The issue of drugs in sports began with Ben Johnson, the Canadian sprinter, stripped of his gold medal in 1988 after testing positive for anabolic steroids. But Johnson’s drug bust surprised few in the athletic community, where it was widely believed that the vast majority of Olympic athletes had been using banned substances for years. “I hear all the time from athletes that you can’t compete internationally unless you use performance-enhancing drugs,” says Dr. Robert Voy former chief medical officer of the United States Olympic Committee. 1989 became the year of the steroid with an explosion of interest and coverage with stories from all sports and society. Interest included debate of other stars, including women such as Florence Griffith Joyner, and whether they used steroids. In Canada, a government invest

In the book, Dope: The Use of Drugs in Sport written by Les Woodland, the author claims that “not only is dope entrenched in the professional sportsman or woman’s way of life, but that it is virtually impossible to reach the top in some sports without the aid of drugs to improve physique and performance.” Great pressures exist in the athlete’s way of life and there are strong temptations to take drugs. Woodland concludes that “we could be heading towards the creation of the “ultimate athlete”, an artificial being almost like a human robot.”

Today the elimination of doping in sport is one of the fundamental objectives of the Olympic movement. As stated on the International Olympic Committee Web page: “The Anti-Doping Code, which the entire Olympic Movement must observe, contains the following key points:

Some topics in this essay:
Richard Pound, Division II, Les Woodland, Wake Forest, Medical Commission, Johnson Canadian, TESTING SPORTS, Olympic Games, Executive Committee, Charlie Francis, drug testing, drug-testing program, drug-testing programs, drug abuse, banned substances, student athletes, wake forest, drug testing athletes, division ii, health athletes, athletic community,