the history of drug use in sport and the enhancements the drugs provide to performance to try to understand why athletes risk their careers to simply win. Contents | | Abstract | 2 | Introduction | 2 | Drugs in sport; a modern problem? | 3 | Drugs in sport: what are they? * Amphetamines * Anabolic steroids * EPO * Diuretics * Caffeine | 3-6 | Drugs in sport: health risks | 6-7 | Drugs in sport: detection and punishment | 7- | Drugs in sport: why cheat? | | | | Drugs in sport: case studies * Lance Armstrong * Dwain chambers | | Bibliography | |
Introduction Due to the recent controversy surrounding the sporting world over drug use in sport with some of the top athletes testing positive for banned substances I have decided to look into the motivation behind why athletes such as Tyson gay, former world record holder Asafa Powell and lance Armstrong of whom were all athletes at the highest level of their sport and yet ruin their reputation by testing positive for banned substances. I will look into the motivation behind cheating and if it is really as black and white as their desire to win is so strong they decide to risk their sporting career to achieve this or do other factors play a part. I will also look into to challenging the excuses given by athletes as to why they take drugs as I struggle to believe that in today’s sporting world the top athletes are so naive as to simply trust everyone and take whatever they are given and therefore are not responsible for what goes into their body.
Drugs in sport: a modern problem? Within sport drugs have been prevalent almost since sport began with one of the earliest record of athletes taking drugs, being in the third century where a Greek physician named Galen reported athletes within ancient Greece to have used stimulants to enhance their performance. {Waddington, I and A ,smith 2009. An introduction to drugs in sport: addicted to winning? 1st edition. Abingdon: Routledge} As you look through the history you can see drugs have been part of the sporting world since it has begun, but how these athletes take drugs and the drugs which they have used to enhance performance has changed over time along with the public opinion about drug use within sport. The first reported incident of drug abuse was in ancient Greece when the athletes gauged themselves on meat before competition and experimented with herbal medications to help enhance their performance, these practices were supposed to help their overall performance whereas now a days that would simply be seen as normal behavior. { Procon.org, 2013, Sports and Drugs [online]. Available at: http://sportsanddrugs.procon.org/view.timeline.php?timelineID=000017 [accessed 19th September 2013]. From then on this ‘drug culture’ has continued up until the present day even with the strict anti-doping regulations put in place by the regulatory bodies to try to prevent such atrocities from occurring within their sport. However somehow athletes seem to slip through the net and go undetected for years such as lance Armstrong of whom ran an intensive doping program for the majority of his career helping him to gain so many tour de France titles and it was only after his career had ended that it was revealed that he had been doping and how he avoided being caught for so many years. This current controversy often clouds many of the outstanding performances carried out by individuals with instant speculation about whether they are on drugs if they simply perform well when clean, this is a problem Usain Bolt often encounters as he is so much better than anyone else and the critics of the sport often question whether he is clean or just simply naturally talented. However it is not until recently that taking drugs in sport has been frowned upon with the emergence of anti-doping regulations in the 1960s, whereas in previous years athletes have freely used drugs without infringing any rules and becoming the subject of much scrutiny from the sporting world and media.

Drugs in sport: What are they? Within the elite athlete environment come much expectation and pressure both put on by the country, club and the individual themselves some athletes are able to deal with these pressures or expectations. However other athletes are not able to cope and to cope with the demands some individuals use performance enhancing drugs to help them achieve this goal. The most commonly used drugs within sport are Amphetamines, Anabolic steroids, caffeine, EPO (Ethropoietin) and Diuretics. But what are these drugs and how do they enhance athletes performance? Amphetamines
Amphetamines are drugs which stimulate the central nervous system, once taken they result in an increase in alertness, self-confidence and concentration and a decrease in appetite but an increased feeling of energy. {Reid, E and I Djukic, 2011, drugs in sport [online]. Available at: http://www.drugsinsportaus.blogspot.co.uk/p/references.html [accessed 30 September 2013]}. Amphetamines are taken by athletes due to the increased feeling of energy gained and the increase in focus which can help to improve reaction time which in an event like the 100 the smallest margin can determine whether you win or lose. Therefore some sports people are attracted to taking this drug to make a minor adjustment to help gain maybe a tenth of a second or less but this could decide whether you win gold or come eighth in an Olympic final. As well as this amphetamine use is prevalent in professional baseball with it being reported that amphetamine use from the beginning of the 1960’s in baseball was as high as 85%, however Major league baseball only began mandatory testing for amphetamines in 2006 despite these shocking figures. {Samantha Van Vleet, 2012, Amphetamines as performance enhancing drugs among athletes [online]. Available at; http://sports.yahoo.com/top/news?slug=ycn-11068572 [accessed 30 September 2013]}.
