Blood Doping Research Paper

Introduction

Cycling is a bicycle racing sport held on paved roads. The aim of the sport is to race other athletes over a certain distance to finish first at a designated finish line. The purpose of this report is to trace the evolution of blood doping and assess the impact it has had on the performance of cycling athletes. In order to understand the impact of blood doping in cycling, I will first give and overview of cycling and the constraints with in. Secondly a look into the development of blood doping and the effect it has had on cycling. Next, the introduction of blood doping in cycling will be discussed, and to finish the impact of blood doping in cycling.

Aims and Limitations within Cycling

The objective of cycling is to race other

This usually involves the removal of 900mls of an athlete’s blood several weeks prior to any competition. The blood is then frozen until 1 or 2 days before competition, where it is then thawed and injected back into the athlete. The first case of increased performance after blood transfusion was somewhat 40 years ago, but it did not create attention until the early 1970s when it was then called 'blood doping' by the media. However, athletes don't commonly re-inject blood anymore. Instead, cheating athletes will inject genetically engineered drugs which cause the body to create extra red blood cells. The most common type of blood doping chemical used is called EPO - which is used to treat patients who have kidney disease. The first known case of blood doping occurred at the 1980 Summer Olympics in Moscow. Kaarlo Maaninka was injected with 900mls of blood before winning medals in the 5km and 10km track races, though this was not against the rules at the time. Though the development of blood doping it has evolved from blood transfusions to the injection of the chemical EPO. The most famous use of EPO blood doping was when Lance Armstrong was stripped of his seven Tour de France titles and banned for life by cycling's governing body following a report from the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency that accused

Blood transfusions increase the number of red blood cells in the circulation in order to enhance athlete’s performance. Illegal blood transfusions are used by athletes to boost performance. There are two types. Autologous transfusion, involves a blood transfusion of the athlete's own blood, which is frozen and then stored for future use. Homologous blood transfusion, athletes will use the blood of someone else with the same blood type. EPO injections improve an athlete’s performance as it controls the body's production of red blood cells. In hospital, EPO injections are given to patients suffering from kidney cancer to stimulate the production of red blood cells. Instead of stimulating the production of red blood cells athletes using EPO injections do so to encourage their bodies to produce higher than normal amounts of red blood cells to enhance performance. This has impact cycling athletes that train for years to reach where they are today and has also impacted the reputation of