The use of drug enhancers in sports has been a serious thing of concern. Over the years, competition organizers and rule enforcers of different sports have critically analyzed the use of drugs to enhance performance when carrying out duties in the field of action. This not only gives rise to health hazards but also alters integrity and abolishes the fairness of any game.
Illegal use of these drugs is not only tied to enhancing performance but also to switching over into an experience full of euphoria or social bonding while on duty.
Some of the drugs used are for gene mutation (making a female possess male features or vice versa), Erythropoietin (Increasing the production of the Red Blood Cells), Morphine, Codeine, and Caffeine (for alertness and energy), etc.
Names of bodies associated with imposing or policing drug-related issues in different sports across the world:
International Olympic Committee (IOC)- Mostly active during Olympic Games competitions that comprise all existing and recognized sports.
Federation Internationale de Football Association (FIFA)- This body oversees all activities of soccer across the globe.
Court of Arbitration for Sports (CAS)- When there is any related dispute concerning an accusation, investigation, and taking of drastic rulings related to anti-doping, CAS is always there.
Union of European Football Association (UEFA)- This body is solely involved in organizing, enhancing, and handling any issues including drug disciplinaries.
International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF)- They are very much into overseeing and policing drug doping in track and field athletics.
The superior to all the bodies is the “World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA)”. They are like the Supreme Court where cases that are difficult to handle, are referred to them by various sports bodies all over the world as regards drugs.
It’s very much knowledgeable that for every country that participates in various sports, there is a regulating body that handles anti-doping cases.
Sportsmen Associated With Drug Cases
As fully established, it’s a gross offense to use artificial enhancing techniques to emerge as favorites and victors. This gives rise to imposing bans or possible fines, depending on the outcome of the fair trial of set panels of various sports bodies.
Here, we look at sportsmen and women who were tried by rule enforcers of the various sports in which they participate or might have participated in the past.
Tony Adams: Adams was a former captain for the Gunners and also for the English National team. He was in 1990 fined €500, and restricted from driving for a year after pleading guilty to drinking and driving. Alcoholism was his deficiency and this affected his personal life, relationships, and career both on and off the pitch.
Frankie Fredricks: He was a good athlete who specialized in track and field athletics (100-meter and 200-meter sprint events). Fredricks won 4 silver Olympic medals, breaking the record of becoming the first Namibian to set the record. The Namibian also won gold medals in world championships and Commonwealth Games. He was banned for 2 years after testing positive for Mandrax (A banned stimulant).
Diego Maradona: Maradona is a great footballer who has been tagged as “one of the greatest footballers of all time”. His magical skills with the ball made him an icon and idol, inspiring many upcoming footballers. He was banned for 15 months in 1991 after testing positive for cocaine. This habitual act never stopped even after retirement, causing him broken relationships and a deteriorating career.
Paul Pogba: The French international in August 2023 had a doping case, in which he later tested positive for Dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA). This was after a Serie A game between Juventus and Udinese. Pogba got into a series of troubles as he was initially suspended from further participation the following month (September 2023). He was later handed a four-year ban in March 2024. After many appeals at the Court of Arbitration for Sports (CAS), his 4-year ban was reduced to 18 months. Pogba will now resume football activities in March 2025.
It’s very clear that temporary or habitual taking in of drugs to perform far beyond the natural in sports is not only a killer of dreams and achievement, but it also reduces lifespan as the organs in the body will be affected by and by.
Making use of natural processes like unceasing practice to build body muscles, and pitch endurance, for natural long-lasting results is the sure way to a sports career.