Anabolic steroids Anabolic steroids are a group of hormones which are produced naturally within the body they act to help with growth, physical development and the functioning of reproductive organs. Anabolic steroids are synthetic versions of the naturally occurring hormone testosterone they can be taken both orally and injected and both ways promote the building of muscle and therefore strength. Athletes take anabolic steroids due to the enhancement they gain in certain aspects of their sport including an increase in strength, power, speed, endurance and aggressiveness all these if improved will enhance the individuals performance therefore athletes competing in events such as track and field, weight lifting, and American football are most commonly associated with taking anabolic steroids as they involve many of these attributes to maximize their performance. {Fahey,T.D, 1998, Anabolic-androgenic steroids: mechanism of action and effects on performance [online]. Available at http://www.sportsci.org/encyc/anabster/anabster.html [accessed 4 November 2013]}. Anabolic steroid use in prevalent across a number of sports due to it significant enhancement on physical performance more athletes are drawn to take these steroids and even individual of whom are not competing at elite level are draw to taking them to help them ‘look good’ by gaining a muscular physique by taking steroids, training and eating a high protein diet people have become obsessed with their appearance resulting in a massive increase in anabolic steroid use within the general public as well as elite athletes.
Caffeine Caffeine is a rather bizarre performance enhancing drug as many people may be thinking that if it is performance enhancing the majority of the population would be in the wrong and taking a performance enhancing substance. However the beneficial effects of caffeine on an athletes performance are only noticed when high doses are consumed. Caffeine is a naturally occurring substance which can be found in at least 63 different plant species therefore caffeine is one of the most readily available drugs within sport and due to its high consumption has been labeled with addictive qualities. The appeal of caffeine as a drug is due to its effect both mentally and physically as it enhances both aspects of an athletes performance. Caffeine is mainly used by athletes in endurance events such as marathon, Triathlon, cycling and even football due to it causing an increasing in endurance and therefore efficiency over the physically demanding event which involves a large amount of endurance. As well as this caffeine also works to decrease the effects of fatigue on the athlete which is a vital role as if they do not suffer the effects of fatigue so readily they are able to perform at a higher intensity for longer therefore giving them a physical and psychological advantage over their opponents. As well as caffeine promoting physical benefits such as an increase in endurance and reduced fatigue it also provided mental benefits as it has be suggested that caffeine can help to stimulate the central nervous system which gives the athlete clearer thought process and can help the body cope with fatigue therefore resulting in the athlete having a greater ability to concentrate which can be vital for athletes competing in events which require quick thinking and raid reactions. {Hartley, Jack, Caffeine and Sports Performance [online]. Available at http://www.vanderbilt.edu/AnS/psychology/health_psychology/caffeine_sports.htm [accessed 4 November 2013]. The performance enhancing effects of caffeine were recognized by WADA (World Anti-Doping Agency) by placing caffeine on the banned substance list at a certain level for international sporting events such as the Olympics. However it was then removed in 2004 however caffeine is still a substance which is tested for within athletes consequently allowing them to continue to monitor the use of caffeine within athletes and determine whether it should remain off the banned substance list. [Peterson, Dan, 2010, How does caffeine help athletes? [online]. Available at: http://www.livescience.com/32739-how-does-caffeine-help-athletes.html [accessed 4 November 2013]}
EPO (Ethropoietin) EPO or Ethropoietin is a hormone which is naturally produced by the kidneys, however it can be injected to enhance performance and is used predominantly by athletes within athletics and cycling as it helps to increase endurance therefore is mainly used by athletes who require high levels of endurance for their event such as marathon runners and cyclists within the Tour de France which are both physically demanding events requiring high levels of endurance to be able to compete at the highest levels. [BBC sport, 2006, EPO explained [online]. Available at http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/front_page/4657010.stm [accessed 2 December 201]} A famous example of an athlete who has taken EPO is Lance Armstrong who after it was discovered had all of his tour titles taken away from him. Lance Armstrong used Blood doping throughout his career which was an intensive process involving the injection of EPO which controls the bodies red blood cell production and by increasing this it acts to enhance the bodies oxygen delivery system therefore allowing the muscles to be provided with larger volumes of oxygen and therefore increasing the aerobic capacity of the athlete resulting in an increase in endurance. EPO was initially produced to help treat certain medical diseases such as anyemia alongside other conditions such as Renal failure, Cancer, and HIV. { TeachPE, 2013, Erythropoietin (EPO) [online]. Available at; http://www.teachpe.com/drugs/epo.php [accessed 2 December 2013]} However athletes have used the benefits of this drug to help enhance their performance in their pursuit to victory therefore the drug has become associated with cheating. This drug is incredibly hard to detect hence the appeal to athletes to use it as they could go throughout their career without being detected such as Lance Armstrong did. However testing methods are constantly being improved and therefore athletes who have taken EPO are being detected more often to help in the battle to make sport clean due to the constant advancements in testing practices.

