Anabolic Steroid Use in Sports :: essays research papers

Drug use has been a part of competitive sport for almost a century. At the low gear olympics in Athens in 1896, marathon runners drank a mixture ofbrandy and strychnine to befriend them on their ways and utilise opiates tocontrol pain during a race. drill of alcohol was very common in the earlyyears of the twentieth century. It might be argued that the first athletesto use medicines to enhance their performance were, in fact, cheating. We needto remember that drug use is not new. East Germany athletes used drugs toenhance their performance. Soviet Union was also involved in drugexperimentation. In the United States the drug culture had become sofar-flung that steroids and stimulants were known to every high schoolcoach. The use of drug was believed by athletes to enhance performance, inone way or an new(prenominal).Until 1960, nothing was do about the issue. The sports council of Europeoffici eithery moved against drugs when it tabled a resolution profession for thebanning of drugs on ethical, moral and medical grounds.The Olympic games, even though they are only held every 4 years, existthe pinnacle of profligate achievement. The International Olympic Committee(IOC) has a critical role to execute in demanding extensive drug examination andin providing funding for such interrogation.This is a controversial issue. The IOC believes that each of theinternational federations which governs particular sports should be liable for its own scrutiny.This seems reasonable enough, but it is argued that the Olympic Games arethe highest profile competition in the world and the most prestigious. Theworld stops to watch them and they represent the culmination of years ofwork for athletes. Winning a gold bay wreath is the glory to any sporting career.Urine testing is the usual testing method, and it doesnt reveal the fullrange of drugs taken to enhance performance. Blood testing is a moreefficient way, it can detect drugs that urine testing cannot.By the beginnin g of the 1980s, the use of anabolic steroids had becomequite common. These drugs - and the ally substances, testosterone andhuman growth hormone - were basic muscle builders. They increased portion andstrength, while producing, as one side effect, a heightened aggression.In other words, they made winners in sports. The problem seems to be in thedefinition of drug. For example, if it is all right for a competitor totake a pain-killer or a vitamin supplement, why is it not right to stopexhaustion with a caffeine hit? The answer would seem to be that drugs such