performance enhancing drugs in sports Essay - 1936 Words

Performance Enhancing Drugs: Introduction The Tour de France is considered the world’s most competitive bicycle race. Each summer top cycling teams from around the world compete in the three-week event, which sends riders on a grueling, multi-stage course through the mountainous countryside of Ireland, France, and Belgium. In 1998, the image of Tour de France cyclists as athletes at the peak of their natural abilities was tarnished by allegations of widespread performanceenhancing drug use among competitors. The â€Å"doping† scandal broke a few days prior to the start of the race when a masseuse for France’s Festina team, Willy Voet, was arrested after police found large quantities of anabolic steroids and erythropoietin, or EPO, in his car†¦show more content†¦WADA is also investing more of its resources in developing new tests to keep pace with the changing array of drugs that athletes are taking. Whether or not those who contend that drug tests remain easy to beat will be satisfied by renewed testing efforts remains uncertain. Clearly, however, performance-enhancing drug testing has affected the careers of many elite athletes. Athletes who test positive for drugs at the Olympic level are stripped of their medals and records and are suspended from all competition for two years on the first offense. In 1988, Canadian sprinter Ben Johnson was stripped of a gold medal and was later banned from track-and-field competition for life after he tested positive for steroids. At the 2000 Summer Olympic Games in Sydney, Australia, Romanian gymnast Andrea Raducan had her gold medal taken away when she tested positive for pseudoephedrine, a stimulant. American shot-putter C.J. Hunter withdrew from competition after it was revealed that he had tested positive four times for the steroid nandrolone. Scores of other athletes were also expelled from the Sydney Games after flunking drug tests. Mo re recently, at the 2002 Winter Olympic Games in Salt Lake City, Utah, British skier Alain Baxter was stripped of his bronze medal after testing positive for methamphetamine, although an appeal is pending. Detection efforts notwithstanding, seeking an edge over one’s opponents has long made the use ofShow MoreRelatedPerformance-Enhancing Drugs in Sports1078 Words   |  4 Pagesï » ¿Performance-enhancing drugs in sports: A literature review A number of prominent athletes have recently experienced a fall from grace, because of the revelation that they used performance-enhancing drugs. Perhaps the most famous example of this phenomenon is Lance Armstrong. In an advertisement for Nike that his former sponsor now no doubt regrets, Armstrong is shown asking the viewer what am I on? Im on my bike, busting my ass six hours a day. Professional cycling is often cited as one ofRead MorePerformance Enhancing Drugs For Sports1227 Words   |  5 PagesPerformance Enhancing Drugs Sport records are becoming harder   to break and seeing records are starting to become a thing of the past.. Players aren’t being able to hit these home runs or score long touchdown’s. Injured   players are getting kicked off the team or even quit because they can’t get to their peak performance that they were at before they got injured.   If more players were to use performance enhancing drugs they would be able to compete to the performance of past players. A performanceRead MorePerformance Enhancing Drugs For Sports Essay1514 Words   |  7 PagesPerformance-Enhancing Drugs in Sports A tremendously large problem in sports is whether or not athletes should be able to use performance enhancing drugs. To most people, it doesn t make any sense for athletes to be using them. They have to know what affect it has on their body not only physically, but also mentally. Around the early 2000’s is when all this starting coming up and it has made a dramatic impact on the sports world. The few people who want performance-enhancing drugs in sports don’tRead MorePerformance Enhancing Drugs in Sports1686 Words   |  7 PagesPerformance Enhancing Drugs in Sports Athletes use performance enhancing drugs to boost their game. The professionals who use these drugs are ruining the integrity of the game. Many people don’t understand why professional athletes would go to such extreme measures to be better when they have already proven themselves. Athletes are just taking away from their natural ability by using these dangerous drugs. The risk of using performance enhancing drugs is a lot greater than the reward, because anRead MorePerformance Enhancing Drugs in Sports1207 Words   |  5 PagesThe growth and use of performance enhancing drugs makes them no longer a taboo subject among professional athletes, and is starting to become in fact rampant among athletes. There appears to be no end in sight when leagues like the NFL and NCAA have weak testing programs. Traditional locker rooms in the NFL have a few steroid users and have many HGH abusers due to the NFL’s weak testing programs. HGH has become a rampant issue for the NFL, because it allows the average NFL player to gain an edgeRead MorePerformance Enhancing Drugs in Sports527 Words   |  2 Pagesuse of performance-enhancing steroids in sports is forming a problem. The sports that they play end up being cheated by these frauds. This is a disgusting epidemic. For example, â€Å"The National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) recently estimated that over half of a million 8th through 10th grade students are abusing AAS, and that many high school seniors do not believe their use constitutes a health risk† (steroidabuse.com). The problem exists in professional sports and below. Steroid use in sports is becomingRead MorePerformance Of Sports And Performance Enhancing Drugs2051 Words   |  9 PagesPerformance Enhancers in Elite Sports Performance enhancing drugs are as old as sports themselves. Even the ancient athlete that competed in some of the first Olympic Games were know to use substances to boost their performance. It is on record that â€Å"Olympian Thomas Hicks won the marathon after receiving an injection of strychnine during the race in the third Olympiad†. (Savulescu, 1) It wasn’t until the 70’s that athletes began being tested for performance enhancing drugs and they became bannedRead MorePerformance Enhancing Drugs For Professional Sports1703 Words   |  7 Pagesthe use of performance enhancing drugs. The debate on whether or not performance enhancing substances should be allowed in professional sports has been going on for years, decades even. Many believe that using steroids and other performance enhancers should automatically disqualify an athlete from ever being able to be a member of the Hall of Fame, in sports in general, not just in Major League Baseball. However, there is an argument to be made to make the use of performance enhancing drugs legal inRead MoreSports and Performance Enhancing Drugs Essay1221 Words   |  5 PagesPerformance enhancing drugs in todays pro sports have become a big deal, because of health stimulants and the benefits that such studies have on good development of the person and on fair athletic games. Pediatricians or traine rs can play a huge role in helping the athlete or player that is using or taking performance enhancing drugs. By taking factual info about the true benefits and medical problems of these drugs and giving information about healthy food and working out. Tries to create a changeRead More Performance-Enhancing Drugs in Sports Essay1678 Words   |  7 PagesPerformance-Enhancing Drugs in Sports In all areas of sports, professional, college, and even high school, there is widespread illegal use of performance-enhancing drugs. Although there are many reasons for athletes to choose to use these drugs, the cost of such use, both to the athlete and to society can be extraordinarily high. It is important to understand why performance-enhancing drugs are used and what are the consequences of their use to the athlete and society. One of the