Blood Doping in the Olympics: Prevention, Consequences & Elimination
Doping is one of the earliest tricks used by the competitors to get an upper hand over their competitors even before the modern competition setting. Doping definition is broad but is termed as the utilization of the performance-enforcing drugs (PED) to boost their performance levels. It is divided into different categories use of steroids to improve strength, hormones boosters, and blood doping that tend to increase the level of red blood cells to ensure that the oxygen carrying RBC makes the athletes have longer endurance (Kayser, & Broers, 2012). Since the field of doping is broad, this essay tackles the blood doping techniques of doping and discusses the methods used, the athletes and doctors involved over the years before focusing on the important anti-doping laws and policies involved in preventing and eliminating the vice. The final discussion will determine whether the tactics used to prevent and eradicate doping can help put blood doping to an end and describe the changes needed to avoid cheating in world Olympics and games against doping.
Blood doping techniques are divided into different categories namely; the use of blood transfusion, use of oxygen carriers, and the use of erythropoietin (EPO). Blood doping targets increment of the oxygen-carrying capacity of the blood thus have a direct impact of the VO2max. The tactic has been the most active illegal ways used by athletes as they are used in improving the endurance of the athletes hence its use by cycling and long track events like marathons.
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The oldest tactic used was where some athletes donated their blood; the blood was preserved in freezing conditions for four to six weeks. The athlete continued to exercise during leading to the body producing an increased number of the hemoglobin to replace the ones lost following the donation or removal of the blood (Jacobson, 2010). Two days or a day before a big competition, the blood would be transfused back to the athlete thus significantly increasing the level of hemoglobin similar or more of that of athletes who have undertaken training. The tactic leads to an added advantage to the athlete compared to that of other competitors. The tactic is known as autologous since their blood is re-infused back into their body which makes it hard for the anti-doping governing body, for instance, the IOC and WADA to determine that the athlete is doping.
The athletes may also use homologous blood transfusion whereby blood from other people is transfused into their body days before a big race. The four components in the blood namely; platelets, red blood cells, cryoprecipitate antihemophilic's factor (AHF) and plasma from the sample are removed and frozen, and before the transfusion, the red blood cells are returned in the sample thus yield to increased hemoglobin (Gifford, 2016). The use of the athlete’s blood is tested by measuring of the hemoglobin mass or blood bag plasticizers metabolites. The hemoglobin mass changes from 44 to either 47 or 52 following the re-infusion of the blood. In recent times the athletes who dope have ensured that the hemoglobin mass is at most 47 as it is identical to athletes following anaerobic training thus making it difficult to be detected (Reardon, & Creado, 2014).
In the homologous blood transfusion, the drug testers of WADA and other authorities can identify different antigen patterns of the RBCs to determine to dope. The method tends to be easier for the drug testers due to the different genetic code and RBCs generic markers. Lastly, the testers can also use the presence of plasticizers and metabolites which are detectable in the urine of the doping athletes. These testing procedures demonstrate that inspectors must use both blood and urine tactics.
EPO is a modern and technological improved way of increasing the red blood cells due to its ability of the chemical drug to ensure that the natural occurring EPO hormone found in the blood and produced by the kidney to determine the amounts of RBCs produced by the bone mallow is boosted to ensure an increased production of RBCs. The EPOs are the primary source of blood doping scandals in sports as the drug is used in the treatment of anemia. Cyclists and long tracks athletes have been the primary users of the drug as it improves endurance with the increased RBCs helping in increased oxygen transportation in the entire body muscles. The use of ERAs that stimulate the erythropoiesis, for example, FG-4592 or Rodadustat leads to the production of RBCs levels increment identical to that of athletes who train in higher altitudes (Hanrahan, 2016).
With the growing trend and ability of the dopers being ahead of the testers, EPO is administered to about 47 hemoglobin mass levels with additional drugs used to hide used EPO. Thus, making the drug harder for the governing anti-doping authorities from identifying them (Hanrahan, 2016). The advanced technologies, the anti-doping authorities as of 2016 developed strategies to ensure they are able to identify the use of this type of blood doping which is performed by evaluating the blood components changes of hemoglobin concentration, hemoglobin mass, reticulocyte percentage, count, mean corpuscular volume, and hemoglobin concentration that helps determine the doping properties of EPO hormone the low levels of the drug are hard to detect since they remain in the blood for a very short period.
