In order to be considered an elite athlete, you must have the best time, speed, agility and endurance. You must be able to perform above average and you must be able to crush your opponent; after all, there is no such thing as second best. Sadly, this pressure of being the champion is forcing many athletes all over the world to turn to supplements to help them achieve this goal. The problem is, some of these supplements have little research to back them up or are entirely illegal. Thus making the journey for perfection, a very dangerous and treacherous one. This problem is now being seen all over the world especially in endurance sports; and the quick fix seems to be with blood doping.
According to the World Anti-doping Agency, who handles all doping occurrences, identifies blood doping as the use of various methods to enhance athletic performance by increasing the bloods ability to bring oxygen to the muscles. With there being an array of different types and methods, WADA recognized the frequency in use of these top three types and methods. The top three methods and types used are: blood transfusion, injection of erythroprotien, and injection of synthetic oxygen carriers.
When using blood transfusion, athletes have two options, either to use his or her own blood or someone else’s blood that is compatible with his or her own blood type. If the athlete decides to use his or her own blood, it’s called an autologous transfusion. In which the athlete gets their blood drawn and stored for a few weeks while their body replenishes the blood that was lost. As the competition gets closer, they get a transfusion of their blood that is being stored. In doing this, red blood cells double, which in turn will put them at optimum level for...
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...t attacks, phlebitis, or even septicemia. In addition, these healthy athletes can become susceptible to blood born pathogens such as HIV or hepatitis. Yet they do not care, as long as this method gets them the better time forgetting that if they are not healthy, they cannot perform at all. With all the harmful side effects, I do not think that doping should become legal. Plus, there are legal ways to promote red blood cell increase that are legal and won’t harm the body as much. This includes living in high altitudes than normal and competing in low (or normal) altitudes. In my opinion, I do not think that the ends justify the means. Majority of the athletes that use doping as a performance enhancer get the spot light moment, in which is then dimmed out by getting caught. Then, they not only look badly for cheating but also look like fools for harming their bodies.
Citius, Altius, Fortius is the motto of the Olympic games. Translated from Greek, it means "Faster, Higher, Stronger". Recently, Olympic contenders have been doing everything they can to live up to that motto. Most do it by training hour after hour, each day. Others try to do it by illegally taking performance enhancing drugs. This is why we need to test for drugs at the Olympics. Drug Testing in the Olympics began only recently in the 1968 Games held in Mexico1. Drugs are banned for two very good reasons: the use of drugs produces an unfair advantage, and it is hazardous to the athlete to take them. While drug testing is now commonplace, the procedures are still fairly primitive and arouse much controversy2. We all remember the Andreea Raducan situation from the Sydney Olympics. She unknowingly had consumed a performing enhancing drug that was in her cold medication. Her medal was revoked as soon as the drug test results got back.3 While Andreea was caught, many others who intentionally "doped up" weren't Many of the drugs or procedures out there, still can't be tested for, and more and more athletes are cheating. Most of the drugs and procedures have adverse long term effects, some resulting in death. The drug tests are detrimental to the existence of the Olympics and need to be upheld at all costs.
Kuhn, C., Swartzwelder, S., and Wilson, W. Pumped: Straight Facts for Athletes about Drugs, Supplements, and Training. 2000. W.W. Norton, New York and London.
I. The effect of performance enhancement drugs on track and field athletes poses physical problems for the athletes.
Each year athlete’s ability to perform seems to increase by leaps and bounds. Some reasons for this can be attributed to better training methods, better conditioning techniques, and better over all health of the athlete. While most situations involve one or more of the previously scenarios, some athletes always seem to take it to a step further. They engage in a process called blood doping. This procedure does increase physical performance and athletic ability, but potentially may do more harm than good.
Abstract: Since the beginning of sports competition, athletes have always looked for some kind of edge over their competitors. They will do whatever it takes to be one of the elite, and that includes injecting supplements into their bodies to make them bigger, stronger, and faster. Steroid use is probably one of the most common drug misuses in sports competition. Athletes found that with anabolic steroids, one could become a better athlete twice as fast. Not until 1975 was the drug first banned from Olympic competition because of the health risks it produced.
