Nearly half of elite athletes ‘admit doping’
Nearly half of professional athletes are using banned drugs or methods, an anonymous survey has found. The results came from a Harvard University survey of more than 2,000 elite sportsmen and women at the World Championships in Athletics and Pan-arab Games.
NEARLY half of professional athletes are using banned drugs or methods to enhance their performance, an anonymous survey has found.
Harvard University asked more than 2,000 elite sportsmen and women who were competing at World Championships in Athletics (WCA) and the Panarab Games (PAG) whether they had broken the rules in the last 12 months.
Nearly a third of WCA athletes and 45 per cent of those at the PAG admitted to violating anti-doping regulations. The figures were described as “disappointing and concerning” by sports commentators.
The statistics contradict biological tests of blood and urine which typically detect doping in only one to three per cent of competitors at elite events. The surveys were carried out in 2011 and commissioned by the World Anti-doping Agency (Wada), but the results have only just been published following rows over the research methodology.
The test, which asked athletes “Have you knowingly violated antidoping regulations by using a prohibited substance or method in the past 12 months?” had checks in place to make sure it was completely anonymous. Half of those who took part were not asked the doping question to make sure it was impossible to know who had responded.
The journal Sports Medicine published the findings after deciding the methods were scientifically sound, and a fair representation of the situation. “These findings suggest that biological testing greatly underestimates the true prevalence of doping in elite athletics,” said Harrison Pope, professor of psychiatry at Harvard Medical School.
The authors concluded that doping was “remarkably widespread” among elite athletes but remained largely unchecked, despite sophisticated testing methods. They claim such prevalence could be detrimental to the health of cheating athletes. Wada said that a working group will meet next month to discuss the latest study.
Nicole Sapstead, chief executive of UK Anti-doping, said that the findings were “disappointing and concerning”.
However, she added: “Significant improvements have taken place since 2011 when this data was collected. Testing methods continue to advance but testing is only one part of the anti-doping process. There is now greater investment in educating elite and up-and-coming athletes about the dangers and consequences of taking banned substances, as well as a greater emphasis on intelligence and investigations as an alternative way of catching those who seek to break the rules.”
Last year The Daily Telegraph disclosed how anti-doping checks at the Rio Olympics descended into chaos after the process of sample collection was undermined by no-shows and security lapses. The problems came just weeks after a report in which Russia was found guilty of state-sponsored doping at the 2014 Winter Olympics.