The Quest for Clean Competition in Sports: Are the Testers Catching the Dopers?

Abstract

The practice of using prohibited substances to enhance sports performance (typically referred to as “doping”) is a very old practice that has been with us for centuries. To ensure harmonized, coordinated, and effective antidoping programs, the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA)6 was created as an independent agency. The WADA publishes a list of prohibited substances annually, and the presence of any prohibited substance or metabolite in an athlete's sample constitutes an antidoping rule violation. Over the years, testing programs have continued to expand, and WADA-accredited laboratory testing has increased 40% over the last 3 years. The issue of sports doping has gained widespread attention, and the public seems to be continually reminded of athletes who dope and the potential growing problem of doping at all levels of competition. Surprisingly, an athlete has come forward and stated that it is impossible to win a cycling event like the Tour de France without doping. In this Q&A article, 4 leaders with different roles in the antidoping effort have been asked to comment on the success of antidoping programs and major challenges facing antidoping programs, elite athletes, and laboratories in the fight to maintain fair and clean competition. According to WADA statistics, only a small percentage of athletes who are tested test positive for prohibited substances. Do you believe that the use of prohibited substances is more widespread? John A. Lombardo: Establishing the prevalence of prohibited-substances use by results of drug testing would be similar to establishing the prevalence of driving under the influence of alcohol by the number of arrests for drinking and driving. A common goal of all drug-testing programs is to level the playing field so that athletes do not feel they have to use performance-enhancing drugs or prohibited substances to be competitive. Drug-testing programs serve the dual purpose of …