|
Drugs: the use in the Olympics
The first time that the athletes were tested for drugs during the Olympics, even to a limited extent, was in the 1968 Mexico Olympics. 667 tests were  carried out then and only one athlete (in the modern pentathlon) tested positive. Four years later, in 1972 in Munich, tests almost trebled during the Games and seven cases of illegal drug use were detected. More specifically, amphetamine or ephedrine was used by athletes in weightlifting, judo, swimming, basketball and cycling. Henceforth and with the sole exception of the Moscow Olympics, where no athlete was tested positive, every Olympic organization added new cases of drug use.
In 1976, prohibited substances were detected in 11 athletes, nine weightlifters, one shooter and one track and field athlete. In 1984 the number of doped athletes in the Olympic Games amounted to twelve: five weightlifters, three track and field athletes, two volleyball players, one shooter and one sailor. Four years later, in Seoul, the 100m final led to the most astonishing incident of drug use in the history of the Olympic Games. Apart from Ben Johnson, in the Olympic Games of 1988 nine more cases of illegal drug use were detected. On the whole, ten athletes were found "guilty", four of whom had become Olympic winners and were thus deprived of their medals. These athletes were the Canadian Ben Johnson, who finished first in the 100m, the Bulgarians Mitko Grubler and Angel Bul - Guenchev, who excelled in weightlifting and the British Kerrith Brown, third Olympic winner in judo. The other six athletes competed in weightlifting, wrestling, the modern pentathlon and volleyball.
In 1992 in Barcelona, almost 1900 tests were carried out during the Games and five cases of drug use were detected; more precisely four track and field athletes and one volleyball player. In 1996 in Atlanta, almost 2000 tests were carried out detecting only two cases, and seven cases were discovered during the Olympic Games of 2000, five of which concerned athletes who had won an Olympic medal. More precisely, the Romanian gymnast Andreea Raduucan was deprived of the gold medal in the group all-around competition and so was the Bulgarian weightlifter Izabela Dragneva. The Bulgarian weightlifters Ivan Ivanov and Sevdalin Minchev were deprived of the silver medal and the Armenian weightlifter Ashot Danielyan was deprived of the bronze medal.
The most sensational case of drug use in Sydney concerned the American shot-putter C.J. Hunter, world champion in 1999 and husband of the most popular track and field athlete from the USA, Marion Jones. Hunter travelled to Australia, but the disclosure of the test results did not allow him to participate in the Games. Hunter's case was not the only one, since many other athletes, especially Romanian and Bulgarian weightlifters, were disqualified. What is more, the results of the tests that the athletes of these teams had to undergo during the year of the Olympics, put forward the issue of the general disqualification of these countries in weightlifting. On the whole, the thousands of tests that were carried out during the twelve months prior to the beginning of the Games resulted in the disqualification of several tens of athletes from all sports. Particularly striking was the case of the 33 Chinese athletes in athletics, swimming and rowing, who had been included originally in the Olympic team of their country, but were forced either to not travel or to leave Australia before the beginning of the Games.
The substances, whose use is described as illegal for athletes, are generally divided into the following categories:
- Stimulants, such as amphetamines, cocaine and ephedrines that have an effect on the central nervous system and increase occasionally the competitiveness of the user. Their use is quite common in all sports, especially those that require constant readiness, such as fencing and team sports that include a ball.
- Narcotic analgesics, such as codeine, morphine, heroine. Although their "beneficial" effect on a particular sport has not been established, it is considered that athletes use them in order to alleviate the pain caused by injuries.
- Diuretics. The substances included in this category help to excrete larger quantities of liquids and salts from the body. For this reason they are particularly "popular" in sports in which the athletes are grouped by competition on the basis of their body weight (e.g. weightlifting, boxing, wrestling, judo).
- Betablockers, the action of which focuses on the drop of the blood pressure and of the pulses of the heart and, hence, on the effect of adrenaline on the body. Therefore, these substances are preferred by athletes who aim at stability and concentration, as is required, for instance, in diving and in shooting.
- Anabolic steroids, testosterone. These substances increase the muscular mass of the athletes, hence their strength. As a result, this category of anabolic drugs is mostly detected among athletes who specialize in sports that require speed, strength and endurance, such as many track and field events, rowing, swimming, weightlifting etc.
- Erythropoietin. It is a substance that increases the quantity of oxygen in the blood, thus improving the performance up to 15%, especially in such sports as cycling, swimming, rowing and long distance running.
- Human Growth Hormone, which helps increase the tonicity and strength / resilience of the muscles, joints and bones. It is particularly "popular" among athletes in swimming and athletics.
|
