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Each home medicine cabinet may contain several substances that, under favorable circumstances and appropriate doses, can become a doping agent.
Athletes know them very well. So do their trainers, doctor and caregivers. And yet, before each, also important sports event, we hear about further disqualifications precisely because of the use of prohibited measures.
– The binding document in this matter is the World Anti-Doping Code. However, some sports federations introduce stricter sanctions and penalties than provided for in this document – says Michał Rynkowski, director of the office of the Polish Commission Against Doping in Sport. The Code is the basic and universal document on which the World Anti-Doping Program is based.
The document is precise enough to avoid ambiguous interpretations and bending the rules. According to it, it is the responsibility of every athlete to ensure that no prohibited substance is introduced into their body. Athletes are responsible for any Prohibited Substance, or its metabolites or markers found in physiological samples collected from them. Under the Code, no intent, fault, negligence, or knowing use by the Athlete is required to establish an anti-doping rule violation. They will detect – there is no translation.
Prohibited drugs for athletes
The whole of Poland knows that Agnieszka Radwańska heals her colds using her grandmother’s methods. And although it would probably be much easier to reach for a handful of multi-ingredient specifics available at any pharmacy without a prescription, the tennis player is not in favor of changing the regulations. First of all, because she often gets cold, and such treatments, although they quickly get back on her feet, could harm her and negatively affect her form. And not only as an athlete. For each of us, such an express treatment with a mixture of many chemical substances could disturb the functioning of the digestive system and weaken immunity. The closest circle of a tennis player emphasizes yet another aspect of such conduct. Building a list of exceptions would be an occasion to bend the law, circumvent the rules, and create a lot of controversy. Like Marit Bjoergen, who has to use steroids because of her asthma.
The list of prohibited measures is constantly updated. Recently, changes to the regulations have been introduced by the Australian Olympic Committee, prohibiting its athletes from taking sedatives. This came after it was revealed that one of the swimmers there confessed to being addicted to such substances. It has also been noticed that athletes first take large doses of caffeine to keep the body working at full capacity, and then fight insomnia with medication.
Anti-doping controls
Competitors representing most sports disciplines, and belonging to the group of the best in their country, are required to report where they are arriving – says Michał Rynkowski – All this so that he can be inspected at any time. Therefore, even on a casual barbecue with friends, you need to be very vigilant not to inadvertently reach for something that can later be considered a doping substance. 6250 doping tests will be carried out during the Olympic Games in London and then during the Paralympic Games. The laboratory, employing 150 scientists, will work non-stop, and volunteers will also collect samples, a total of about a thousand people.
– Anti-doping laws permit the use of certain drugs in certain doses. But it is known that each organism is different and reacts differently to a specific substance – notes Michał Rynkowski. – So we advise competitors that if they have to use any of the drugs allowed, they should stop taking it 24 hours before the competition. This applies primarily to commonly available specifics, containing, for example, pseudoephedrine, which is helpful, for example, in persistent runny nose or clogged sinuses, it can have a stimulating effect and affect the body’s efficiency. This action is usually short-lived, so one day is enough for the body to get rid of the foreign substance.
Types of doping agents
Penalties for doping are not the only effects of using boosters. Doping agents are substances that affect the work of the central nervous system, as well as the metabolism and other activities of cells, organs and even the entire body. Every athlete knows about the effects of their use, but not everyone prevents them from using them. Winning medals is a business and comes at a price. What are they reaching for?
One of the most popular remedies is stimulants. These include caffeine, cocaine, ephedrine and amphetamines. By acting on the nervous system, they will reduce or eliminate fatigue and improve concentration. They can cause euphoria or greater self-confidence. Their use, however, can lead to severe depression, psychosis, insomnia, aggression or anorexia. Taking them also leads to sudden pressure surges, acceleration of the heart rate, and consequently to heart attacks and heat strokes. These measures are addictive.
Athletes also use anabolic androgenic agents (testosterone and its synthetic derivatives). They cause an increase in muscle mass and bones and increased production of red blood cells. The most common effects of their use include anxiety attacks, depression and delusions. It also results in accelerated aging of certain tissues and breast enlargement in athletes of both sexes. In men, it very often leads to testicular atrophy, infertility and impotence. Other side effects include heart attacks and strokes. Anabolics favor the formation of neoplastic changes in the liver. They often cause hypertension and atherosclerosis, prostate enlargement, bone and joint degeneration, and skin changes. Peptide hormones, in particular growth hormone, are also doping agents. Speaking of the side effects of taking growth hormone (HGH), it is worth mentioning diabetes, muscle degeneration, hypertrophy of many internal organs and … various parts of the body, e.g. feet and hands. The list of problems goes on. Among doping agents there are also painkillers (e.g. ethidine, methadone), leading to addiction.
Frequent checks and disqualifications
Almost 300 anti-doping tests conducted before and during the European football championships in Poland and Ukraine yielded negative results. Controls were carried out from May, and then after each of the 31 matches. While footballers deserve praise, there are disciplines in which more athletes are still caught doping: wrestlers, cyclists, weightlifters. Doping is also common among skaters. Recently, the weightlifter Krzysztof Szramiak, European runner-up in 2010, was disqualified. The prohibited substance was first detected by the inspectors of the Polish Commission Against Doping in Sport, and then for the second time by the International Weightlifting Federation.
Genetic doping
There is more and more talk of giving athletes drugs that will change their genes. Their detection will be possible only after a few years, so taking illegal substances will not prevent such an athlete from competing practically throughout his career. Intramuscular injection of mutagens is undetectable in blood or urine samples. In 2003, the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) included genetic doping on the list of banned substances and methods. And for the first time such manipulations were alerted six years ago when a German coach was accused of gene manipulation. The medicine used to treat anemia contained a virus that introduced a gene into the body that helps to produce a hormone called erythropoietin (EPO), which makes red blood cells produce more quickly. Erythropoietin is one of the best known doping agents, incl. among athletes and cyclists. However, the anti-doping committees are vigilant: There are already new rules under which samples collected from athletes at the London Olympics will be kept for eight years.
Text: Hanna Mądra
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