Lance Armstrong among most of the Tour de France cyclists are the most likely athletes to use blood doping. Armstrong has never tested positive for doping or use of EPO, but following his stop of fighting or acting as an anti-doping ambassador, he has been termed as being a doper leading to the seven medals won being retrieved back from him. The World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) claim that the cyclists and other long endurance sports like marathons, races of over 800 meters’ athletes are more likely to be involved in blood doping. The blood dopers are based on the knowledge that the strategy will help them recover better due to the increased oxygen circulation based on an increment of the red blood cells. The use of EPO was banned in the 1990s but it was not until Sydney Olympic games in 2000 that the screening test for the hormone was used (Reardon, & Creado, 2014). According to USADA, the testers find it difficult to measure the use of EPO when employed in small amounts; the authority is still on the verge of improving its techniques to gain more success in the screening in the bid to eliminate blood doping. In 2014, Kenya’s Boston Marathon winner Rita Jeptoo was banned for two years following her positive test for EPO although she claims her innocence thus appealing the decision.
The Beijing and London Olympics games have produced some of the highest cases of doping since the modern Olympics games began but that can be due to the improved technology that helps testers determine the dopers. The use of blood doping is still used by mostly cyclists and long distance runners just as Armstrong and Jeptoo are evidence to these claims but with the Olympics being more of business oriented than it was in the past leads to the governing bodies hiding some of the high numbers of doping. WADA and other anti-doping agencies depict that doping as a whole is about 1.9% whereas independent surveys show that in any major tournament there are over 39% of dopers who participate in the Olympics Games with 90% winning medals.
In a UK non-profit anti-doping survey, there are more than 60% of doping cases are known to the governing bodies as the coaches are the primary targets, but with the knowledge of the athletes’ impact on the world, they tend to ignore the issues to benefit financially (Peckham, & Wadler, 2012). The Russian doping scandal is evidence of these arguments, as the Russian anti-doping and government engaged in ways to manipulate the doping tests by changing urine samples which would lead to their athletes being cleared to participate and eventually win medals in the Olympics games. The over 79 Russian athletes being burned from the Rio 2016 Olympics games, following the scandal it is clear that the fight is tightening with more dopers being banned from participating to embrace actual competition without cheats gaining an advantage over their opponents (Berkowitz, & Meko, 2016).
The fight against doping as a whole is complicated due to the lack of the governing agencies reliance on the police investigations makes it difficult for the tests to be reliable due to the interests of these tasks forces or investigators as the case in Russian scandal. The tactic of monitoring of athletes is termed as unethical and a privacy rights violation of different targeted athletes who have to reveal every detail of their lives to the investigators. These issues and many the other main elements such nutrition and prescribed drugs that may lead athletes consuming food that may be detrimental to their careers without knowing which is harsh to be termed as dopers. These issues and the risks involved in the extensive doping for instance heart stroke show that the fight is warranted but the strategy being employed is failing with results of Beijing and London Olympics retesting demonstrating that most of the medal winners were dopers.
The banning increment from two years to four years is career ending, but it shows the seriousness of the matter. There is debate calling for the legalization of doping in sports to ensure that the athletes perform better and safe methods of doping but that may jeopardize the need for competition and the adverse effects may be catastrophic for the athletes (Savulescu, Foddy, & Clayton, 2004). I believe the fight is still way back to succeed with the anti-doping policies and techniques lagging five to ten years from the developed ways of doping hence the need to modernize the testing methods. The athletes need to value the spirit of competition whereas WADA should be more considerate as retrieval of medals and bans is not helping. The athletes-centered tactic of awarding those who do not dope is a better strategy of motivating anti-doping among the competitors.
References
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Reardon, C. L., & Creado, S. (2014). Drug abuse in athletes. Substance Abuse and Rehabilitation , 5 , 95–105. http://doi.org/10.2147/SAR.S53784
Savulescu J, Foddy B, & Clayton M., (2004). Why we should allow performance enhancing drugs in sport British Journal of Sports Medicine 2004; 38:666-670.
Jacobson, R. (2010). Sports in America: Recreation, business, education and controversy (Information plus Reference Series). Sport in America.
Berkowitz, B., & Meko, T. (2016, June 28). What you need to know about performance enhancing drugs in the Summer Olympics. Washington Post . Retrieved 5 June 2017, from https://www.washingtonpost.com/graphics/sports/olympics/doping/
Gifford, B. (2016, August 5). The Scientific American Guide to Cheating in the Olympics. Scientific American . Retrieved 5 June 2017, from https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/the-scientific-american-guide-to-cheating-in-the-olympics/
Hanrahan, C. (2016, August 11). Explained: What types of drugs do athletes use?. ABC News . Retrieved 5 June 2017, from http://www.abc.net.au/news/2016-08-11/rio-2016-olympics-drugs-guide/7651832