Diuretics Diuretics are not directly correlated to performance enhancement in sports however they can be used to hide traces of other drugs as they promote the production of urine therefore can be used to remove traces of steroids from the body or to help lose weight due to the increase in urine production for athletes of whom are require to be within certain weight categories such as boxers or jockeys. Therefore diuretics are not performance enhancing substances as such as they may in fact lead to negative effects on performance as they could cause dehydration if the fluid lost is not replenished however they are used to encourage the use of steroids and other performance enhancing drugs as they can hide the use of these substances. Similarly to the other drugs I have mentioned Diuretics were initially produced for medical purposes such as treating hypertension, Oedema, cardiac failure and liver cirrhosis . { TeachPE, 2013, Erythropoietin (EPO) [online]. Available at; http://www.teachpe.com/drugs/diuretics.php [accessed 9 December 2013}]. However there medical effect on the increased excretion of waste products from the body has been manipulated to help athletes get away with the use of performance enhancing drugs and therefore has now been placed on the banned substance list. Drugs in sport: Health risks
Alongside the risks associated with their career and reputation athletes who choose to take performance enhancing drugs also risk their health by taking these substances just to make gains so they can win medals or money! So what risks are they taking when they put these substances inside their body to enhance their performance? As with every drug taken there are side effects associated with taking these drugs. However unlike when taking drugs for medical purposes these effects are balanced out by the significant health benefits gained from taking the drug. The side effects caused by drugs taken by athletes to enhance performance have no such counter balance and therefore all side effects are perceived as detrimental to the health of the individual. As well as this athletes who take performance enhancing drugs often take the drugs in much higher volumes than that of those who would use them for medical purposes therefore some of the side effects experienced would only be associated with these high doses of the drug. Anabolic steroids as mentioned in the previous chapter are one of the most common drugs used for performance enhancement due to them promoting muscle building and therefore strength which is a vital fitness component for many sports. Athletes take this drug in much higher doses than those use for medical doses therefore increase their likelihood of experiencing the side effects associated with the drugs. There are many side effects associated with anabolic steroids some more serious than others and certain effects which are more associated with men or women. For example men may develop more prominent breasts, baldness, shrunken testicles or infertility and women may develop a deeper voice, and enlarged clitoris, increased body hair, baldness and infrequent or absent periods. {CNN, 2012, performance-enhancing drugs; know the risks [online]. Available at: http://edition.cnn.com/HEALTH/library/performance-enhancing-drugs/HQ01105.html [accessed 4th January 2014]. The broader side effects which are experienced by both men and women can vary in severity with some being life threatening and others being very tolerable with little effect on your overall health. For example severe acne can be a side effect of anabolic steroid use along with liver abnormalities or tumours, heart and circulatory problems, psychiatric disorders, inhibited growth, and drug dependence. A very extreme example of this is Chris Benoit of whom was a professional wrestler killed his wife and son in a ‘roid rage’ due to his use of steroids he suddenly became very violent and aggressive and as a result killed his family and later killed himself because of what he had done. This is a very extreme example of the side effects of prolonged use of steroids and it shows that by talking them you are not only risking your health but could also be risking the health of those you love. Erythropoietin is often used by endurance athletes to help increase their oxygen supply to their muscles therefore increasing their aerobic endurance allowing them to fatigue much later therefore giving them an unfair advantage over their opponents. However by taking this drug to enhance their performance they are risking their health and also their life. In the 1990s erythropoietin was a common drug used by many cyclists and was allegedly contributed to 18 deaths. Inappropriate use of this drug can increase the risk of thrombic episodes such as stroke, heart attack and pulmonary edema. These can all be life threatening therefore by doing this to enhance their performance athletes can in fact be risking their life not only their career. Diuretics, although as mentioned in the above section do not directly enhance performance by improving strength or aerobic endurance they help to mask illegal substances, or help them to lose weight so they can compete in a lower weight category. These to also carry some serious side effects which can negatively affect the athletes health due to the changes caused to the body’s natural balance of salts and electrolytes. Some of the more minor effects include muscle cramps, dizziness, fainting, exhaustion and dehydration these are all caused by the change to the body’s natural balance and unnatural loss of weight therefore they could actually adversely affect their performance. There are also some more extreme side effect which will be more difficult to reduce following the onset of systems such as Heart arrhythmias, potassium deficiency, drop in blood pressure, loss of coordination and balance, heat stroke and even death. Consequently although athletes may be thinking by taking diuretics to mask the use of other illegal substances they are getting away with cheating they are in fact increasing their risk of suffering from poor health which could result in the end of their career as a result, therefore actually reducing their time spent performing due to the misuse of such drugs. Having looked at a number of the side effects associated with some of the illegal substances used the athletes who are caught cheating and even those who are not are taking large risks to reach the ‘desired’ level of performance and obviously are putting more value on achievement than their health and actually their lives.