“Performance Enhancing Drugs.” MSN Encarta Online Encyclopedia. ProCon, 20 October 2008. Web. 30 January 2014.< http://sportsanddrugs.procon.org/view.answers.php?questionID=001201>
Doping is the use of illegal substances that is harmful to athlete's health and is capable of enhancing performance. Doping also refers to the presence of drugs in the athlete's blood or urine. So, doping in other words is cheating and can be detrimental to the individual reputation and the sport. There are two types of doping blood and chemical. Blood doping is when drugs are placed into red blood cells, oxygen carriers, and related blood products to enhance an athlete's performance (1 Anonymous). Effects of blood doping include kidney damage, allergic reactions, and blood clots (1Anonymous). Chemical doping refers to attempts to change samples used in drug testing (1Anonymous). Despite the many risks the use of drugs among athletes is still prevalent.
Each day, professional and amateur athletes and body builders thrive to achieve their goals and dreams of winning gold medals or representing their country worldwide. The sports or games in which they participate require physical strength, athleticism and stamina, and due to the tough competition they face, some of these athletes decide to take performance enhancing drugs, an act called doping.
...ther competitions, by wrong and unjust means. And consequently, the sports commissioner s of all the sports have to ensure that the players in a particular sport are not using steroids or any other similar drugs, and for that they often have to direct the medical staff in a particular sport to check the athletes, that whether they are using steroids or any other similar drugs. And in case, if steroids are located in their bodies, then the sports commissioners have to conduct thorough investigation, which eventually, results in unique unprecedented punishments for such athletes. Therefore, it s extremity imperative for these Professional athletes to realize the fact that they are the current role models for the future athletes, and can quite significantly influence the young athletes, all over the world, through any sort of misconduct on their part (Haupt & Rovere,
International Association of Athletics Federation (IAAF)"Drugs in Sport/Doping Control," IAAF Medical Manual, www.iaaf.org (accessed May 13, 2009)
Athletes are always searching for ways to enhance their performance. Recently, beginning in the 1950s, that search has included the use of illegal substances like steroids and growth hormones. Illegal substances have been used widely by athletes in hop es of achieving the desired Olympic gold medal or multi-million dollar contract. Some nations, for example the late East Germany in the 1970s and 1980s, have mandated the use of steroids by their athletes. The downside of using those illegal substances is that because they are illegal, getting caught using them can lead to losing that coveted gold medal, a lifetime ban from sports, and a total loss of honor and dignity. This is why the search is now on to find some legal means of enhancing athletic per formance.
In today’s age, performance enhancing drugs have become more advanced than just some special herbs and spices. Scientists today have found ways to manipulate elements to help provide muscle mass and stamina. Some types of performance enhancing drugs are human growth hormones (HGH), testosterone boosters, anabolic steroids etc. When taking HGH, a person might experience results such as an increase in muscle mass, an increase in bone density, and a reduced fat content in the body (Freudenrich). The same results could be found when you take anabolic steroids. Anabolic steroids have been sought after to athletes and bodybuilders because they increase the size and strength of muscles. They also increase aggressiveness and competitiveness, which can be desirable traits in sports (Helmenstine). On different occasions such as a cyclist or a long distance runner, these athletes will store some of their red blood cells when their hemoglobin is high. The athlete will then train and work as usual, but right before the athlete competes they will transfuse the blood they took out back into their body therefore creating more red blood cells to ...
Doping is a practice that has been going on since the time of "ancient Greek athletes, who supposedly ate herbs, sesame seeds, dried figs, and mushrooms for this purpose" (Hoberman, 1992, 104). Likewise, athletes have readily consumed such drugs as caffeine and alcohol to improve performa...
Drug use in sports is considered cheating. Doping has many historical backgrounds, but now it is on a larger scale in order to maximiz...
Doping rids the true athletes of what they truly deserve and is wrong; because why should those who put in a hundred per cent of their effort, be outshone by individuals who are choosing to use substances to enhance their physical and mental abilities? Doping damages the sports industry as a whole because it has a serious physical and mental effects on the athletes, as well as damaging the idea of sportsmanship and it also breaks the trust of the fans, as they realise their idols are hypocrites. Doping in sports dates back to the ancient Greek times (need ref here). There are anti-doping agencies worldwide in virtually every country. In Switzerland its anti-doping Switzerland, in Nigeria it’s the Nigerian national anti-doping committee and in the UK its UK anti-doping.