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DOPING IN SPORT
By Dr Patrick SCHAMASCH (FRA)
Medical Director of the IOC
Definition
For the IOC (the Olympic Movement Anti-Doping Code) the following is
defined as doping:
The use of an expedient (substance or method) which is potentially
harmful to athletes' health and/or capable of enhancing their performance,
or the presence in the athlete's body of a Prohibited Substance
or use thereof or evidence of the use of Prohibited Method.
The word "dope" seems to have originated in South Africa, where it was a
strong drink used to increase the physical and mental stamina of the person who
drank it.
However, doping has a long history.
In the 5 th century BC, in his chronicles of the ancient Games, Milon de Crotone
writes about how athletes used to try to increase their physical strength by
consuming large quantities of goat's meat (an early use of creatine?) for jumpers
and beef for throwers and wrestlers — a practice which was prohibited and subject
to sanctions.
Later, Roman gladiators took a mixture of stimulants and alcohol to overcome
their fatigue and reduce the pain from injuries.
In the late 19 th century, this practice spread, especially in Great Britain, to
horseracing. It did not take long to spread from racing to cycling, and at the end
of the 19 th century cyclists were already taking mixtures of cocaine and strychnine
which enabled them to withstand long solitary effort.
Albert Londres wrote of this in 1924 when he followed the "Tour de France".
During the Second World War, many pilots used substances such as pervitine,
methedrine and other amphetamines, which were later also used by mountaineers
to reduce pain by stimulating the psyche.
More recently, there have been countless examples of doping affecting all
sports culminating in 1988 during the Seoul Olympic Games where the world's
most famous athlete was found guilty of doping.
A second crisis occurred in 1998, during the "Tour de France".
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