Drugs in sport: Detection and Punishment
Since the prevalence of drug use has increased within the sporting world to help improve athletic performance there have been many organisations set up to help discover those how have been cheating. The leading organisation is the World anti-Doping agency (WADA) which was set up after a world conference in Lausanne in 1999 following a police raid during the tour de franc in 1998 where they discovered a large number of prohibited medical substances. Therefore following this scandal the international Olympic committee (IOC) called for this first world conference on doping and as a result WADA was formed to try and make sport clean. Since the formation of WADA many of the testing procedures have become more advanced and more effective at detecting those athletes of who have cheated therefore increasing the risk of becoming caught and hopefully deterring athletes from cheating. However as the testing practices become more advanced unfortunately so does the practices of those who cheat so this is an ongoing battle which some day will hopefully remove this drug culture from within sport, but it will be a very long process before we can completely eradicate such practices from sport. An athlete can be subjected to a test either in competition or out of competition and once approached they are obliged to carry out the test or risk a ban for refusing to be tested http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/performance-enhancing-drugs/HQ01105 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a-M186E02gY (anabolic steroids) http://www.usada.org/effects-peds/ http://edition.cnn.com/HEALTH/library/performance-enhancing-drugs/HQ01105.html http://edition.cnn.com/HEALTH/library/performance-enhancing-drugs/HQ1105.html http://www.theguardian.com/sport/2003/feb/11/cricketworldcup2003.cricketworldcup15 http://www.teachpe.com/drugs/diuretics.php http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2962812/ http://www.bbc.co.uk/ethics/sport/debate/types_1.shtml http://www.vanderbilt.edu/AnS/psychology/health_psychology/caffeine_sports.htm http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio1/advice/factfile_az/anabolic_steroids https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D6L9SjCNwtY (documentary on anabolic steroids) http://www.drugscope.org.uk/resources/drugsearch/drugsearchpages/anabolicsteroids http://www.talktofrank.com/drug/anabolic-steroids http://www.drugsinsportaus.blogspot.co.uk/ http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/221211.php http://sports.yahoo.com/top/news?slug=ycn-11068572 http://www.pharmacytechs.net/blog/top-10-performance-enhancing-drugs/ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aTjpgidjgWE https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ohT_zoodqfU https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dihP00AQa1o http://fora.tv/search?q=drugs+in+sport (lots of videos on drugs in sport good) http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/othersports/article-2384113/Dick-Pound-Doping-widespread-sport.html 9newspaper article)

Drugs in sport: Why cheat?
The future of cheating http://www.bbc.co.uk/ethics/sport/debate/types_1.shtml Case studies * Athletics weekly Seoul scandal, pg10, September 19

Bibliography:
Waddington, I and A ,smith 2009. An introduction to drugs in sport: addicted to winning? 1st edition. Abingdon: Routledge, pg18
Procon.org, 2013, Sports and Drugs [online]. Available at: http://sportsanddrugs.procon.org/view.timeline.php?timelineID=000017 [accessed 19th September 2013]
Reid, E and I Djukic, 2011, drugs in sport [online]. Available at: http://www.drugsinsportaus.blogspot.co.uk/p/references.html [accessed 30 September 2013]
Samantha Van Vleet, 2012, Amphetamines as performance enhancing drugs among athletes [online]. Available at; http://sports.yahoo.com/top/news?slug=ycn-11068572 [accessed 30 September 2013]
{Fahey,T.D, 1998, Anabolic-androgenic steroids: mechanism of action and effects on performance [online]. Available at http://www.sportsci.org/encyc/anabster/anabster.html [accessed 4 November 2013]}
{Hartley, Jack, Caffeine and Sports Performance [online]. Available at http://www.vanderbilt.edu/AnS/psychology/health_psychology/caffeine_sports.htm [accessed 4 November 2013] [Peterson, Dan, 2010, How does caffeine help athletes? [online]. Available at: http://www.livescience.com/32739-how-does-caffeine-help-athletes.html [accessed 4 November 2013]}
BBC sport, 2006, EPO explained [online]. Available at http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/front_page/4657010.stm [accessed 2 December 2013}]
[TeachPE, 2013, Erythropoietin (EPO) [online]. Available at; http://www.teachpe.com/drugs/epo.php [accessed 2 December 2013]}
{ TeachPE, 2013, Erythropoietin (EPO) [online]. Available at; http://www.teachpe.com/drugs/diuretics.php [accessed 9 December 2013}].
{CNN, 2012, performance-enhancing drugs; know the risks [online]. Available at: http://edition.cnn.com/HEALTH/library/performance-enhancing-drugs/HQ01105.html [accessed 4th January 2014]