Known for its deep roots in Olympic history, track and field is one of the world’s most universally loved sports. With events ranging from the shot put to the 10,000-meter run, the sport has an abundance of areas to attract interest. However, despite widespread respect and admiration, there’s one dilemma that has long plagued the sport: steroid usage.
One of the first infamous doping scandals involved American discus thrower Ben Plucknett. After the world record holder tested positive for anabolic steroids in 1981, his world record throw was rescinded and he received a lifetime ban from competition.
Though acknowledged as an issue since the 1960s, doping truly burst onto the scene during the 1980s. Since then, its practice has seemingly only become more prevalent. Famous American runners caught in doping scandals include Marion Jones, Eddy Hellebuyck, Mary Decker, LaShawn Merritt, Tyson Gay and Justin Gatlin.
Other well-known names involved in doping scandals include Olympic gold medalist Asafa Powell, world indoor champion Ben Johnson and most recently, Olympic Kenyan sprint coach John Anzrah.
This year, all but one Russian track athlete was banned from the 2016 Rio Olympics due to an ongoing World Anti-Doping Agency investigation of a Russian state-sponsored doping program.
Drugs commonly abused by individuals in athletics include anabolic steroids, human growth hormone (HGH) and tetrahydrogestrinone (THG).
Anabolic steroids mirror testosterone, aiding in the promotion of rapid muscle growth and enabling athletes to get in more workouts by decreasing recovery times. HGH aims to maximize endurance and strength while THG is another testosterone-based steroid that aims to increase workout efficiency.
While THG is less detectable and doses can be administered through oral drops, the drug is highly dangerous and effects of prolonged usage range from acne to infertility.
Numerous factors play a role in the motivation of athletes to engage in steroid usage. Track and field is a sport where “if you’re not first, you’re last.” The public tends to forget about those runners who don’t finish in the top two or three.
Additionally, sponsors and other cash rewards act identically toward lower placing athletes. The amount of sponsorships and prize money available decreases exponentially the further from the podium an athlete performs.
This immense amount of individual pressure in track and field goes unmatched by most sports. Furthermore, the common reasoning of “everyone else is doing it” coerces engagement in doping activities.
Johnson, a former Canadian national team sprinter and 100-meter world record holder, once explained to The Guardian, “I said to myself, ‘why should I do this clean when everybody else is cheating? That’s unfair’. I chewed it over in my mind for about three weeks and then I said, ‘Charlie, I’m OK with it. Let’s go.'”
In the 100-meter dash, the difference between a paycheck and leaving empty-handed can be as narrow as a few hundredths of a second. For someone whose livelihood and finances rest on the back of the sport, the temptation is a looming presence.
The fact that a minority of doping athletes are caught only serves to further entice others to seek the extra edge. Just last year, 12,000 leaked blood tests from 5,000 different athletes depicted a startling image. Those tests, conducted by the International Association of Athletics Federations, found 800 athletes had results that were “highly consistent with doping.”
However, it’s estimated that only 1 to 2 percent of tests in Olympic sports culminate in doping penalties. This is largely due to two factors: the drug testing methods and the constant evolution of drugs.
For example, to investigate for the unnatural presence of testosterone, an athlete must test definitively positive before a case can be opened up on the athlete’s results. The test utilizes a T-to-E ratio, otherwise known as testosterone to epitestosterone ratio, to monitor results.
However, while the normal male ratio is roughly 1-to-1, WADA permits an athlete to test within the norm to as high as 4-to-1, before the test is officially ruled suspicious and further analyzed.
While this method accommodates for natural T-to-E variations within the human race, it also allows cheating athletes to easily pass under the radar.
A track and field athlete only needs minimal doses to observe benefits in performance. In a sport where the difference between fourth and first can be as narrow as milliseconds and inches, that nearly undetectable dose can be enough.
Additionally, what if an athlete decides to take epitestosterone doses in order to limit ratio changes and mask the high presence of testosterone? HGH and THG tests run into identical issues as well.
While many doping athletes are surely well under the radar, WADA was founded less than 20 years ago in 1999. As the IAAF conducts more tests and WADA evolves, it’s hopeful that testing methods will become more consistent.
However, despite optimism in future drug testing methods and procedures, yet another obstacle is growing ever more present — a growing public push to legalize steroids.
Proponents of legalized steroid usage protest allowing all athletes to use steroids evens the playing field and creates more spectacular performances.
As testing methods evolve, the global dilemma of steroid usage is likely to continue.
